Before I say what I need to say,I want to point something out, I am a control freak. Well maybe not all the way there but definitely leaning towards it dangerously. I am scared to rely on people. Not only because I am afraid people will let me down or because I am afraid their standards aren't as high as mine, but also -and maybe mostly- because I don't want to bother people.
In addition to that, I'm a perfectionist, so mix these two things together and you can imagine how hard it is for me to rely on others.
That being said, it is important to say I didn't decide to do everything myself for this project only because I wanted to do everything myself but because I strongly believe that all aspects of design inform one another and that working on all of them will give unity to the play.
Now, we all now that my project is pretty ambitious, enormous, and requires a huge amount of work to say the least. So, naturally, during my assessment review feedback session thing Joshua told me I should delegate. Great. And how do I do that?
I started by asking myself what I could actually delegate without feeling I was dumping the work load on others. What is it that would actually make the project better if I did ask other people for help. In order to answer that question, I started looking at my strengths and weaknesses.
Ok, weaknesses...
I know I'm crap at photography, I'd love to be good at it, but I'm not. I don't seem to have the patience to learn all the technicalities to take a good picture or I definitely don't have the patience to shoot a picture a billion times to make sure I have one good shot.
So I took a leap of faith and asked someone I know is good at it, someone I know loves taking pictures, I asked C. and here's the email I sent her:
" I have a million-dollar question for you: would you be the photographer for my self initiated project? I have yet to find my 2 models, make up and hair stylist, but I know you are an amazing photographer so... please??? pretty please??? I'll bake you some banana loaf if you say yes!!! (it'll be after we come back from the break btw)
*hopeful smile* thanks C.!!!! *other hopeful smile and sad poppy eyes* "
I was expecting a no, I mean, come on, it will be a couple of weeks before the portfolio hand-in, and who would want to waste an afternoon doing something that wouldn't give them anything? But, crazily enough, I got a yes, a very enthusiastic one at it... I couldn't believe it!
Then, I had to ask/look for people to model for me now that I knew I could get a photographer for my shoot... and that's another thing... I mean here, it isn't about delegating but asking for a favour, plain and simple. And that is really hard for me. I have a thing with bothering people... I already have trouble asking my uncle to print stuff out for me (true story) so asking complete strangers to do something for me, really? how am I supposed to do that?!
Anyways, I posted on the CSM facebook page and, against all odds, I got an email back from M. a very pretty looking dancer (I gather she is a dancer) who is willing to be my Miss Acacia. A girl who had never heard of me before was interested in my project and was ready to spend some time to help me out. How crazy is that?
After that started the hunt for a male model to impersonate Jack... Trust me, that was a crazy hunt, I posted my "model wanted" message on the CSM wall several times, asked a few people but only ever got "no"s which I can understand. Again, the shoot is set to be only a couple of weeks before the hand in + being a model isn't an easy thing. I know I would struggle doing it... But yesterday I asked L. and, as crazy busy as he always is, he said yes and, again, sounded genuinely excited about it! I couldn't (still can't) believe it! He'll be perfect for Jack and he is going to look so dapper in his costume, I can tell you that!
Talking about costumes. I said I wanted to both design and sew them. I can sew, I've done it a few times (although it was ages ago). But, lets be honest here, I also know I'm not the most brilliant seamstress in the world, I don't have enough experience so it would have taken me ages to put the costumes together. Therefore, once again, I decided to ask for some help to people who know more about it and my grandmother recommended her neighbour who is a great seamstress. I went to talk to her a couple of days ago and she wants to help. Of course, I'll have to pay her for it, but I think having the job done by somebody who knows about it is a much better option than wanting to be cheap about it and wasting hours on end trying to do it myself.
I am amazed that people are willing to help and, insanely enough, I trust all these people to do the best they possibly can.
But that's not all, someone else also completely blew my mind with their generosity.
Let me explain.
When I thought about my weaknesses I remembered how much I struggled to make the prototypes of my glasses back in January and just how ugly they turned out so I decided to get them 3D printed. That way, it would take the load off of me and the result would be, for sure, much better than if I had done the prototyping myself.
Brilliant idea, isn't it? Yes, I agree... Except for one itsty bitsy tiny problem... you need to turn your 2D drawings into 3D ones to get them printed and I had never used a 3D rendering software before. So you can imagine just how many times I wanted to bang my head against a wall when I tried to use AutoCad then Sketchup a few days ago... I struggled. Struggled big time even to say the least. Up to the point I posted something about it on my facebook and I'm not one of these people who like to complain on facebook for everybody to see. But the incredible thing is that a friend of mine, G., asked what the problem was.
You see, G. is an architect/architecture student and knows quite a bit about 3D rendering. I simply told him that AutoCad in its entirety was my problem and that I just couldn't figure out how to draw my glasses. And this is when the crazy amazing think happened: he told me that he'd do it for me. Plain and simple. That he'd render my 8 pairs of glasses during his spare time to help me out. Just like that. He's done 4 so far. One every day and they look unbelievable. I could never have done this myself and am so grateful that he simply offered his help without me even asking for it.
I am amazed by his generosity, as well as by C.'s, L.'s and M.'s.
I am amazed that I trust them and their capability to do amazing work.
I am amazed by the fact that team work and delegating, despite being scary, is a good thing.
I am amazed I had never seen that before.
So I wanted to thank Joshua for suggesting I should delegate. And thank C., L., M. and G. for being here to help. And I also want to thank J. for listening to me talking about my work all the time and letting me bounce ideas off of him. Because, despite the fact that he isn't helping me in a very straight forward direct way, despite the fact that he isn't part of this project in the same way the others are, he actually is, he is here to listen, help, advice, etc.
Thank you to all of you. You are all amazing, unbelievable and I am grateful for all of you.
theartofmadeline
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origamiaround
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