The Perfection of Imperfection

What is it about handmade that draws our eye, that begs us to take a second look? You sense it instantly. Like the feeling you get when meeting a kindred spirit. On closer inspection a human fingerprint might present itself amidst the ink of a hand screened image or at the gripping point of a piece of pottery; its subtle clue that the item was hand dipped. Or how no two are exactly alike no matter if they were made together that same day; the plane of one will always be slightly off in contrast to the other. The same cannot be said about machine made. Those objects or widgets churned out in rhythmic identical succession...nothing slightly askew here only consistent repetition of the same exact item over and over again. Often inferior materials are used to aid in its economy in order to create large volumes at one time. And so, while the shape or appearance of such machine made items may initially attract you it's the imperfections of a handmade item that will garner a second look. That wayward fingerprint, uneven line, those imperfections are tell tale signs that another human had a hand in its making, perhaps even a little of their soul went into it too. The human touch is imperfect and yet at the same time it's perfect in its own way.