HANDS:
hands
hands title:
§25. Drama You Don't See
hands date:
15 February 2026
hands text:
Well enough alone.
01
Tilework happens in stages. Preparation is followed by tiling. Tiling is followed by grouting. Grouting is followed by cleaning. Each stage has its own tools, practices and rhythm. Going back to the previous stage is time-consuming and never easy. I prefer not to do it.
Most of the time, there is no reason to.
02
Occasionally, something catches my eye during a later stage. It is rarely a major defect. More often, it is a joint that drifts slightly, a cut that looked acceptable at first but no longer does or a tile that I simply no longer believe belongs where it is.
I look again. Most people would never notice. The work is sound and the room would function perfectly well. Nothing has failed.
And that is what makes the decision difficult.
03
I roll back to the beginning. The cutters return. The tile comes out. Surface prepared, adhesive mixed. I need to wait while the adhesive cures. Half a day's work is gone.
Perhaps, craftsmanship is, first of all, a lesson in humility.
04
By the following day, nobody can tell that anything happened. No one will ever see the corrections that disappeared. They cannot see the work that had to be redone or the decisions that had to be reversed.
I think that is as it should be. The most difficult work is the work nobody will ever see.