Getting down to the wire……I have a major exhibition in three weeks, and all of my artwork for the show has to be finished for a photo shoot by the middle of next week. So I’m working on a deadline and adrenaline. And there’s one piece that’s apparently decided it’s not going to be easily coerced into becoming a work of art.
I work organically, beginning each piece by holding the raw gourd in my hands for a while. I’ll sit quietly with it, listening carefully to the stories it might offer. Then, like an explorer following an ancient map to locate a hidden treasure, I’ll follow the subtle hints as I move through the creative process. Go here, look there, now do this. Famous sculptors throughout the ages, particularly stone sculptors, have said that a work of art is already inside (the stone, for example) and all they do is release it. I’ve found this to be true with gourdwork as well, but sometimes there are pieces that just don’t give up their treasure willingly. Or perhaps I’m just not listening carefully enough.
This piece has been difficult to read right from the beginning. It’s like I have the map, but parts of it are too faint to read, or I find that a particular road becomes a dead end. I’ll start in one direction, thinking I know exactly where to go, only to find myself horribly lost.
It feels like I’m on the verge of discovering something spectacular, or having a colossal disaster on my hands.
And I have only one week to figure this out.
So after yet another frustrating day in the studio, I decided to take out my camera and focus on what I liked about the piece. Just one little area that made me smile. And that took my mind off what didn’t work, and consequently opened up more of that ancient map to the elusive treasure.
I am moving again……
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Oh Serena, this one has MUCH to say! Was it you that mentioned night driving and seeing only what the headlamps allow? Similarly, perhaps this piece only speaks in whispers with just a few words at a time… You are an amazing artist, and I have faith that with patience, you’ll hear and interpret the conversation with appropriate fascination. So far, so good – another beauty!
Yes, that’s it exactly! It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to know how everything will turn out……and I find that when I do that, I sometimes end up forcing things rather than letting them evolve naturally. This piece is teaching me alot……..
- SerenaK
when I’m drawing/sketching whatever, sometimes I get so confused with the interface between the beginning of the figure and the negative space, then I remember a piece of advice given to me. Turn the subject upside down then the stereotype I hold of the image is lost and see the the image as a whole and the spaces become abstract and much more easy to place on my sketch pad……
Excellent suggestion, I do that sometimes too. Another thing that helps me is to take my work and hold it in front of a mirror. It gives a different perspective – if the piece looks as good in the mirror as it does in person, then it’s ready to go.
- SerenaK
I want to hold it!
Wish you could come out for the show, Renee!
- SerenaK