by Annie Kosterman

Created on: September 28, 2009   Last Updated: October 04, 2009

To a non-hobbiest, the imperfections do make a difference in the piece being bought or sold. But to the artist who made it, it may just be that specific imperfection that made that piece acceptable to be sold. It's the imperfection's in the pieces that make it a piece of art. It proves to the buyer that even though there is a flaw right here, there is still such skill and time put into this that it is worth the cost.

Some artists hate when their pieces come out with imperfections. To them it ruins the piece, so the artist usually will scrap it and start over. And then perhaps a consumer of art comes along and sees that "mistake" and that is to them what is art. So who's really to judge whether imperfections matter.

I, as a hobbiest and artist, prefere there not to be any imperfections in my work. But if it happens, then I am left with the decision of wether or not it is an acceptable one. Can the piece be sold with the mistake in it? Usually it can.....most of the time it would....but as the artist it is hard to display the work that you as the creator doesn't like or approve of.

I do stained glass art, crocheting and and I am very particular about my work. If I cannot sit back and look at it and go....that is nice.....then I will get rid of it or start over or something. However, one of my imperfections became my trademark in my stained glass work. I did this one piece and within the pattern was this piece about the size of a pea. (Now for those who know stained glass, that is a very difficult sized piece to work with) I was grinding it down and the grinding wheel snatched the piece from my hand and flung it across the work desk....never to be found. I decided to just leave that piece out. When I was done, it was so inconspicuous that you may not have noticed that it was missing until after you were told about it. So from then on, any of my pieces have one piece missing somewhere in the pattern.

To the buyer that missing piece may be the difference between buying it or not. But if something became important in your work, then maybe the buyer can be understanding in their decision to accept the "imperfection" as a sign of artistry.

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