Turning disappointments into adventures

We all try things that fail, or don't quite work.  I learned a valuable lesson from a piece that I submitted to a jurying.  The jurors (2) didn't like the piece but couldn't explain what it was that they didn't like about it.  Rather than being devastated about their comments, I took the piece home and hung it on the wall in my studio.  I didn't mind the piece, but I wanted to understand where they were coming from.  For a month I walked past it and thought about it.  Eventually, I removed some manufactured crystals out of the piece and replaced them with tumbled rocks.  That was it.  The man made, machined aspect of the crystals jarred against the subtle nature of the piece and made it uncomfortable.  The rocks complimented the earthiness of the work.  Suddenly I had a sculpture that went from ok to incredible. 

Turning lemons into lemonade is just another way of looking at life.