Earlier this month, cartographer and competitive orienteer turned outdoor artist Simon Beck was in Colorado creating several large scale geometrical murals in the snow for the town of Silverthorne. These impermanent masterpieces are drawn by footsteps in snowshoes utilizing basic mathematics, a magnetic compass, rope, anchor, and ski poles to create symmetrical lines and circles. Beck’s background in map making informs his creative work, and he typically prints out his drawings on paper with 1 pace equal to 1 millimeter, and most designs are able to be completed in a day.
This particular quote stood out in an interview with Beck on My Modern Met (check the article out as well as Beck’s Instagram to see more spectacular images):
When a mistake is made the usual remedy is to alter the design. Sometimes one just accepts there is a wrong line. Theoretically, it would be easy to cheat and alter the photos (paste something over the line that is wrong). It is important to proceed in a manner that prevents small errors adding together into a major noticeable quantity.
– Simon Beck
So it is with life. Sometimes mistakes happen, but you can course correct and still create something spectacular.
