One Potato, Two Potato

It's still March and it's still National Craft Month.  That written, I'm still on the pursuit for "throw back crafts."  Stuff I use to do as a kid.  This week, I chose potato stamping.  My good friend (well we've never met, someday...hint), Martha Stewart loves a good potato stamp project.  I remember doing them at home, in school and when I was a Blue Bird (the ranks below a Camp Fire Girl).  
I'm going to say this right now...Potato stamping is an easy concept.  It is an easy project.  It was me,myself, and I, who took the simple craft of carving a potato, putting some color on it and pressing it on to a surface, into a big damn deal.  Why?   The pursuit of perfection.  That's why.  I had what I thought was the perfect vision. This  perfect idea in my head of what I wanted.  I became so locked in to this idea and the out come.  I carved through at least ten potato sections, becoming increasingly unhappy with each one.  I kept thinking to myself, "This junk looks homemade.  It's looks like crap."  Finally a better thought came to me, "How can I make this closer to my vision?  Why am I so attached to perfection and the perfect outcome?"

I took a break and went to JoAnn's Fabrics for some other things I'm working on for a theater project.  In their dollor bins, I found the stamp I was trying to carve.  Not a potato, but a stamp that would help me get closer to the look I wanted for the project.   Is this "cheating"?  No it's mixed media.  My carved heart is a potato stamp.  The sponge stamp, is the modern take on an old craft.   Works for me.  I think my result is excellent, I love it!   I've learned through the years the excellence is far superior to perfection everytime. Excellence keeps me open to the possibilities, the inspiration, the joy.  Pursuit of perfection, the road to frustration, takes me away from the joy and the moment.

So, are you pursuing perfection or excellence?

Until next week...create to feel great!
22 projects complete  30 to go.

As a P.S.  this shirt got an ink mark on it, so in a way it's an upcyled project as well.  New use to a shirt that was headed to the bin.