Masterpieces need not always be the magnificent creations by the phenomenal masters, yet they always remain the fruit of the exceptional passion and toil, the several sleepless nights and the midnight oil that was burnt to bring it to life. A piece of work, the one which is the result of a vision supplemented with skills which are in conjunction with intense devotion, is not tagged a masterpiece when it is highly lauded and publicly acclaimed, rather it just needs to be at the optimum level in the eyes of its creator. It must bring the brilliant sparkle in the eyes and the perfect smile on the face, enough to verify that the person is proud of being the creator of the extraordinary creation. This draws me to an inference that everyone can create a masterpiece, you can create a masterpiece.
Creating it
Start with planning; this is a very important stage, if I rephrase it, it is a fantasy stage; you close your eyes and your masterpiece is right there in front of you. You automatically drift nearer to its completion right in your head and begin enjoying the lovely feeling when it gets completed. As you swim back to reality, the work is yet to start. You juggle with the techniques, play with the styles, experiment with novel ideas, and take risks on the crucial turning points. You create and add, you remove and subtract to get the final product. Spend time with your work, crave to go back to it when away, pay attention to the intricate details and minute mistakes. Be so engrossed in your world that you achieve the horizon where imagination and creativity meet reality. Live for your masterpiece so that it lives up to your expectations.
Amidst creating it, you constantly learn, you persistently execute and you repeatedly improvise. Improvisation, though a permanent factor in each stage, still a dominant one in the last and final one. Focusing on the finishing touches, that final brush-up, and that final criticism here and there is of utmost importance. Hold on till the end; your focus will waver, your courage will falter, your will may become weak while continually rectifying the small errors and making little changes, but resist all lures and distractions, forget the world, create one in your work. Moreover, while nearing completion, when the thrill and excitement is in the air and there is a desperate longing to step away and admire your masterpiece to the contentment of the heart, one must keep the nerves calm and not take the finishing touches lightly. If your work is the flesh, the final touch-up is the blood, that is its importance. The intricacies and the minute details give the life and soul to the work, so that it can finally speak for itself. I assume you will want to ask that how do the final touches matter? The work and the basic architecture are ready, why a little here and there to improvise, but tell me will you buy any wooden furniture without its polish?
And when it is done
You visualize, you interpret, you take feedback, you work hard, and have a few sleepless nights, all of which ends up converging in your masterpiece. At its completion, it will radiate and reflect the love, hard work and passion put into it; the tough times, the self-upbraiding, the criticism, the sorrow, the joy, the fury, the tears, all the emotions experienced while creating it will be vividly visible. It is the hidden determination and dedication, that brings the tough person inside you out and helps in surfing through the windy struggles, an inevitable part of creating an ultimate masterpiece. You will finally have something before your eyes which has no parallel and something which will remain conspicuous among your numerous pieces of work. Conclusively, work hard and when it is done, you would have won many hearts, the heart of the critique, the heart of the creator, the heart of the viewer, the heart of an amateur, the heart of a common person, the heart of a hands-on experienced person, all of whom stay inside you.