By "Sage" at NewYorkAmerica.com

Why Becoming an Imperfectionist Makes You Successful and Happy
by Christine Kane

“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”
~ Julia Cameron

How much stuff do you think about doing?

How many things would you love to try but stop yourself because you don’t know how to begin?

Do you avoid projects because of the pressure to do them well?

If so, feel free to join me and some of my most successful friends in our exclusive club of very special and talented people:

We call ourselves the Imperfectionists!

What’s an Imperfectionist?

• An Imperfectionist is often a recovering perfectionist.

• An Imperfectionist knows that getting something done is better than sitting back and waiting to do it perfectly.

• An Imperfectionist knows that being a Perfectionist is simply an excuse NOT to take action.

• An Imperfectionist congratulates herself for taking small steps.

• An Imperfectionist buys herself flowers when she accomplishes something - even if it’s not quite up to her ego’s high standards.

• An Imperfectionist knows that getting a scary thing done IS the reward. Not the kudos or adoration.

You Might Need to Become an Imperfectionist if…

• You tell yourself you need to get “just a little more information” before you’ll try something.

• You have a case of the “Used-to-Be’s.” (”I used to be so good at this!” Or “I used to be so thin!” Or, “I used to write everyday and now look…”)

• Your mantra to the world is: “I’m just so overwhelmed! There’s too much to do! It’s so hard to be me!”

• You call friends and co-workers to get sympathy for how hard it is to accomplish your goals and dreams. They often agree, citing how special you are because you have been given so much talent – and how it must be quite a burden.

• You spend more than one hour per day on Facebook, watching television, or not fully engaging in other addictive activities.

• At the end of every year, you wonder why you never seem to move any further towards your dreams.

• You are waiting for your POTENTIAL to finally kick in.

Why Becoming an Imperfectionist Makes You Successful and Happy

Being an Imperfectionist is an Intention.

When you become an Imperfectionist, you finally recognize your ego voice exactly for what it is: Your own personal Success Prevention Expert.

When you become an Imperfectionist, you finally realize how many Success Prevention Experts exist in the world.

When you become an Imperfectionist, you lower the bar – or better yet, remove it altogether. You can then create in the moment without any grade or standard. Ironically, this allows for such freedom and joy that you might end up doing a great job. (Or at least having a great time!)

When you become an Imperfectionist, you place your creative attention on the project or activity itself. You don’t waste it on obsessing about the outcome. (This paradoxically leads to a higher chance of greatness, and a definite outcome of happiness!)

When you become an Imperfectionist, you get things done imperfectly. You then learn that you can tweak and fix and try again. This process makes you Unstoppable.

When you become an Imperfectionist, you finally understand that there are no mistakes. Just judgments.

Becoming an Imperfectionist doesn’t mean you don’t become a master of your craft or your passion - but that’s not the starting goal.

How to Become an Imperfectionist

1 - Imperfectly pick one thing you keep telling yourself you want to do.

2 - If you read #1 and think, “I can’t possibly pick just one! There’s too many!” then do not proceed until you have picked just one.

3 - Get a timer, and set it to 55 minutes.

4 - Walk away from your computer right now and spend 55 minutes doing that very activity.

5 - Repeat #4 again tomorrow.

6 - Repeat #4 again every day after that until the item is complete.

7 - Celebrate the item’s completion with chocolate, flowers, or a manicure.

8 - Go back to #1 and start over.

An Imperfect List of Things You Can Do Imperfectly

• Imperfect Writing

• Imperfect Meditation

• Imperfect Yoga

• Imperfect Romance

• Imperfect Hiking

• Imperfect Vacations

• Imperfect Scrapbooking

• Imperfect Cooking

• Imperfect Dinner Parties

• Imperfect Bowling

Add your own items to this list as needed. Find a way to let yourself experience them without judgment. And listen to this recovering perfectionist when she tells you that your success is guaranteed when you live by this principle!

