For our online group, we were challenged to utilize the color orange. It is heading into Fall after all. So I dug out all my acrylic markers and decided to play, test, and see which ones truly showed up well on black paper. I utilized these words from Joan Houston:
We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released!
– Joan Houston
I was so enthralled in using all the orange inks, that I actually misspelled the word. I forgot the letter A – the fifth letter in the word. So I had decisions to make. 1) Let out the cuss words and start over. 2) Let out the cuss words, pause, and see if there is a way to fix it. 3) Do something different and throw this piece away. I chose option 2. But how to fit an A into the word after I have already started the O? At that moment I had a pumpkin colored orange marker in my hand, which made me think about turning the O into a pumpkin shape, add the A back in, then make the same ‘mistake’ with the R…and now it looks intentional. Whew! (At least I think it look intentional now!?!)
Sometimes mistakes cause us to stop, think, and find a way to salvage or improve our project by thinking differently. I’m actually very pleased with how this one turned out, and am glad that pumpkin marker inspired me to keep trying. It must be hard sometimes to be the orange marker, it’s not the most utilized color and not the most popular. Yet it adds value, makes us think of Fall, leaves turning and all sorts of orange pumpkins.
Let me encourage you to think before you chuck your next mistake. Maybe find an uncommon tool or color to inspire your creative solution. I can gladly say ‘thank you organic marker‘ you made my piece better than if I had not made the mistake in the first place.
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