Before the weekend came and went (quickly I might add) I was filled with excitement and inspiration at having gone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have been trying to catalog all the photos I took as reference, but I'm finding that the moment I start to open the files I want to work. I just can't sit still and didn't bother for long. I dove right into the wax.
hear that horse taking a breath.
The Degas sculptures and the magnificent bronze work by Barye had captured me completely. These pieces wouldn't win so much as thread from a ribbon in a NAN qualified show, but the amount of spirit and movement they all have is beyond anything I have seen at any model horse show. It is timeless and classic and I found myself seriously rethinking my own journey down the road of sculpting equines.
"Leela", "Ophelia", "Pumpkin" and a SLEW of medallions remain unfinished simply because I hear the voices of the public and their critique. They are all in the "safe" state where they can only be criticized minimally, especially by myself, since they are unfinished. They are still on the journey to "perfection" and any artist will tell you that such a road is a rocky and dangerous one. Many great pieces get left by the roadside on the hike to perfection. Perfection, even in the best of sculptors, really doesn't exist. There is always a flaw somewhere and in many instances these flawed areas is where the life of the entire piece lies.
You can feel the strength as each oppose one another.
In my thinking this weekend I became aware of the fact that the quest for perfection has overcome my true reasons for beginning sculpting in the first place. Capturing spirit, movement and the breath of the beast is what I really wanted and somehow amidst the ribbons and glory my thinking had become askew. Looking at these half finished sculptures, who seem to breath even though parts of their necks may be missing, is inspiring me greatly to get off the path and journey back to original modes of thinking. Of course, along any path there is the "JUST DO" aspect that must not be forgotten. You can't just sit around waxing eloquent or worrying about what another will say about the pieces. You can't waste time juggling thoughts on what is trendy and what will sell. You must get in and just DO no matter what the outcome. After a while the correct movement and flow just comes naturally.
With this in mind I decided to finish a medallion I had been enjoying initially, but lost sight of last year. Although it will probably not be your cup of tea I am feeling a huge sense of accomplishment in seeing it finally come to fruition. The original fuel for this piece was to capture the cooling breeze that comes to both horse and rider when the adrenaline starts to dissipate after a difficult competition. I tried to capture a moment in a medallion. Have I succeeded? I did my very best and as with every piece it is a foothold in the ladder. This one is good, but the next one will be even better.
I have to be honest in mentioning that out of all the magnificent sculptures I viewed last Thursday this little plaster mold was probably the most inspiring and helpful. I nearly cried when I saw this woman's bust riddled with seam lines. I have this image imprinted in my brain and since viewing it have washed my rat sculpture "Listen" of her originally proposed mold lines. She will get new ones as the little light bulb on molding is slowly coming to light every time I think about this Rodin sculpture. The way this little piece was molded just blew my mind. Kablow!
No comments:
Post a Comment