When Perfection Gets in the Way of Making

Last week we brought woodblock carving and printing to HKU as part of a guest lecture on Human, Animal, and Planetary Wellness. The brief was simple: students would carve their own blocks, make their own prints, then walk around to see what everyone else made.

What we didn't expect was how much they cared.

The Weight of Comparison

Dr. Michael Rivera opened the session by introducing plants and trees as part of an important ecosystem to our own, human wellbeing. He provided such incredible details about trees and plants and their ancient ties to our wellbeing (not just in terms of practices, but in terms of art and representation). Then it was our turn. Sne talked about wellbeing as more than just feeling good. It's about making space for harder questions. Emmy posed questions about care, responsibility, and what it means to be human when animals and ecosystems are also asking for our attention.

We wanted to practice as much as possible, so after our mandatory safety walkthrough and instructions about how to hold the carving tools, how much pressure to apply, how to think about positive and negative space when translating an idea into wood.

Then the students started making. And somewhere between the lecture and the carving, something unexpected happened. Many became critical of their own work. They couldn't help but compare and judge themselves before anyone else could.

The goal was never perfection. It was exploration, curiosity, trying something new. But we found ourselves repeatedly reminding them of that. It told us what we all worry about: that our world is far too perfectionistic.

The Shift

But we also saw the same students light up when someone said something positive about their work. That shift genuinely mattered.

After everyone finished printing, we did a chaotic little gallery walk. No explanations first. Just looking. We asked a few students some questions, and some of them who were overly critical of themselves finally said that they understood why comparison wasn’t healthy. While they were busy judging themselves, they forgot to see the creativity of the others around them, and how well their own creativity fit into the group. 

We asked the student many questions, including: 

"Why did you carve that symbol?"
"What were you thinking about when you made this?"

The answers were hesitant. Sometimes vulnerable. And that's when it clicked. The making gave them permission to talk about things they might not have brought up otherwise. 

Why We Do What We Do

We do this work because we want people to become aware of this unhealthy mindset. In the age of social media and AI, we expect perfection from ourselves and everyone else. We truly believe that you cannot be BAD at art. Who decided what is “good” art anyway?  We are all creative in different ways, and that's what makes it special. Imagine how boring life would be if we all followed the same standard.

Woodblock printing is slow. You carve, you test, you adjust. You make mistakes and figure out how to work with them. That rhythm, it turns out, is a pretty good metaphor for how we need to approach making, and maybe life too.

Not polished. Not performative. Just honest work, made visible.

---

a collective space runs workshops, programs, and maker experiences across Hong Kong. Based in Mui Wo, Lantau Island and Central. Book a workshop.