Did you make a resolution for the New Year? Perhaps you waited until today, January 11, 2011. (OK, by the time this is posted, it will be “yesterday”). Perhaps the numerologically mystical “1-11-11” may provide you and me with some surprises. It’s definitely gotten me thinking about 2011 being a year of creation, especially after my return from Daytona Beach, where I participated in a week-long metals workshop sponsored by the Florida Society of Goldsmiths and paid for in part though an Individual Artist’s Grant through the Indiana Arts Commission.
Are you thinking of creating something special in your life in 2011? Mystical or not, it has me thinking of creating abundance and freedom. In the past, I’ve thought abundance or wealth could only be created by struggle. This year, I already think differently, and we are only 11 days in.
My phone has rung all day long with opportunity. My emails are chock full of good stuff. All I need to do is reach out and say yes. What a great day for anyone to have! As I sat a reflected on this, I wondered, what if I haven’t even thought up some really terrifically good stuff that I want in my life? Because all that I am asking for is showing up. What a blessed challenge this could be!
And I am always interested in what’s going on in the hearts and minds of others out there. Metalsmith or not, artist or not, you are still the creator of many things, including your life. What do you want to create this year? Ask, and you just might get it.
In my practice of creating beauty, I often make mistakes. Incorrect engineering, melted components, successful joins soldered beautifully backwards. It’s part of my life as a metalsmith. Sometimes these are correctable. Other times, they are additions to the scrap bin. On occasion, certain remnants remain with me on the bench, providing companionship as the perfect piece they were supposed to become a part of is completed.
During that time, we have conversations. We wonder if something else is in store. While I ponder the piece in progress before me, I sneak glances at the castoff keeping me company. I cannot bear to get rid of these bits of memory. They seem to want a life of their own. Not merely as a melted spherical decoration on a ring or a pendant, but as the centerpiece of something truly special, something so lovely that no one would be able to guess at their past. This is what drives me to give them voice and value in this throw-away world.
In my art, there is no big political statement, religious iconography, or scream for sexual equality. Just the respectful use of the materials at hand to create an idea of beauty, its meaning left up to the viewer. Statements simply made from the soul, crafted to last a lifetime.
That is why I decided to begin naming these special works “Soul Statements.† There have been previous Soul Statements. But the significance of prior works has been left a mystery to their owners. Who knows – maybe you own one!
There is no way to predict how many pieces will be created within this line of work, no way to know how many will be available at any given time. The only thing that can be promised is an offering of beauty direct from the deepest part of me – a Soul Statement. The meaning is left up to you.
I humbly leave you with a favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoon quote:
How do you deal with mistakes? Are they to be forgotten, or learned from? An embarrassment or a journey towards an ideal? What follows is a simple story, with quotes from smart people to make it seem important.
