I messed up a UV resin attempt, but there are 3 reasons it didn't bother me.
I attempted a UV resin craft project with a heart-shaped glass trinket plate. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. Instead of putting myself down and feeling bad about it, I reminded myself of three important things to help me deal with my failure.
How I Recently Failed (In My Opinion)
In short, I don't know when to quit. Sometimes I'd test different ways to resolve an issue immediately when I should've walked away to mull it over.
It's a bad habit from work when I used to complete challenging instructional design projects within tight schedules and timelines. In some cases, issues needed to be modified or resolved within short time frames to meet a shortened or urgent deadline.
This bad habit crossed over to my hobbies. Hobbies should be enjoyed during one's free time and at one's preferred pace. There shouldn't be a push to modify or resolve issues ASAP when doing something for fun (and free).
However, I always push myself to immediately test different ways to resolve an issue without giving it enough thought. Sometimes I get lucky and find a decent fix for something, but most of the time I end up ruining a project completely. In fact, I did just that this morning while embellishing a Valentine's Day card.
Before I attempted to use UV resin and pigment inks to add color to the bottom of a heart-shaped glass trinket plate, I planned for how to do this project. I also told myself that this was an experiment. The educator in me believes trial and error is necessary for growth and improvement.
When my plan didn't go the way I hoped, my bad habit kicked in. I should've paused to think about what caused the pigment ink colors to spread and fade. I then should've considered different options for resolving this issue.
Instead, I pushed myself to give something, anything a try. I happened to have dried flowers nearby and instantly started adding those to the dish. I didn't give myself a time to breath to consider other options. In retrospect, there were better ways I could've added more colors to the bottom of the plate with other colorants to achieve the look I initially wanted.
Because I'm not familiar or skilled with layout or placement design, the way I used the dried flowers - in my opinion - are off-balanced. The colors don't contrast well against the initial pigment inks. Then again, the pigment inks faded significantly during my failed attempt to fix the first problem.
Fortunately, I'm working on breaking myself of my bad habit. I put away the heart-shaped glass trinket plate to mull it over for a few days. When I quit for the time being, I wasn't sure if the project could be salvaged, but I didn't let the thought of it being a lost cause get to me.
My professional experiences working in higher education, experiences pursuing higher educational degrees, and experiences freelancing as an artist in my youth taught me a few things that helped me deal with my failures (let's just refer to them as "mistakes" from this point going forward) and not be hard on myself.
Everyone Makes Mistakes; I'm Not Alone
Everyone makes mistakes in different points of their lives. It's a normal part of life. Some may argue that making a mistake is inevitable.
Granted, it's emotionally tough to deal with a mistake made, especially if the mistake results in an unusable or ruined project. Nobody likes the feeling of doing something wrong the first time. It hurts more when mistakes are made consecutively, one after the other. For many, the thought of having to do something again from scratch is unbearable.
Some people may try to hide a mistake they made, but for most of us, we're not the only ones to know about it. It's embarrassing knowing that others may know about our mistakes. Emotions are high and could become unstable. Managing our emotions may prove to be difficult if our mistake is criticized, even if constructive criticism is provided.
But again, everyone makes a private or public mistake at different points in their lives. It's a relatable experience to all. Because it's so relatable, the support people are willing to give someone who's shared their mistake with them is a remarkable act of kindness that eases the most depressed emotions.
Knowing that I'm not alone at making mistakes and feeling bummed about my potential failure encourages me to try fixing my fixing the issues I have with my UV resin attempt with the heart-shaped glass trinket plate.
After all, a mistake is a lesson learned that ideally won't be forgotten any time soon.
Learning Opportunity
A mistake is a learning opportunity. It encourages us to reflect on what went wrong and how to do it differently next time around. It encourages us to reflect on what worked and is worth doing again or improving upon.
I believe there's always room for improvement. There are ways to enhance one's abilities and skills through trial, error, and regular practice. Research, such as reading an informational article or watching a how-to video, helps us identify what went wrong and how to do it differently.
Listening to criticism opens our eyes and minds to possibilities we probably wouldn't have considered on our own. Constructive criticism allows us to brainstorm ways to resolve or modify our mistakes when we choose to try again.
I went ahead and uploaded my attempt to YouTube, although embarrassing, with hopes that others could learn from my mistakes and experiences. This may help someone who's thought about doing the same type of UV resin project from making the same mistakes I did. If I'm lucky, maybe someone will share suggestions for fixing my mistakes.
With lessons learned, a second attempt gives me an opportunity to redeem myself.
Opportunity to Redeem Myself
Did you once believe you failed at something only to try it again and finally succeed? If so, you may have felt a rewarding sense of accomplishment following the extended time and effort you put into making something work.
Many refer to the experience as the taste of sweet success.
I believe that by not giving up, specifically when I've only tried something new one time, I open the door to redeem myself and my mistakes by applying the lessons' learned. True, I may not learn everything there is to know by redoing or modifying a mistake I made, but it's a good starting point to learning more about anything.
It's easy to give up and difficult to keep going. However, when I consider that everyone makes mistakes, mistakes are lessons learned, and there are ways to resolve or address mistakes encourages me to try again until improvements are made.
Quitting
My dad's favorite quote by W.C. Fields always lingers in the back of my mind. Fields once said, "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it."
Professionally, I can see how in certain cases someone would need to move on to something new and different after several tries. For example, my niece aspired to be a nurse and enrolled into a community college's nursing program. After giving it a chance for a year, she changed her degree plan as she struggled to learn the medical terminologies required of her. Now, she aspires to be a social worker. She realized her real aspiration was to help those in need, just not through the medical career track.
However, my niece didn't quit right away. She gave all learning opportunities a chance before deciding to move on to something new and different. She wanted to make sure her decisions were reasonable and wouldn't be a mistake she regretted in her future.
In my case since I'm focused on a hobby rather than some aspect of my professional career, I don't plan on quitting any time soon. If I do quit, it'll either be when I use up my UV resin and decide to not buy another bottle (they're not cheap), or when I feel I've succeeded and decide to try something else new to me.
My Thoughts on How to Fix My UV Resin Mistakes
I tried to chip away at the resin yesterday, but it's not coming out of the heart-shaped glass trinket plate. It appears to be there to stay. Unfortunately, it's an eye sore to me when I look at it from the top and bottom.
I've had a few days to mull it over and I have a new plan I want to try. To fix the eye sore from the top view, I'll do another colored resin pour. This time I'll use my two-part epoxy resin and mica powders. Using the right amount of mica powders, based on my past experiences, would make the resin opaque. The opacity may be enough to cover what I currently like least about my past attempt.
To fix the eye sore from the bottom view, I'll try dipping the heart-shaped glass trinket plate into opaque acrylic gold paint. I don't know if I'll need multiple coats of paint, but I'll figure that out after I give it a try.
What's Next?
Using UV Resin in a heart-shaped glass trinket plate was the first of a few Valentine's Day inspired projects. I'll share a couple more Valentine's Day inspired projects with you next week.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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