M is for Mistakes

I have been kicking up a lot of dust in the shop and I have started in on some of the detail work. The picture is obviously the Dagmar logo. To make it is quite a process. First I rout the oval frame into a scrap piece of MDF so that it is about 2.5mm deep. Then I lay Carbon Fiber strands into this one off MDF cast mould. I bake it in the oven and then I release it from the disposable MDF by cutting it out. Next I Epoxy bond a piece of shinny thin metal to the back. As that is allowed to cure I cut out my letters from Mother of Pearl (MOP). Once the letters are ready I mix up a small batch of Epoxy and tint it with one drop of red stain. I pour the red Epoxy into the carbon fiber frame and thinly cover the metal backing. The final step is to set in the DAGMAR letters and then allow the whole thing to cure. The end result in the finished guitar is pretty cool and an original approach to inlay. The metal backing reflects light so the logo looks like a jewel. I let it pop up from the peg head a bit too for added visual impact. It looks very kitsch and kool.

The M, this time around, was my arch nemesis. I broke the first M while cutting it out then the second along with the third and then gave up for the day after the fourth one snapped. I kept my cool and managed to only wake up one member of my house hold with my sailor like rant.

The next day, when I was fresh as a Daisey, I successfully cut out the fifth M. Upon completion a little bird flew to my window sill and sang a gay little tune, the sun shone down just a little harder and my happiness was restored.

A senior work mate of mine used to comfort us young bucks with a great old saying; "If you haven't made a mistake then you haven't made much." I'm proud to say that I have made a ton of mistakes and consequently I have a large body of work behind me. Oh and by the way, A lot of my work will be featured in not one but TWO coffee table books and was also featured in a documentary film called "String of Genius". Please pardon my indulgence but I am proud of what mistakes have done for me.

I look at mistakes as the very middle of the learning curve - the center. The middle of a curve is called the apex. When you're in the apex hit the gas and motor through. Don't get hung up on the frustration of making them. Mistakes are the price of admission to bettering your skills sets, gaining intimate knowledge of something and becoming wise. Mistakes add depth to your eyes. Chicks dig guys with deep eyes. Oh ya...Oh ya....