Ugly is so much more difficult than beautiful. Or perhaps rather, likeness is easier than distortion. I am currently working on the more distorted half of a diptych, and the image is so much more challenging than the other half that I've completed. The "beautiful" side is staring at me while I work, intimidating me and her "ugly" twin. But as I've struggled over the last few days, my eyes are beginning to adjust. It takes time to see an ugly that works. Embracing the abstract nature of the fragments is a start, but it's not enough. Visual expectations need to relax and shift. The challenge is now to ensure that the two sides have equal strength, and maintain a relationship that is confrontational yet inseparable.