When things go wrong

January is play month for me. I have given myself the entire month to work on projects I have had in my sketch book for a long time and never had the time to work on. The type of projects that may not work the first time. It tests my skills, challenges me, keeps things fresh and helps clear them out of my head so I can work on my more traditional style pieces.

I finished my marble piece. I started it in copper to see if it would work, then did it in sterling. Next, I am going to make the hole a bit bigger so the marble floats around (but will not fall out).

I finished setting my very precious red orange piece of glass. The design was not the important part here, it was using this very special piece of glass.

Lastly, I made a mess of a belt buckle. I did it in copper (better to learn on something less expensive). I love the patina on it, and my hammering worked out. But I learned two valuable things - the way I will have to set the glass is different (notice that it is broken) and on the back it needs to be a peg not a hook.

Oh and I learned exactly what I was suppose to. January is play month, and playing means that not everything will go as planned. It is not about the outcome, it truly is about the journey. When things go wrong, what did you learn along the way...