Aurora Z.

I've always been the kind of person who starts a project before figuring out how to finish it.

Painting a landscape? Sure. Have I ever painted one before? No. Do I own the right brushes? Also no. But there's a perfectly good YouTube tutorial, and how difficult could it possibly be?

Very, apparently.

My relationship with art has always been a little chaotic. I like trying new things, especially things I'm not particularly good at. There's something satisfying about starting with absolutely no idea what you're doing and slowly getting to the point where you have some idea what you're doing.

The problem is that the process leaves behind a lot of stuff.

Half-finished paintings. Sketches with questionable proportions. Clay pieces that look nothing like the reference photos. At one point, I had an entire drawer dedicated to projects I was convinced I'd eventually fix.

I never did.

The funny thing is, I actually liked some of them. There was a painting where I accidentally mixed too much blue into the sky, making the entire scene look like it was about to be swallowed by a thunderstorm. Not what I was going for, but honestly? Kind of cool.

Still, it went into the drawer.

When I first heard about Wabi Sabi, I wasn't entirely convinced. Who would want something that didn't turn out right? Especially when there are people out there making much better versions of the exact same thing?

But then I started looking through my old projects again.

Some were genuinely terrible. I stand by that assessment. Others, though, weren't nearly as bad as I remembered. They were just different from what I'd originally imagined.

I'd been judging everything I made against something that existed only in my head.

Somewhere along the way, I'd started confusing unexpected with unsuccessful.

That's what I like about Wabi Sabi. It doesn't ask artists to stop improving or pretend that every mistake is a masterpiece. It simply gives the pieces made along the way a chance to be appreciated for what they are.

I'm still learning. My sketches are still full of eraser marks, my paintings don't always cooperate, and I have absolutely no intention of showing anyone some of my earlier attempts.

But maybe the next time something turns out differently than planned, I'll think twice before putting it in that drawer.

It's getting pretty full anyway.

I hope to publish some of my work with you guys during the next launch (if I don't procrastinate 😅 😅); See you then!