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I’m still working on my pendant light. *sigh* This project might actually be my greatest work by the time it’s all said and done. I worked on this pendant light Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday, Sunday evening all day (with two breaks) and yesterday afternoon and evening. And I’m only about halfway through.
I’ve got eight colors painted, which means I still have seven more. Thankfully, most of the remaining seven colors are for smaller rings. And then I’ve got four colors attached to the lampshade rings, with a fifth color going on…
I guess I’m about halfway done adding that fifth color to the lampshade ring.
The first color was the hardest because I had to attach all the spoons to the lampshade ring with the lampshade ring. The only way to remove it is to completely remove the light from the ceiling and then disassemble the light. I didn’t want to do that, so I stood on the ladder and attached those 88 spoons. It’s a real pain. And then I had to group them and tape them in place so I could attach the next ring without the spoons moving and shifting and getting in the way.
But I realized very quickly that it was easier to disassemble the rest of the rings and work at my table. I have already assembled 12 of the 15 rings to form the frame of the pendant light…
…I ended up taking the whole thing apart.
Here are the other colors I’ve finished, plus I’m working on them right now. There wasn’t really a rhyme or reason to the order I was doing them except that I started with the two largest rings, and then I decided to work on some of the smaller rings (requiring very few spoons) so that I could finish both rings faster. I need that sense of fulfillment to keep me going.
And then I have these three colors ready to add to the lampshade ring…
One of the reasons it takes me so long is because I’m pretty much making it up as I go. When I started, I didn’t know how I wanted to paint the spoons. I mean, I know that each row is a different color and I worked out those 15 colors. But beyond that, I haven’t worked out the details. So when I started painting the spoons, I really had in mind that the backs would be solid white and the fronts would be a solid color. After doing the first color, I realized I didn’t like how it looked, so it was back to the drawing board.
It took me a few more tries to finally land on this design, the back is solid gold (liquid gold gilding), and the fronts are colored “framed” with a messy gold border.
The next thing that took a lot of time was figuring out how to place the spoons 3/4-inch apart on the lampshade rings so they wouldn’t move, shift, and slide around on the ring. My first attempt was to try the E6000 adhesive. I tried 1/4 of one of the lampshade rings and it didn’t really work. So I had to remove all that adhesive and repair the paint on the lampshade ring (I painted it gold). And I have to come up with another idea.
My next idea was to use hot glue. It was a mess and I didn’t even get 1/4 of the way around the lampshade ring before realizing that hot glue was a terrible idea. It’s very messy, doesn’t dry completely, and leaves strings of hot glue everywhere like spider webs. So for the second time, I had to remove the glue and repair the paint on the lampshade ring.
I finally came up with the idea of super glue, but I decided to attach all the spoons on all 15 rings, then glue all 15 rings back together, and then the last step would be super glue. The spoons on the lampshade rings, starting with the bottom ring and moving upwards. So I spent at least two hours on Saturday trying out different ideas, scrapping from failed ideas and coming up with a plan that actually worked. I am confident that my new plan will work.
I love projects like this. Don’t get me wrong. I also love a quick and easy project that gives me instant gratification, which we all need often. It’s so satisfying to start a project and, a few hours later, have a beautiful piece of art on display.
But you can never finish something truly amazing in just two hours. That’s not to say it never happens. I think the focal wall in our bedroom is amazing, and it’s a surprisingly quick and easy project. Tracing a design on a wall in two different colors of acrylic paint pens is easy, quick, and has a big, bold effect in a room.
But every other project I’ve done has taken time to put it in that “awesome” category. A lot of time. and patience. and trial and error. and persistence.
For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than taking on a huge project, sticking with it to the end, and ending up with something I’m really proud of. They are projects that teach me perseverance and patience. Those are the projects that teach me new skills. Those are the projects that sharpen my problem solving skills. These are the projects that teach me how to think and create a process and plan from start to finish. And those are the projects that almost always get the biggest response from people visiting my home for the first time.
When people first see my home, the first thing they comment on isn’t the trim or the curtains. It’s stuff like this masterpiece…
It’s so interesting to watch people try to figure it out. They are close enough to examine the details. Then they stand back to get the whole picture. Then, when I told them it was made of 6400 small individual wood plugs used to cover screw holes in furniture, each painted separately to create a pixel-type image, they were amazed. This is one of the projects I am proudest of, it took a lot of time, patience and attention.
And it’s things like the tile in the kitchen that gets people’s attention, another project that took a long time from start to finish.
So while I love quick and easy “instant gratification” types of projects, and I think we all need them from time to time, I also find tremendous value in these projects that seem to drag on forever and really take. A lot of perseverance and diligence to finish. I think we need both in our lives. I grew up as the daughter of an artist. My mother made wonderful oil paintings and there was nothing quick or easy about her work. She works on a painting for weeks straight and it pays off. Her work is truly amazing, and people marvel at her paintings hanging on the walls of our home. Even though I am not an oil painting artist and my talents lie in other areas, she has taught me a lot about taking the time needed to make sure a project is done right and well. It was an invaluable lesson to learn from watching her artistic process during my childhood and younger years.
I think we can learn a lot from both types, but I can also say that there is no such feeling of satisfaction after completing a huge, time-consuming project. And hopefully, I’ll get that feeling in the next few days after this pendant light is finished.
Addicted 2 Decorating shares my DIY and decorating journey as I renovate and decorate the 1948 Fixer Upper that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and is unable to do physical activity, so I do most of the housework myself. You can learn more about me here.