Fresh Eyes

Have you ever looked at something for so long that you can’t see it anymore? Not objectively, anyway.

I often feel that way about stone walls. You spend much of the day with your eyeballs inches from your work. And there’s not much else to do while walling but think. Staring at and thinking about your work all day is not a recipe for objectivity.

One minute you’re looking at the best thing you’ve ever built. The next, the same arrangement of stones looks more like a pile of…

I placed the last stone in Il Nocciolo yesterday and couldn’t stand to look at it for another minute. I was too close to it. The chasm between what I intended to build and the work staring back at me was too wide.

Instead of rushing to judgment, I decided: I’ll look again tomorrow with fresh eyes.

Tomorrow came and did its work.