I am committed to a rigorous ongoing process of making and reflection. I engage in this disciplined and enriching activity daily and have done so for several decades. I rarely start my work with a predetermined result. I think of myself more as an explorer recording observations and discoveries revealed in the process. This mindset makes every day fresh and exciting.
In stark contrast, one of my first major art pieces came to me in a moment. I had a clear and complete vision for the finished work and did a quick sketch to simply document the idea. I spent the next month working 12+ hours a day to complete the piece. During the process I felt like the Richard Dreyfuss character in Close Encounters, who obsessively made an enormous model of a mountain in his living room.
Shortly after I completed the work I submitted it in an art exhibition and competition held at a small regional museum an hour north of Tucson, Arizona. The piece was accepted so I loaded the sculpture into the back of my pickup. It was a difficult piece to move and would require two trips. By the end of the day the sculpture was set up in the museum and awarded the top honor in the competition by a distinguished juror. I received some very encouraging feedback during the exhibit and starting thinking about where else I could exhibit the work. I had visions of my art career taking off.
When the exhibit ended I traveled north to pick up the piece. Unfortunately, the night before, the side window of my topper had been vandalized. I did not have time to make a proper repair so I duct taped a sheet of plastic over the window. I carefully loaded the top portion of the sculpture, made of hand cast fiber and intricately constructed paper structures, under the topper and headed back home.
There must have been an accident on the interstate because about halfway to my destination I found myself at a dead stop surrounded by cars in the middle of the hot desert. As the traffic stopped an intense unexpected rainstorm rolled in and began to pound the truck. I watched in my rear view mirror as the duct tape slowly gave way and my sculpture melted in the back of my truck. The deluge stopped within five minutes, as if it knew its work was complete. On cue the column of cars started to move forward. I won’t try to describe the swirl of emotions I experienced at that moment. With time and a bit more perspective I began to wonder if the sculpture was ever mine.
I would be very interested to see the SKETCH…and if you still have it then ALL IS NOT LOST! I fully understand that sense of loss that comes from something that is created with a force of effort in the completion of the project. Something ispired! The mourning followed by the acceptance. But I am sure you are grateful to have the photograph as well. OWNERSHIP is a loaded word 🙂 I feel priviledged to have access to your very interesting mind and thoughts. As well as your actively disciplined practice of paying attention to these thought and following thru. I am hugely and saddely negligent in this area of my life…ALSO…r/t to last weeks POST…I spent alot of youthful moments at the art museum along the Iowa river on the U of I campus in Iowas City…I loved the mesmerizing kinetic sculpture as well and much of the exciting architecture on campus was also compelling. I loved the Science Bldg by Netsch and the Law Library with the walk-thru that cascaded down the hillside. The Art Museum by Eliel Saarinen in Des Moines remains an iconic place that I return to time and again…with each new addition only adding significance….Pei and Meier