Presto Chango or Time Bandit....You be the Judge

 

I like things to work out on the first attempt.  I mean, who doesn't?  I have learned however that things rarely go that way.  When I am working on a project or painting, I usually start with an idea of where I am going.  Sometimes I have a tight idea of what I want to happen.  I don't know why I keep thinking that I can control it all.  I mean, hasn't raising two kids who are now teenagers taught me enough about expectations and outcomes?!


Herman Hesse

 Philosopher and painter, Herman Hesse is famously quoted saying, “Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.”  I try to remind myself of this idea because, for me, it rings true.  I have found in every aspect of my creative life, personal life and beyond that when I let go and allow things to develop, albeit with some guidance, everything usually works out better.   It's that darn Time Bandit.  No, not the Smokey and the Bandit bandit or the Time Bandit from Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch. (Had you guessing, didn't I? No? Oh well....)  Just when I want thing to go 'presto chango,'  the Time Bandit sneaks into my day and steals my hours and minutes.  Not getting what I am talking about?  Well, meet The Green Pot.
 

Just to give you some idea of size,
the pot is about 10 inches in length and 4 inches in wide .

I snagged this little pot at a yard sale two weeks back and I have been wanting to re-do it ever since.  It had a price of $1, but I got the guy to give it to me for 25 cents!  So I put aside a little time in the morning for a quick 'presto chango' project.  Well....instead I got .....The Time Bandit!!  Yikes!  This little pot about brought me to me knees!!  I went through 6 layers of paint until I settled on the final coating.  About midway through the process, I used a watered down black craft paint to 'antique' the pot.  Oh, the mess! ....and the ugly. 

The picture doesn't do this justice.  It was u-g-l-y!

I had made a little fabric bow while waiting for layers to dry.  I was super please with the way it turned out.  I used fabric scraps and a button that have had laying around for eons in my fabric bags. 

So after finishing the bow, I go out to see how it looks with the drying pot. Yikes!  This pot and flower did NOT look good together!

Might be hard to tell,
but the totally cute fabric flower I made
just didn't go well at all with the paint color.

While I let the paint dry completely, I cut a piece of the paper (shown above) to line in the inside of the pot.

Suddenly, I look up at the clock and couldn't believe the time I had spent on this project already!!!  NO!  The Time Bandit got me!  I couldn't control this situation in a tightly held grouping of steps and it was taking way too much time to complete.  Okay.  So I calmed myself down and remembered that sometimes when things don't work out according to plan, there is a reason.  I changed the color two more times.  (I'm not kidding.)  Let it dry completely.  Then I got out my handy dandy Black and Decker Mouse. My hero! (click here for a link to a post about my Mouse)  I went to town on this pot.  With all the layers of paint, I knew that it would take my Mouse to cut through it all.  I sanded the areas down to the original green hoping that it would help bring my flower and pot together.  The results.......


Finish pot.  Pretty sweet, I think.



Decorative paper lining the inside.

So, in the end, I was happy with the pot and the project made me remember that not everything can be controlled.  It reminded me that sometimes letting go of a tight grip and allowing something to develop is the best way of going about it.  No all was lost, I did get a few other things done while waiting for the layers of paint to dry. 

“We must be willing to let go

of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life

that is waiting for us.” 

 Joseph Campbell

-The End-

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