Perfectionism , or not

[NUBBLET]

I think of myself as a perfectionist , and was wondering are the majority of lampworkers the same . I was thinking that this could possibly be a draw we all feel to work it . It is kinda you alone, only you are to blame .... just curious , I realize it may be odd to be curious of such a thing , but your thought would be appreciated , Thanks.

[WORLD FAMOUS]

I'm definately a perfectionist. I need to find that article that compared it to a disease...made me feel imperfect about trying to be perfect all the time...lol...j/k.

I beat myself up WAY WAY WAY too much over little stuff that doesn't go smoothly. Expect to hear me complaining about ulcers in the next 10 years, that's for sure.

[Just Another Wizard]

im definently a perfectionist in my slack sort of way.

[Anakin's Glass Eye]

Being a Virgo, I have no choice in the matter. Perfectionist always.

Sometimes it is my own living hell, but sometimes results in supreme satisfaction. The chicks really dig it, hehe, if you know what I mean.

[CosmicGlassInc]

I am a perfectionist, virgo as well. I tend to anaylze everthing to death, it drives my girly crazy.lol

[medicatedMELTDOWN]

i guess im the 3rd virgo in this row but i wouldnt say im too perfectionistic unless its involving something i really care about

[WORLD FAMOUS]

Shit, I'm Virgo too. September 4th. I might be wrong, but I think Wizard (who posted below me up a few posts) is too? Maybe it was his brother Ryan. There are 2 other virgos in the shop I work in too. I wonder what the percentage of glassblowers are Virgo's if there are so many perfectionists among us.

[N!pples]

I'm a capricorn and think I am... But often I find myself getting frustrated and Just getting pissed the next day after the piece isnt perfect.... Ahhhhhhh fooking glass. If i didnt hate it so much I wouldnt love it.... :pimp:

[suzee]

Selective perfectionist here......only time I'm prone to the perfectionist trait is concerning my own glasswork and spelling (I cringe when I type that....). Now, please note, this is ONLY pertaining to my OWN stuff (glass and spelling), no one else. I'm an Aquarian......and I value creativity over cleanliness.

Peace,
Suzee

[CosmicGlassInc]

Crazy, september 1st is mine.

[Fire on the mountain]

im def a perfectionist, not that i come close to achieveing that in my work...One thing i love about glass is there is no deterieration of the medium. It is either totally broken, or in the perfect state that it was created in. I think thats very appealing to perfectionists.

[Dog Squeez]

Perfectionist here, also a Virgo. Glass can get scratched or chipped, no longer
perfect, but not broken.

Edit for missing comma.

[IrieGuy05]

I've been thinking about 2 ways of making stuff for awhile. The 1st way being to make everything and use every section you make weather it looks like ass or not. Not to be sloopy but more to make it so that every section you make is perfect. The 2nd way being to make lots of sections and use only the best looking ones. I'd think that you would care less about individual sections this way and your sections wouldn't be as tight everytime. I've been thinking that the 1st way would be interesting and seeing ugly jacked up sections in a peice would make me strive to make every section as nice as it could be.

Oh yeah props to the 4 people who said they weren't perfectionists, keep it janky yall.. :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin

[FredLight]

Perfectionist, yes. Libra (Oct 8). The thought of making something not perfect keeps me from starting projects. I have to let it go for awhile until I get rollin', then I can work on making it perfect.
I know there's some pattern to who becomes a glassblower, what it is i don't know. Virgos, Lefties, bad spellers, hermits, etc.
List which one you are.

Fred.

[lbjvg]

Perfection is the goal but 'good enough' is acceptable to me in practice - you gotta cut your losses and move ahead because there isn't enough time to be perfect.

I'm a leftie Aquarius bad speller hermit with no depth perception.

- Jim

[onion]

solid lefty, been becoming a hermit since i started blowing though.... gotta get out of the shop more, leo, but horoscopes are bullshit....

[Loïc]

virgo too.. perfectionnist as hell...

[Mr. Smiley]

Add another perfectionist Virgo to the list. I can look at every piece I make and pick something bad out... even if I'm really proud of it.

9-11 <------- Doesn't that suck! :lol

[somberbear]

I strive for perfection but i am accepting of my mistakes.

[Aussie]

I didn't know how to vote.
Perfectionism is a funny thing, people go to art school and paint in the abstract because they can't paint anything else for cheese. Personally im all for the approach that artists like picasso took. Picasso was an awesome painter in the classical style and from this whole grounding his abstractions expanded. In the same sense I believe glass should evolve, because only through perfection can there be enough control to actually become imperfect on purpose. Another example of this is the approach traditional japanese potters take. The master will create a perfectly round rice bowl, but right at the end he gives it a slight tap to make it slightly out of the round. In this way it becomes apparent that perfect beauty also has a perfect flaw.

