When to start or stop experimenting?

I love to experiment with my gel plates. My family knows that I'll try to press nearly any object into a loaded gel plate to see what texture it will create. :)

"Will this work?" "What would it look like?" "Can I get it to print on this?" "Maybe I need to try a different paint or color or ????"

I'm teaching a new in-person class this week on using drawing media with a gel plate. I use some of the tools, such as acrylic markers or oil pastels, quite a bit, but others, such as water-based markers and soft pastels, less often. So, I've been playing and experimenting as I prepare for the workshop.

(Close-up image of some drippy lines created with Posca MOP markers on my gel plate.)

These experiments are always fun, usually helpful, but sometimes distracting, too. My youngest is only in preschool in the mornings, so chipping away at my to-do list normally feels challenging. And it's easy to get distracted by some fun gel printing idea that seems important but is really taking me away from other more pressing tasks. 

(Close-up image of an experiment with an image transfer of stitched lines and collaged paper directly on my gel plates.)

Overall, I think the experiments tip to the useful/good end of the scale. Even when it doesn't turn out how I had hoped I still learn something, and it may lead me in a new direction I wasn't even expecting.

But, that last part is what I sometimes worry about. Not that there is anything wrong with new directions, but what if I haven't seen the current idea all the way through? How will I know if getting pulled slightly by experimental ideas is a good idea?

I've been thinking about this a lot as I embark on a new 100-day project next week. I've realized that some of my recent gel plate play and experiments could prove very useful with rocks I'm hoping to print, but it potentially alters some of my plans too. 

As I prep papers and cut stencils, for a project that already feels a little ambitious, I don't need to waste time overthinking. Hopefully, my experimenting will continue to be useful and not too distracting.