My next art project in the personal queue will be an acrylic painting on a large - I mean super large - unprimed canvas that I tried, and failed, to get all of the wrinkles out of. I considered continuing the quest for a wrinkle-free canvas, perhaps buying an iron after the steamer, which, though partially helpful, did not on its own result in perfection. Getting wrinkles out of thick cotton is not exactly rocket science, after all. I could have chosen to keep going, investing much more time in pursuit of a perfectly pressed surface.

And then I took a break to look at the websites of other artists (because I was not quite there with my own web design choices) and, as if the universe were listening, serendipity. I happened across a not-quite-flat, creases-still-apparent, piece of art by someone whose name I did not jot down and cannot remember because, of course, I would find her again easily. No such luck. But whoever you are, your bravery to display somewhat wrinkled pieces, large pieces, is inspiring.

I have a history with ironing out imperfection, with the tension between flawlessness and time. My grandmother ironed everything; oh yes, sheets and underwear included. My mother long held fast to a day of the week when she ironed, on an ironing board, though she was not as committed to wholesale perfection as her mother. My grandmother was a woman whose home was always neat and clean, but perfection is a tyrant. It demands vigilance and uniformity.

Always reaching for an ideal can destroy creativity. Mistakes, experimentation, fearlessness, and mess lead us to breakthroughs, to failures, to brilliance, to humility and to connection. Embrace those wrinkles on the canvas.  Don’t feel compelled to iron or steam them away. Instead, take the time for creative endeavors. Feel free to deviate from the platonic ideal of the flat, unnoticed surface. 

And if the result is a terrible mistake, so be it. One learns from one’s failures. But it might be brilliant. That’s the loveliness of allowing art to take me by the hand into the unknown. Adventure and discovery require uncertainty.