I’m driven mad by the meticulous.
That doesn’t make me admire them any less, however, or realize that they, in the end, will always succeed.
Case in point, the magnificent stone-man, Lew French.
One rock at a time, he creates magnificent walls, fireplaces, cottages.
One wall, in a home on Martha’s Vineyard, took him a year to build. Hand over hand he laid each stone against one another. Look closely at this photo and you’ll see that these stones aren’t just stacked: they’re relating.
Even the book about his work, Stone by Design: The Artistry of Lew French, is rare and can run you up to $425 on the out of print market.
You can listen to Lew French’s story here— and I recommend it– but before you go, there’s something I’d like to say about the beauty of perfectionism versus the standard, human drive to incompletion.
Whenever I see such incomparable workmanship like French’s, I wonder from two sides of me. My demon side jeers “See what other mere mortals can do while you fail, fail again?”
But then, there’s also the angel on the other shoulder (often sounding very much like my Mom), “Come on honey. You don’t have time to listen to that. You’re busy.”
Perfectionism is merely our way of silencing the demon.
Meticulosity is our tool.
Lew French is a master demon slayer.
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