The path to growth lies outside of your comfort zone, and we have stepped far outside of ours many times. We are applying for The Art of Metalsmithing Exposed exhibition at The Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So many of the top names in Metalsmithing are going to be in this show that we are a little intimidated, but we surely won't get into the show if we don't apply.
We are collaborating on a chased copper pedestal bowl 14" wide of 14 gauge copper - Walk in the Woods". The pedestal is 14 gauge mild steel engraved by hand. You see the inspiration on the left below and the drawings and metal on the right. This is the largest and most detailed piece we have ever attempted.
If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram you have probably seen pictures of what we are doing. We started this collaborative project February 2, 2019 and as of March 23, 2019 we are still working on it every day. We have learned so much more than just how to handle heavy metal and large pieces or how to plan a large project and work together.
This is not the first time we have stepped out of that comfort zone. In the 1990's we totally rebuilt a 50 ft. lobster trawler and lived on it for 12 years then took a cruise from New England through the Great Lakes and Canadian waterways then down the Mississippi eventually ending up on the Gulf Coast.
During this trip we bought a waterfront lot and built the house we are living in by hand by ourselves. We never actually thought of hiring someone else to build it. After working on the boat, building a house was within our comfort zone.
Along our journey outside of our comfort zones we have learned a lot!
- Plan, but be flexible
- You will fail
- You will succeed
- The best way to fail is to not even try
- You might not make it, but you probably will
- You can cope with what seems like a disaster
- You will grow in skill and knowledge
- Even if you don't succeed you learn
- You will find chaos, exhaustion and discouragement
- It's OK to learn along the way
- Document every step of your journey
- It will take longer and cost more than you thought it would
- After this, most anything is pretty easy.
- Perfection is unlikely, but try for greatness
- There is more than one way to reach your goal
- Everyone knows how it should be done better than you do