The black and white photograph above, which I created the other day, is called “Grey Sky.”

Let’s face it: it’s a boring photograph.

Now, technically it’s not too bad. It’s cropped appropriately at the corners, the sky is the intentional, dominant subject, and the central, unattached dock is a point of interest. Also, composing this in black and white (rather than color) is a reasonable artistic choice.

But—seen as a whole—it’s still an uninteresting, dull photo.

Then again, that’s OK.

Why? Because I believe that much of creation is the mundane, the nitty-gritty, the average. It’s here, playing in this mediocrity, that we (or at least I) hone our skills to allow for those rare, creative moments of insight.

So I for one embrace my “it’s just OK” projects because it’s in these journeyman creative efforts where my future excellence resides.