Learning to Fail for Beginners!

Learning to fail is harder to do than learning to succeed.  I have been wire wrapping for over 10 years and while I do not consider myself an expert, I have learned many different techniques and I love being able to pull them out of my mental workbox much like a painter knows which colors to mix to get those perfect sunrise colors.

I have made many wonky wire pieces that will never see the light of day.  It is through those failures that I have learned how to perfect my wrapping skills.  I have two full binders full of tutorials and I have gone through most of them more than once.  I can usually figure out how to replicate a piece but learning the technique and improving or adapting it to my skills make them worth every penny.

When I first started out there were not many tutorials or books available as there are today.  The best way to learn back then was practicing and taking a class or two.  After about a year I ended up teaching others.  Learn how to fail and keep practicing.  Don't get discouraged because your first piece is not a masterpiece or doesn't come close to the picture in the book.  I promise you that not many people can create a wire masterpiece the first time they try a new technique.  Start again and learn from your mistakes.  Sometimes those mistakes are happy accidents that will lead you to a better technique or design.  Stressing out over failures is not going to help you learn any faster.

Practice, practice, practice, oh, and have fun with it!

This is a practice piece from Timeless Wire Weaving by Lisa Barth