perfectly imperfect

imperfect is always more interesting than perfect, don't you think?

we all know that a few dropped stitches in a handmade scarf, or a few scuff marks on an old book make it that much more lovable. it's that way with people too. so wear your scratches and dents with pride, and be happy to be a bit scrappy around the edges. there's nothing so boring as perfection // found in frankie magazine no. 44

a couple of weeks ago, dave asked me if i could help him with a little project he wanted to try. my part of the task was simple -- to give him a conceptual word or phrase in the evening, and in the morning when he woke, he would sit down and write one page about it. i, as usual, balked at any idea of routine, or of having to 'force' anything, and happily declined to try it out too. i've always had a silly idea in my mind that things like that should feel 'inspired', and when i felt like writing, or had something to say, the words would just pour out of me, and it would be perfect. haha.a few days ago, i did try it. i hadn't really written anything for a while, and to be honest, what i wrote was probably really not great. but in writing i realized why i was reluctant in the first place -- it was this fear of being vulnerable and expecting something of myself, and the fear of finding out that i could fail. i realized, writers write. so as tough as it can be, i'm trying to stick with this new plan. now, i believe that inspiration isn't something that comes to you, but it is something that finds you working.i'm a perfectionist. i think about things in my head and work them out until they are perfect, before anyone can see them, so that i can protect myself and my ego. for a long time i've waffled back and forth about what i want this space on our blog to be. our blog started out as just an extended portfolio, a place to share our photography work, maybe snippets of something more personal when 'inspiration' struck, but i quickly realized i wanted it to be more than that, i just haven't known what or how. and this waiting for perfection, i've realized, is exactly the opposite of what i believe the world to be about. it's my slim hope that in my letting go of being perfect, i can be a help to someone else who's fighting the same monsters. i think the world's a much more beautiful place when we are honest and ourselves, and when we don't let fear stand in the way of using the voice we have. don't you think? so.... welcome to the experiment?!