It’s not uncommon for we humans to strive for perfection. We can drive ourselves insane and spend our lifetime trying to achieve it. As David Savage would say, “perfection is a terrible taskmaster”.
The creative people over at The New York Times created a program that reads their articles and scans for haikus. They choose the best and publish them on a Tumblr page. This one, I think, is… gee, dare I say it? Perfection!
I keep my favourite quotes on a page titled Quotables.
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 
Trying not to take it to the point of not caring about mistakes or doing shoddy work, I actively try and evaluate everything I’m doing on a project and decide when I’ve achieved a level of completion that I’m happy with.
When I put the first coat of finish on a piece, and spot the tiniest spot of tearout, I don’t freak out and take it all off and pull out the scraper. I’m working with wood. It is, by nature, imperfect. So am I. How can an imperfect being take an imperfect medium and create perfection? They can’t. So is it worth the hassle and fuss of scraping a spot the size of a pencil eraser head most people will likely never even notice? In most cases, no, it isn’t. FYI, it’s going to get dinged up and scarred in due time, anyway.
Again, I don’t want it to ever take it to the point of doing shoddy work; I always strive to do the best I can. Perfection is my goal. But I understand it is an unattainable one.
Excellent job highlighting the quote, Chris. Hope the new job is going well.
Well said, Ethan. I’m enjoying my new job, thank you. And learning lots, too!
Chris
Oh! I knew what I was saying sounded familiar…
http://thekiltedwoodworker.com/kilted-woodworking/
Perfection is not attainable, but if you chase perfection you can catch excellence – Vince Lombardi
I like this quote, too.
Chris
Hi Chris! It’s been a while I know ;) Glad to be back reading my favourite blogs. Good words here, and happy to discover the Times Haiku, what a great idea!