(Video link here.) At a communal table at Portland, Oregon’s Powell’s Books, artist Arnold Drake World transforms paper napkins and towels into botanically correct flowers. It’s an art he’s mastered through thousands of iterations, a detailed study of materials, and a strong sense of mission and process.

Riley Hooper / Aeon

In this lovely short video, he tells his formula for success:

Do something
not once,
not ten times,
not a hundred
but a THOUSAND times
and it will make you a master
of what it is you’re doing.

 

Riley Hooper / Aeon

 

I don’t like what I do. I LOVE what I do.

You’re always second-guessing yourself when you like something. When you really fall in love with something, you’re willing to go all the way.

 

Riley Hooper / Aeon

 

found at Aeon, with thanks to Cara de Silva

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6 replies on “How to Become a Master: Arnold Drake World

  1. “öH Sally…”
    (monika breathed that out.)

    “..that’s the perfect start,
    to what’s gonna be a great week.”

    Thanks Sally,
    have a great one yourself!

  2. There are days when I see something in Improvised Life that leads me from one link to another and it absolutely transforms my mood, my day, and my world view of what humans are capable of! In the midst of the expression of so much ugliness these days towards one another and our ways of knowing and being, towards our fellow creatures and the planet itself, there are no words to express my gratitude!

  3. Perfect beginning of the year intro for teachers AND students! Would have been on my website. Love it.

  4. That smile! I love a person with that joy written all over their face! Thanks for this! Keep smiling and creating!

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