There's the preparation that goes into clearing up the work space. Placing bowls and plates near by to mix and measure ingredients into. Setting out the containers of liquids. Wetting down the dry ingredients until they are all nice and wet and manageable. Making sure your tools are clean, available, and at the ready.

There is a joy in measuring just the right amount of supplies out. No wasting. Followed by all that mixing, kneading & blending, until the colors & textures are just right. A rhythm your hands seem to know from practice. There's a connection from hand to brain, to eyes & all back again saying "Yes, It IS perfect!"

You CAN make bread in a Bread Machine. You can purchase pre-measured mixes or kits and just dump them into the machine. And yes, so long as you pushed all the right buttons and programed it well; they will be uniformly perfect and precise every time.

But you will have missed the sensory pleasure of shaping the dough, of it's weight in your hands, the tug of brush against the surface, and the child-like ecstasy of making a mess and getting dirty. You will have missed all those tender caresses that give it form, the smell of the supplies, the texture of the finished piece. You will have missed seeing a piece bake (or dry) and take shape; all the subtle changes of the colors drying to a different hue.

But most importantly, you will have missed seeing THAT vision that once existed only inside your head, take shape before you and that never ending awe of "I have created this".

Traditional Art is more then just a Visual Art. It is a creation with a shape, a weight, a texture and even a scent. It is the imagination in a solid form you can touch. It has substance. It has presence & most importantly there will never be another piece just like it. Mistakes and all, it IS perfect.

As for the clean up well that is another story.