I stare down the longest yard. The muscles for some reason do not want to pick up the slack to finish the job. The project, be it a kids Halloween costume or a term paper, sits dormant. I start projects with gusto, but for some reason, the ability to tighten that last screw, to put on the seal of approval does not come.
If half-finished projects brought half pay on the open market, I would make a decent living. However, the world has no interest in seeing drawings that are not inked, hearing songs without second verses. If I had a nickel for every thought I drew on a post-it that was crumpled and never dreamed to ambition, I would be at the Coinstar all day.
So many projects that I work on as an artist never reach fruition. My mind judges what I am working on as wrong. When jotting down new ideas, however, I find that my mind has a preconceived notion as to the way “The light bulb will work.”
Many of my favorite drawings, however, are completed by accidents. A dab of red here and a dab of blue there, and a blah painting comes to life. Something that almost went into the garbage can is now over the mantel.
Same goes with innovation- don’t be afraid to finish your projects, crazy as they may be. Many of the world’s inventions were “stumbled” upon. The X-Ray, the phonograph, and the telephone were all found on accident.
Give your projects a second thought. Dust them off. Time puts a new perspective and angle on jobs that once seemed to be going nowhere. Did your curtains not work because they did not match Corian counters that you now want to replace? You never know, maybe some idea you have in a drawer is a winner in today’s light.
http://cactus.eas.asu.edu/PARTHA/Columns/04-16-AccidentInvention.htm
