The lessons of repetition

Making one object many times is empowering. An object that takes an hour to make the first time on the lathe can take 15 minutes by the fifth. This has been my life. Making cabinets and turning spindles over and over again. Now I am learning to sew. I make the same pattern five times then change or add something. The fifth shirt or pants are made better and faster than the first. I have learned about the process, the material and my own patience (or lack of it).

As a beginner, we must know that it might not be perfect the first time we try. If it were perfect, there would be no reason to continue. I believe that each cabinet, object, print, shirt or spindle I make is a prototype for the next one I will make. We are literally working toward the rendition of an object we will make in the future, when we have the skills. We are practicing now.

It is easy to give up, and hard to continue when we have failure. But if we don't have failure there would be no way to know what we have achieved. I personally need the comparison, to see and feel the progression. The more I make the more empowered and excited I become. Repetition is the practice of a craft person.

This was published in the Studio newsletter. You can read more here.