Disclaimer: The preceding article should be ignored by the following people:

Brain surgeons.
Commercial airline pilots.
Skydivers.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at http://www.christinekane.com/.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog - Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous - at ChristineKane.com/blog.

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A note about Sage’s cup: I found this on his blog. I don’t even know his last name, and am not sure about the first name! But you can see and read about his efforts in creating this utterly beautiful silver cup depicted above. An imperfectionist’s finest work!

Art Jewelry Magazine sent me a newsletter today, and it contains a video with a young lady using a jeweler’s saw - for the first time! She is an editor at Art Jewelry Magazine, and was testing out a new product from Thomas Mann and being a good sport about it, too. This is particularly relevant to me and my students at the Indianapolis Art Center, as we have been working on jeweler’s saw techniques the past couple of “Jewelry Smorgasbord” classes - listening for the “ping” of success! Watch, learn, and enjoy!

P.S. I don’t especially like the body positioning shown in the video - I think the body should be squared to the saw frame, and the left wrist should not be at such an acute angle. Also, the strokes are on the short side. I always remind my students that they paid for the whole saw blade and to feel free to USE  the whole saw blade! However, this is a beginner after all - she’s still learning AND my techniques are not the same as every instructor’s technique…

Note: Mann teaches “no lubricant on the blade” in his classroom!

Circle City Industrial Complex

Me and my two friends, Bonnie Ramirez and Jari Sheese, are on the final countdown to the grand opening of our new collaborative space called Flame Art Studios.

It’s been quite a journey, a little bit of drama, and a lot of fun! The opening will happen this Friday, February 5, 2010 at 1125 Brookside Ave, Indianapolis, in conjunction with IDADA’s First Friday Art Tour. We have 5,000 square feet of the 500,000 at the Circle City Industrial Complex on the Near Eastside of Indy. It’s kind of a hidden secret of the Near Eastside. Slowly, over the past couple of years, artists have been entering the space, carving out niches, and making themselves a studio home. I’m pleased and proud to be a part of this, particularly since I live in the neighborhood now, too.

Come on out Friday night and visit all of us!

wUG LAKU’s STUDIO & gARAGE, featuring painting and collage of Kate Oberreich in a show called “Undertow”

Martha Nahrwold’s Five Seasons

Matthew Davey, paintings and sculpture

Drew Cadaver and Jerod Kienitz, Cadaverous Muse Studio

Mike Lyons, installation artist and sculptor

The Pastry Station, European pastries by Pilar Lopez

And check out the nice article by Tricia Meyer with the online newspaper Examiner.com!

See you Friday!

Flame Art Studios is Nancy Lee, Bonnie Ramirez and Jari Sheese

1. When the hammer hits exactly where you intended it to, with exactly the right amount of force. And it’s a brand new hammer, too.
2. The bezel really fits and you aren’t in denial.
3. You find a 2” x 6” sheet of 18-gauge silver you forgot you bought. (this actually happened to me in December!)
4. No firescale.
5. The ring fits the finger you made it for.
6. No scratches.
7. You put exactly the perfect size solder chip right where it needed to be.
8. The eagle eyed cat looks right at the 3mm faceted stone you just dropped on the floor until you pick it up.
9. The sawblade doesn’t break when you know it really should have.
10. The phone call that results when your best friend e-mails you a photo of the piece she just finished at exactly the same time you were e-mailing her a piece you just finished.

11. Helen Driggs is Managing Editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, and an accomplished metalsmith, toolhound and teacher, and I’m a big fan. I love her Flashcard e-mails. I’ve made some of her projects (see bracelet image, right). Her is often the only newsletter I consistently read, word for word. I always learn something, and often get a smile just from Helen’s down-to-earth, soul-filling writing style.

12. Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine is the mother ship of Flashcard. It’s a hold-it-in-your-hands paper periodical full of tips, tricks, inspiration and techniques for lapidarists and jewelry artists of all skill levels. Metalsmiths and rockhounds covet issues the way some covet the beautifully photographed and written National Geographic magazines. In particular, the January 2010 issue contains so much good stuff that my issue is already dog-eared, bent up, underlined with ink multiple times and highlighted for good measure. I’ve thought of placing it on my forehead before retiring in the hopes of awakening the next morning, imbued by osmotic effect with all the wonderments of knowledge contained in the ink.

It’s a great day when a metalsmith can appreciate any one of these ten + two things. What makes YOU smile?

Hand dyed and woven wrap by Carrie May

Blue and White Glass Vase by Judie Sloan

I was smart to get fired from my old job so I could do what I truly love. Who knew I had the power to create a huge economic downturn, cause China to corner the market on steel, drive up construction costs and practically bring the construction industry to a halt in my neck of the woods, rendering me #1 on the “most expendable employee” list as “last hired, first fired” rules dictate?

Anyhoo, back on the topic of this show, all you hafta do is click on the “events and workshops” tab and you can see a pretty little poster I made for the show, and you’ll also see the other stuff I’ve got going on in December. Well, most of it anyway. I haven’t told you that my mom has a big birthday tomorrow. And I’m not going to.

Another cool thing about the show is that a portion of the proceeds are being donated to Fresh Start of Indiana, helping victims of domestic violence get a fresh start after leaving their abusers. Not only can you pick out a handmade gift for yourself or a special someone, you will also be helping people start over again.

Mindy Raber McCain's Little Purses of Handwoven Fabric

Rings of Saturn Earrings

And, as luck would have it, there was a lot to see in the building. Brilliant sculptor and painter Matt Davey was open for the first time since spring, Pilar Lopez from the Pastry Station served up her popular artisan pastries, Martha Nahrwald’s Five Seasons show with Bonnie Ramirez and Carolyn Mabry, Cadaverous Muse with Drew Cadaver and Jerod Kienitz, Dianbaar African fair trade goods from Kimberly Harwell, and Exodus Refugee Immigration Center with their fall open house featuring live music, food courtesy of Jeff Reuter of J.S. Reutz Cafe on 10th St. (inside the Boner Center), we had it going on! Enjoy the photos. As always, your comments are appreciated!

If you missed the show, you are still in luck. Open hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 12:30pm - 3:30pm. Show hangs through November.

Alan Revere with two of his pliers

Tools/Materials

Annealed* wire in desired size/gauge

Wood dowel rod

Drill bit slightly larger than wire

Masking tape

Sharpie marker

Jeweler’s saw & blade

Shears or flush cutting pliers

Jeweler’s apron or towel (to catch rings)

Bench pin (optional)

If you have purchased a softer wire you will probably not need to anneal it, especially if it is in a smaller gauge, such as 20, 19 or 18. (*Annealing is heating metal with a torch or in a kiln to soften, making it easier to work with). If your wire is sterling silver and/or is springy, anneal it before attempting to make jump rings with it - it will save you time and frustration, and possibly the skin on your fingers!

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cut dowel rod down in size to about 10-12″ long. Mark a spot about 1/4″ down the rod. Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the wire you wish to use, drill a hole all the way through the dowel.
2. Gently smooth out the wire. Insert one end of wire into hole and just through to the other side. Wrap wire around dowel, keeping it perfectly perpendicular. Continue winding, making sure the wire remains tight and as close to the wind before it as possible. When you have wound as many rings as needed, plus a few extra, cut off any excess while maintaining your grip on the wire.
3. Continuing to grip the wire, put some making tape over the rings you have made, all along one side. Draw a straight line down the wires, parallel with the dowel, to be used as a cutting guide.
4. Place towel in your lap, or put on your apron. Position yourself at your work surface with the dowel in your non-dominant hand, resting against the bench pin or the work surface, and jeweler’s saw in your dominant hand, lubricated saw blade ready to go.
5. Place the blade at the top of the dowel and cut right down through the wood to the first ring. Using pliers, remove the first ring. Pull back some of the tape, allowing the rings below to slide up towards the top of the dowel, and saw carefully through the rings (on one side of the dowel only!) following the line you drew.
6. Using two flat-nosed pliers, one in either hand, bend the jump rings slightly back and forth, until the ends of the rings meet perfectly. Remove any rough edges as needed, so rings meet flush. If soldering, wash rings with a little bit of Dawn dish washing liquid first.

