the new yellow stuff
Over the years, I've asked many of my fellow artisans about their creative process. Specifically, I've inquired as to how they continue to find a seemingly endless well of new inspiration for their work.
This sort of question typically inspires a philosophically-charged monologue about desperate importance of taking in new experiences. Sometimes, it covers the need for taking calm, meditative time to process and synthesize new visual input. Occasionally, I'm told it's about escaping the everyday routine in order to see things from a different perspective.
On the whole, I've always felt like these deep responses were little more than brilliant justifications for a posh vacations every couple of months.
Mind you, I've got no problem at all with that. I'm a big believer in getting out of my head whenever I can. If getting a new perspective happens to come with a continental breakfast and a massage, so much the better.
I have noticed, however, that like so much of my life my artisan soul takes a slightly different bent when it comes to the subject of nourishment.
Where most people like to pamper their inner child into playing muse for them, I have a slightly different parenting style. I give the little urchin a periodic opportunity to run amok in exchange for rights to anything he accidentally produces. In short, we skip the beach-side lounging in favor of "mad scientist day" at the studio.
I look at it as a combination of therapy and research. So long as I don't accidentally kill myself, the worst that is going to happen is that I'm going to waste an afternoon here and there cathartically giggling at something bursting into flames.
On the flip side, I might stumble onto something interesting. In my dreary old world, interesting is like opium. A good hit could mess me up for life. One time, I had so much interesting I managed to resurrect a 1300 year old Japanese sculpture technique. Not bad for a kid mucking about with unstable chemicals.
While I've not been punching holes in the space-time continuum this year, I am happy to report that my recent bouts of "mad scientist mojo" have resulted in something more than just a goofy grin on my face.
For my latest trick, I'll be taking a pile of this:
And transforming it into something absolutely awesome. As luck would have it, this mystical alchemy should be complete just in time for my next show.
2008 Spring Art Mart
Bath House Cultural Center
April 18 - 20th
Be sure to pop by and ask me about the new yellow stuff.
category: studio
04 / 11 / 2008
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