Friday, January 6, 2012
Today's Quote
I couldn't say it better myself:"I am often asked, 'Don't you hate to see things leave your studio?' Well, no, I don't hate it. I make my living from letting things go. You just hope, if you make things as I do, that they can make their way in the world and have some longevity." - Edward deWaal, from The Hare with Amber Eyes
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How does a pastry chef feel about letting his work go,a fireworks maker,a sidewalk chalk artist?
ReplyDeleteIs it the object that matters or the making of the object?
That's a very good question, Karin. No question in my mind that it's the making of the object that most engages the artist; but that doesn't mean the object doesn't have its own value when it's completed; and it may have a different value to the person who owns it than it does to the artist.
ReplyDeleteThe book from which the quote was taken (and which I recommend)is about the history of a collection of netsuke and the family that owns it, over several generations.
Two short stories that capture the fleeting nature of things we create - at least for me - are Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Artist of the Beautiful" and Ray Bradbury's "In a Season of Calm Weather."
As for things that are consumed, or disappear - when I worked in special effects, we often made things that were to be blown up, and since that was their purpose, you could say it was the explosion that mattered! It was certainly always very exciting when it happened.