Now you have made a pile of perfect jump rings!

Assorted Jump Rings

Scottish Rite Cathedral

Fun, and I mean FUN was had at the Midwest Fashion Week runway show benefiting the Autism Society of America. Berny Martin sure did shine with his massive production that took place at the Scottish Rite Cathedral at 8pm Saturday. Catherine Fritsch, talented Indianapolis fashion designer and owner of Sweet Revenge Lingerie, coordinated with me and several other local artists as we showed our work on the lovely mezzanine area overlooking the mile-long (okay, it SEEMED like a mile long) runway.

Berny Martin takes a stroll down the runway

After a bit of understandable confusion of models, outfits, vendors and placements, I finally met my stunning jewelry model Kasi Shelton. Catherine set me up with Kasi, and informed me that she could wear anything I could dream up, and that I could choose complimentary clothing - instead of the other way around. Wow! That was different, refreshing, exciting - scary. In that order.

Beautiful Kasi Shelton models jewelry by Nancy Lee

So, I chose the new Rings of Saturn neckpiece and earrings I had just created, then selected the dress from the many options Catherine provided.

After doing that (and waiting until the last possible moment) I decided to add a bunch more rings to the necklace, and to the earrings. So I cut a couple dozen new rings in a couple of sizes and started adding them to the necklace…and you know what? I didn’t like it. So I took almost all of them back off again, eventually settling on the addition of two. Yeah, just two. And two more for each earring. Guess the original design was pretty good.

Kasi Shelton flaunts the Rings of Saturn

What do YOU think?

Comments from real people are always appreciated…

Rings of Saturn Neckpiece, photo by Paul D'Andrea

]]> http://www.ndesignsmetal.com/2009/10/20/photos-from-nancy-lee-at-midwest-fashion-week/feed/ http://www.ndesignsmetal.com/2009/10/11/15th-annual-studio-showcase-a-success/ http://www.ndesignsmetal.com/2009/10/11/15th-annual-studio-showcase-a-success/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:55:32 +0000 admin http://www.ndesignsmetal.com/?p=604 I’m so pleased that this years Studio Showcase was so well attended - a success! Here in Indianapolis, the weather changes every ten minutes, and Thursday, October 9 started out dreary. As the day went on, rain continued and I wondered how that would affect attendance at my favorite show of the fall season.

Nancy Lee's Little Display

I set off for the Van Sciver residence, the site of the show.  I parked and upon opening my car door, noticed two other car doors opening at the same time. The ladies wanted to know if it was showtime!!! It was still 30 minutes away, yet I invited them to come in anyway. After all, it is Indiana and one learns about Hoosier hospitality, and it was raining. That small event set the tone for the weekend. The door continued to open Thursday evening and Friday to soggy yet enthusiastic shoppers. Saturday dawned clear and warm, and more smiles were in store for all of us.  The show closed at 5PM, with some last-minute shoppers quickly scurrying through the rooms, trying to see everything as the happy yet weary artists packed away the displays.

Studio Showcase 2009

A bellwether for the financial turnaround? Overall, sales were better than last year. But the greatest thing was the enthusiasm had returned to our fans. Conversations were positive. People were smiling and laughing, and speaking of family times, leisure times, jobs, and friends. Right here in the middle of middle-America, I got to witness my first solid sign of better days ahead.  Do I care what the political pundits say? Sometimes. I live on main street USA and I’m an artist. I have to wait a long time for the trickle-down theory to trickle down to me and my familiars. I felt a few golden drops this weekend…thanks to fans like you. And, I appreciate you. Thank you!

Nancy Shopping

Studio Showcase 2009