The Beauty of Imperfection

A while back I was looking at some beads to buy. There were two strands left of the same kind of beads. After inspecting them both for a while I took one of them and left the other one for someone else to buy.

When I went to pay for them the person running the booth asked me why I chose the beads with so many imperfections when both strands were the same price. I simply said, "Because I like them better".

You see, to me, a perfect stone is too easy. You don't really have to work very hard to make a perfect stone look good. Life isn't that easy, so why should art be that easy?

I like the little inclusions and blemishes in some stones. They remind me of all the people I've ever met. Some people try to hide their flaws. Taking great pains to make sure that one little bitty mark isn't noticeable. Sometimes they hide it by covering it up. Sometimes they simply turn their back on it. But it will always be there. It's part of them, it makes them who they are.

Some people simply ignore their flaws. They just pretend they don't exist. But they are still there for everyone else to see.

Better yet are the people who embrace those flaws. Those little imperfections that make most people cringe at the thought of the world seeing what is really there become the one thing that people love most about those with the courage to make their flaws their calling cards. To these people life isn't just a show. It's truly living.

When I buy stones for making jewelry I look for these flaws. I use those imperfections as much as I do the stone itself to create designs to reflect those of people and the way we use our flaws as part of who we are.