The beauty of imperfection
When I was early in my business career, my business mentor said something that stuck with me.
She commented that sometimes
“it was better to be open for business and not have everything perfect than to wait for perfection”
Being a perfectionist, I struggled with this – I had a plan and needed to achieve it. It turns out that she was completely right (thanks Danielle!) If I waited for perfection, then I would not be where I am today.
Perfection can often get in the way of being creative.
Over the last 6-7 years I have travelled across Victoria with my mobile studio and taught hundreds of people. One of the most common issues I often see in classes is people frozen because
- They don’t want to make a mistake (spoiler – the more I make the better I get)
- The have a perfect image in their mind
- Their skill level is surpassed by their imagination
How do you overcome frozen perfection?
When I look at the journey my business has been on, from making Jewellery from shells (that I was adamant that I could not do when my husband first suggested it) to today when I create and teach others, I realize that there is one thing, maybe two that stopped me getting frozen.
At the beginning of each class I set the mindset for the group, creating an environment where there is no right or wrong, there are side quests do not mistake and anything can be overcome.
I share my learning through stories – I explain that I am self-taught and what that means is that I have learned by making mistakes, and that after 8 years of practicing I have made every mistake imaginable.
I then go on to explain two more things that reduce the need for perfection
- Nothing in my classes is wasted – I recycle all elements we use, and metal is really forgiving. If your texture doesn’t work on one side, then flip the metal over and use the other side. If it still doesn’t work, then pop it in the scraps box for recycling (and for others to forage through) and grab another piece
- I have an answer for everything – and in class this is a strength – because I have learned by making mistakes I have also persevered and worked out how to fix said problem. A great example is rings – if its soldered and seems too big we can cut out a section and make it smaller. If it is too small, we can pop it on a mandrel (a steel tool shaped like a long column that is tapered) and smack it with a hammer.
And I said at the start there are two reasons I got better at my work, the other some would call perseverance, I would attribute to being totally and unwaveringly certain that there is nothing that I can’t do – I just haven’t learnt it yet. Having ADHD and Autism is the golden ticket here – I can hyper focus forever when I am interested and the stubborn part of me that won’t give up until I have mastered something paired with constantly finding new techniques to learn makes this the best career choice I have ever made.
All of this is not to say that aiming for perfection is a bad thing, but learning to play while you create allows you the freedom to create without criticism from yourself, and in learning to create freely you will deepen your skills and make great art.
Sarah travels across Victoria teaching in regional arts and crafts venues, galleries, schools and most recently in her own studio in Clayton. She takes on a limited number of custom pieces per year, and is stocked in stores across Australia as well as online through her website www.sarahmunningsjewellery.com