Confession: Creating a new sculptural design is always a learning process. Even after 11 years at the torch, I find some designs extremely challenging. During the torching process, mistakes occur when I hit the proverbial wall.
The heat...
the challenge...
minutes ticking away...
pure exhaustion of the mind and hands...
the breaking point when one chooses to continue or surrender to the beckon of the quenching bowl.
Three hours into the first torch session for the design, I forgot to add the layered dots on the caterpillar's side. Truth be told, I am my worst critic. After the initial attempt, I reassess the approach, reorder the steps, tighten the techniques, adjust the proportions, rethink the glass color choices, and reassure myself that I can do better next time.
