Win Some. Lose Some. Learn.
I don't know about you, but my life makes a pretty good habit of reminding me how human and imperfect I am. When I'm riding high and feeling like I have it all together, something follows that knocks me down to the ground super fast.
And for some reason I always expect it to happen, but never see it coming.
My latest hit-the-ground moment - screen printing paper in my shop.
You want to talk about an experience that made me question my future as a screen printer - this was it. Starting 2 weeks ago with wedding invitations and ending with my entry for Pedal Art, the "failure" moments piled up one after the other.
To keep a long story short, there were a few choice words, objects gone air-born, beers drank and tears — lots of tears.
And then I reached my breaking point. I found myself sitting in the middle of the driveway one night, looking up at the moon (crying) and thinking to myself that I have absolutely no business pursuing a career in screen printing. I told myself that I should pack it up, sell my equipment and just do the 9-5 life and be done with it. Pretty dramatic, I know.
Shortly after that, I realized something that hit me in the best, deepest way possible. This moment was not worth these feelings and I needed to let it go - along with my pride and self expectations.
I was here, feeling these things because I wasn't willing to accept the fact that, on my own, I lacked the skill and knowledge to handle these two situations. The reality was that I took at least 6 months off from printing, only printed 2 other posters that had more than 2-colors, and I was working with a set-up that hadn't had the kinks worked out yet.
What I needed to do in this moment was put my pride aside and allow people step in (who had been offering to help me for weeks), troubleshoot and teach me how to work through these difficulties. I needed to be okay with the fact that I'm still learning the process and my equipment. And I needed to understand that these failures taught me a wealth of knowledge as I continue to move forward.
So, I'm not selling my equipment and it's not time to pack it up.
But it is time for me to be okay with losing a little and learning more so that I can win later.
I want to give a huge shout out to Elena Leon for always being my person in every way imagineable and Shawn Lykken for stepping in and printing this year's poster.
I also want to extend a thank you to Apiram Raengpradub, Jami Milne, Kristin Turk, my parents and Joany Yi for their feedback and critique during the design process of my Pedal Art design.
Make sure to stop by The Des Moines Social Club tomorrow (Friday 5/20) for the opening of the 2016 Pedal Art Show. Lots of talented folks participating this year and a great opportunity to support local art and your love for bicycles.