A client in Tacoma told me my brickwork was 'too perfect' and it's been on my mind.

We were finishing a big garden wall last fall, and the homeowner, an older guy who used to be a mason himself, came out to look. He pointed at a section and said, 'You know, son, your joints are so straight and even it looks like a machine did it. A little character wouldn't hurt.' It happened right there on the spot, with my trowel in my hand. I've always prided myself on clean lines, but now I wonder if he had a point. Do you think there's such a thing as work that's too uniform?

3 comments

3 Comments

julia_carter701mo ago

That "character" he mentioned is what makes it real.

the_nina1mo ago

Seriously @julia_carter70, it's just a movie, not real life.

park.robin1mo ago

My uncle was a carpenter and said the same thing about new cabinets looking sterile. That mason was telling you he saw real skill, but also that a perfect wall can feel cold to live with. It’s the tiny, almost invisible flaws that make something feel handmade and alive. I get why it sticks with you, because it questions what “good work” really means. Maybe he was giving you a weird kind of compliment, saying your hands could choose to leave a mark, not just hide it.