Wednesday, September 19, 2007

How to Screw Up A Papier Mache Piece

Ready to screw up a perfectly good piece of art? Good. Let's begin...

First of all, it's helpful to start out with a nice family drama operating in the background. This will serve to distract you from your inner voice. A disagreement with a family member will work fine.

Next, you'll want to make sure to be working against a tight deadline. This notches up the pressure a bit, which will ensure maximum anxiety, thereby reducing the inability to create freely! For good measure, work only on one piece at a time. That way, the anxiety will be increased, as there will be no room for mistakes.

Okay, ready to start? Of course, you'll want to keep regular hours. But make sure to work over the allotted time, and keep going until you're feeling completely frustrated. Does the piece seem to have evolved into an un-salvageable disaster? Then you know you're on your way! (At this point, it's good to add a little something that doesn't work and can't be undone...)

Now, push on a little more....Starting to feel hopeless? No possible solutions? Good job. You're ready for that large chunk of chocolate you've got stashed in the back of the cupboard. And once you've taken a break from this exciting process, I guarantee that , when you go back and take a discerning look at your hard work later, you'll find you may not hate it as much as before!

2 comments:

A Journey Illustrated said...

That is so well written. I really enjoyed it. I was there!

melissa lanitis gregory said...

Thanks; it seemed to help me get through the process...giggling while I wrote it in my head, even as my piece got further and further away from me!
I just got back from showing it (the helmet) to the group in Truckee, and they seemed to like it. So I guess I didn't follow my own directions well enough...