In this sense I AM a perfectionist but through deliberation I AM NOT a perfectionist.

On the other hand, I believe, technique is uncompromisable, technique must be perfect, technique must have no flaw at all, otherwise the maker sacrifices not only the integrity of the piece, but the integrity of him- or herself.

Never accept your mistakes, never become complacent in your abilities, but learn from your mistakes and keep yourself developing, working with glass is not just a thing, glass is not just a medium to be conquered, it's a journey of self-discovery, it's a way of life.

and now im gonna be quiet before i get too zen and scare everyone.

[earlbacher]

capricorn, lefty... perfectionist as well..... hell , you havent seen any of my work yet? have you?? gotta make sure its up to par before i post here....
hell, i quit drawing 10 years ago because i thought it wasnt good enough, though you'd get alot of people to disagree with me on that...

[CripSkillz]

I know where every single jacked spot is on any piece i make even if its just a twist or wrinkle.. and I always spend way to long on most everything..

[ALIEN!]

yeah I go nuts over shit being perfect. Thats why I dont make much multi sectional stuff. Matter of fact, been stickin to marbles lately.

[Frankie Hess]

I am yet to make a piece I was completely happy with. But I have no doubts they are coming.

[ALIEN!]

you can send em all my way frankie:)

[lucidvisions]

It's probably why I don't really own much of my own glass art. I still got some of my paintings but those are the only pieces that I'm not dissatisfied with. I must say it does suck to look at a pice and see the flaws instead of all the hardwork. Usually though after a piece is done, I'm pretty much done with it and thinking about the next one and how it can be better. It's funny that Lance will still pull things out of my garbage pail. When I get older and wiser I'll hit Lance back up for those "garbage" pieces, lol.

Josh

[jedi glassworks]

I am a Virgo, but not a perfectionist. I notice ALL inperfections in my work, and try to fix every one of them, but I don't beat myself up over it.

Oh yea, and my theory about so many Virgos is, we're all happy love children. You know, 9 months after the holiday seasons.

Bryan

[Izzy Spun]

I'm a capricorn, rightie, non hermit, selective perfectionist with excellent spelling. i strive for perfection, but understand that it is not always possible. I see only the mistakes in my work when I look at it. This helps drive me to make the next one that much better.

[bifwitsis209]

everything i make sucks....i could do better.......but then i sell it anyway...what does that make me....

[naughty pirate wench]

Leo
Rightie
Careful speller
Hermit wannabe
Accepting of imperfection in others but not myself

[Bo Diddles]

Another perfectionist Virgo here.
By the way, this severely affects the time I take - I don't think I could ever be a prodo pipe maker (not that you can't be perfect AND fast).

[RaindropRising]

Capricorn, not that I really follow those things...

I notice my flaws, but don't beat myself up over them unless I'm doing glasswork. Glass gets me really worked up, I've been pushing myself a lot with it lately.

[nafglass]

Virgo, perfectionist. I always do the best I can but often it's not good enough in my eyes. Exactly why I have no problem parting with 95% of my work. I feel that in some cases striving for perfection can set apart a fine artist from a craftsman.

[Royal]

virgo here, seems to explain it.

[B-Rye-oNeR]

perfectionist yes, astrolligy no!

[Robert Mickelsen]

Sometimes you define perfectionism... sometimes it defines you. Either way the goal is the best work you can make, however you manage to get there. I answered 'yes', simply because the alternative is unacceptable to me.

- RAM

[STROKER]

as an artist i say i strive to make a perfect piece but after 14 years of building what i consider to be my best work, i still have yet to do it.

as humans i think we are foolong ourselves to think we can ever achieve this perfect piece (to us that is). after all perfect means every single thing went as planned and no signs of a detour anywhere when looking over the work. yeah right! i cant tell you how many times i have had to adjust my piece accordingly while building it.

however on the flipside, my collectors would tell you otherwise and that is what perfection feels like to me.

when a person feels good enough about your art that they will spend top dollar and then make damn sure it goes into a very prominant spot in their house or houses for all their friends to see. i think that is as close to perfection as i can ask for.

if they dont see the flaws, "then it is not flawed at all". i sure as hell am not going to point them out to them.

if we the artist did not see our own flaws, then we obviously quit paying attention somewhere along the line.

if i was a betting man(which i am. i play texas hold em several times a month) i would say no matter what artist you ask. they will all tell you they have yet to build a perfect piece.
that is what motivates us to build another. if we had all the answers, then we would stop asking questions.

o.k. i am done rambling. i need another cup of coffee to clear my head from what went down last night. hmm, sounds like a song.......

later, jay

[DanBrooks]

i am not a perfectionist.