Taking Advantage of Mistakes
The beauty of winging it
This monthly missive is a way for me to make connections with people interested in art and creativity in order to inspire a more satisfying and thoughtful daily life. I'm an author and editor, always on the lookout for inspiration.
It’s been a while since I’ve been so happy.
For me, it’s all about feeling curious and learning something new. It’s about pushing myself and creating something that has value vs. pure entertainment - which, while fun and worthwhile, is usually a fleeting pleasure.
When we designed this area on the second floor of our Catskills house, we had the idea of carving out a small bedroom/ study from what would otherwise have been a huge main bedroom. The wall had to go in a specific spot because we were bisecting two sets of old windows.
But the finished room was far smaller than we realized. By this I mean laughably small.
It could just about fit a single bed and a desk. We figured we’d lean into a barebones aesthetic and so we started calling it the “Monk Room.” This caught on quickly; it excused our mistake with some levity.
We loved complaining about the Monk Room.
However, the truth is, it was a sad, boring little spot.
Who would want to sleep in there? Not me! Also, you can see the room from the hallway we walk through to get to the main bedroom on the right. So maybe there was an opportunity here?
It would be fun to go over the top with this area, I thought. I spent months researching wallpaper and murals. I considered so many options it made my head spin. Then a few months ago I had the idea to google search “paulownia.”
The “Gosan no Kiri” is one of Japan's most iconic family crests (kamon), symbolizing authority and nobility. Featuring a stylized design of the paulownia tree's leaves and flowers, this crest has been associated with imperial and samurai traditions for centuries.
The paulownia crest was used by Jokichi Takamine (the first owner of Sho Fu Den), and we have quite a few wooden sculptures of the buds tucked away in the forgotten corners of this place. Below is the rehabilitated crest from what used to be the front gates and a similar design is embroidered on his dandy velvet jacket.
Searching online, what did I find but this wonderful panel which includes a flowering paulownia tree. That was enough of a thematic connection for me to get started…
This original painting design wasn’t going to fit the dimensions of the room so I asked the manufacturer, Glimmersta to play around with it. They moved flowers , added a few blue buds to the top middle area, and shifted the river.
For me it’s always about momentum
Once I get an idea in my head that I find exciting, there’s basically no stopping me. I am big on momentum.
When it comes to writing I’m a perfectionist (I can work on a novel for five years). But when I create art, I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.
Momentum is my superpower — and perhaps also my greatest weakness.
The day after I arrived in the Catskills, I dove in. None of the walls in this house are level, so I had to make sure the vertical axis of the design was straight. After finding a short cut, I did a lot of edging running a box cutter along the lip of a wallpaper smoother (instead of using painter’s tape).
I didn’t overthink it and banged it out in a few hours.
But that wasn’t good enough... I wanted MORE… I wanted over-the-top.
So I color drenched the room. Though I was pretty sloppy with prep work (happily, I did manage to avoid any disasters), within four hours I had this oeuvre to admire:
A lesson for all of us?
What can I say but this: it can be so liberating to fly by the seat of your pants.
It sounds contradictory, but lowering your standards can be the key to finding joy again in creative projects. You want whatever you make to be a quality effort, of course, but seeking perfection is a killjoy.
No, the seams aren’t perfect and yes, I would have preferred a larger room, but maybe now someone will enjoy sleeping in this tiny jewel of a room.
A massive transformation… and more thoughts on PROCESS
Stay tuned for some insights on the biggest creative project I’ve ever undertaken. Here’s a tease:
What are you reading?
I’m so tired at night I haven’t been reading. Both Twist by Column McCann and Heartwood by Amity Gage are lying on my bed, unopened. What have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
What an enjoyable letter! Thank you for sharing your creative life.
I, too, have been known as a perfectionist. I have this note to myself: Lower your expectations. Lower them again.
I just finished reading "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel and "Good Morning, Midnight" by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Both are "end of the world" type of situations. It reminds me that everything can change just as quickly as snow falls from the sky. Sometimes I need the reminder.
I'm currently reading "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman ... I love how this man tells his stories.
Love what you’ve been accomplishing at Sho fu Den and in your life! The creative content you are collecting with this incredible transformation is going to be big when you put it all together!!