The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the
class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he
said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all
those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on
the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh
the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”,
forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”,
however, needed to produce only one pot -albeit a perfect one – to get
an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works
of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for
quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning
out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes – the “quality”
group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little
more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of
dead clay.
class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he
said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all
those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on
the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh
the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”,
forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”,
however, needed to produce only one pot -albeit a perfect one – to get
an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works
of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for
quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning
out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes – the “quality”
group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little
more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of
dead clay.
– David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art and Fear.
(ht: skidknee via Cindy)
Good point. You left this thought open enough to apply to SO many areas of life. My first inclination was to think about how we are the Church… I wonder if we are so concerned with perfection that people see the Church as irrelevant and inauthentic. Could it really be that "messy spirituality" brings us closer to the heart of God as well as showing an authentic beacon of light to darkness?
I am definitely NOT saying that we shouldn't study to show ourselves approved by God, be discipled, disciple, or the like. But at some point we need to put down the book, go next door, and meet our neighbor.
And that's all I have to say about that (in a Forrest Gump voice).
Simply fantastic. Thanks for posting this. This is precisely what I have seen working in ministry. Too many congregations are filled with lots of people sitting around debating the best way to go about something and fail to accomplish anything, or for that matter even fail at anything. This also reminds me of the debate between quality time vs quantity of time regarding parents and children. Those who spend a lot of time with their children are more likely to have more quality moments with their child because these moments are often surprises that cannot be planned and produced. They just happen.
Justin and Matt, the implications for ministry are exactly what I had in mind. In the community I lead, we’re trying to cultivate this kind of experimental, “get on with it even if it’s not perfect” culture. It is a learning experience for me, personally, because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.
It applies to a number of other areas in my life, too, so I’ve found it an especially challenging quote.