NaMoPaiMo day nine

I love NaMoPaiMo, but it's a lot of work, and somedays I just don't have the spoons. Today is one of those days, so instead of the normal recap, I'm turning it over to the NaMoPaiMo Champion of the Day, Maddie Miller.

NaMoPaiMo Day Nine

by Maddie Miller

Day 9: a breakthrough! WARNING: Long story ahead 😅

For the past two days, I've been unhappy with my progress. The color was on track, but my horse was just so *grainy*. A small part of me said, "Push through, it'll be easier!" But then I remembered a series of events from work earlier that day (Feb 8th).

I work in a pathology lab, and if our work is not just right, we jeopardize a patient diagnosis. Fortunately, most mistakes can be fixed before the case is sent out to the doctors. Yesterday, I was tasked with teaching our student how to turn a block of human skin tissue into a thinly sliced section on a microscope slide. She was incredibly timid and spent so much time worrying about whether or not her first attempt would be perfect. I told her, "If your first try isn't so great, it's not a big deal. We can always keep trying until it is perfect!"

And that's when I had a major moment of mental clarity: as an artist, it is MY job to do my customs justice to the absolute best of my ability. At the time, my NaMo pony was simply NOT my best work; in fact, even my husband commented on its grain and overall mediocrity.

So, last night, I made a list of all the steps I took to get to where I was. I used the same sanding sticks, same sanding blocks, same primer, soap, water for preparation. I used the exact same primer as so many models before. I prime in the garage, and the weather in Florida is very forgiving this time of year.

I thought long and hard about how I managed to get to that color. Same paints, same pastels, same brushes. Ultimately, I realized that my base coat was a very pale color, and the first layer of pastels used was quite dark. That most likely caused the problem!

I weighed my options. I could 1) buff it out, wash, and hope for the best. Or 2) sand it all down and start over. Number 1 was not effective, so I took a deep breath and started the prepping process all over.

That first contact with the sandpaper made my blood run cold - how could I possibly intentionally destroy what I worked so hard to create? But shortly afterward, the guilt and despair turned into gratitude and hope. How fortunate am I to have caught my error so early in the game? What if I had just waited it out until it was time for details? Five years ago, that would have been satisfactory for me. But NaMoPaiMo is about pushing yourself and challenges.

And now that the "damage" is done, I feel a million times better about the fate of my horse. I feel like now this model will be able to truly showcase the skills I have acquired over the years. Now, this horse will be something that I can be PROUD of!

So if your project isn't turning out the way you'd like for it to, or you just simply think you could have done x, y, z better, just STRIP IT DOWN! Strip away the old paint, your fears, your doubts, and past mistakes! Start clean, a blank slate is a new opportunity to be brilliant!

Here is my Day 9 progress picture. He looks like I plucked him out of a trash can on the side of the road. He is a MESS. But he's not a mess, he is a replenished chance to be amazing!

Congratulations, Maddie and good job to everyone who worked on their models today. I can't wait to see what we all do tomorrow!