http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdr9_ZZWxWI
I moved some stuff around and rearranged my room a little bit. I went to the book barn yesterday and got some books. when I got back I decided that I might wanna put a book shelf in my room since they were getting a little out of control on my night stand and by my bed. So I moved some stuff around, and decided to bring my drawing table up in my room as well. Now all I have to do is turn my swivel chair around and Im at my drawing table, and the book shelf is just on the other side of the table. ANYWHOOO, I brought the table up cause I was suddenly inspired to sculpt. I found something interesting in doing this which I told Keith.
Sometimes when I make art stuff, like drawings or paintings, I dont really know quite that Im doing it. Hmmm, that doesnt make much sense. Well let me try again. Often when I look back at gesture drawings that Ive done, I actually look at it as though I wasnt the artist, and what I see I usually like a lot. And this has nothing to do with being self obsorbed in my own skills or thinking that Im a great artist. The only reason I like it is usually beacuse I feel a connection with the artist and the lines or forms that were obviously observed in observing and creating the work. And sometimes I get that from my own work, where I look at it and think "hey I really like that!" And this is where I recall something that Michelangelo said about sculpting. He basically said that there is already a figure within a stone, and that its the job of the sculptor to just chip away the stuff thats not the figure so that the statue can be. Now I always thought that maybe this was him bragging, sorta like this is not necessarily the mindset of all sculptors, but that he was such a great artist, it was his opinion that this is the way he worked. Kinda like saying he cant help but be great and that maybe it wasnt hard for him to sculpt.
Well anyway, the whole reason I think about this thing that he said is because I actually understand what he means now. I knew what he meant the first time I heard that, but now I understand it because I actually feel the same way. Some of the stuff that Ive made, usually the stuff I really like, I dont actually assosiate with being my work. It just seems so detatched from me because its, I dont know, maybe it doesnt look like it needs that much work to it. It looks somewhat complete and also accurate and I dont know. It just happens. Maybe its like driving back from work. Something you do everyday. After awhile of going to the same job, youre bound to drive home and get out of the car just to realize that you dont actually remember the ride home because it was such a natural and habitual act, and quite possibly there was nothing but thought going on the ride home. The ride home seems detached from you cause you just sort of did it, you made all the right moves and took all the right turns without knowing you were and got home. That is what its like when I make something that I like. I think I realized that it doesnt quite come from me telling myself that I need to create something, it just happens without me knowing. For example, I went and got the drawing table today and set it up and rearranged my room so that I could do work in here, but that was all done just like the ride home from work. I didnt have any feelings of "darnit this is a hassel" or " I wish this would all just come together a lot easier" or " this is going to be great, I can do work in here now". I wasnt thinking about it at all. And then for some reason I started sculpting and I dont really know where it came from. It just happened. It seems like the entire act of arranging my room and sculpting was a ride home that you dont remember.
Anyway I guess the whole reason Im saying this is cause I like the thing that I sculpted. Of course its based on Rodin's sculpture. While I was sculpting I thought that it would be neat to have a portfolio of these little sketch sculptures, cause thats sorta what I think of this as. The only downfall (maybe a downfall? I dont really mind) is that I dont have that much clay, so I have to destroy the sculpture after I make it, so that I can make more. So I took a bunch of pictures, over 100, of this one, and proceeded to smash the sculpture. Now it no longer exists the way you see it in the photos.
While I was sculpting I realized that I needed some support for the figure, so I went to my tool box and grabbed a spoon and a fork that I bent, both of which from freshman year college. I used the spoon for his head and jabbed the handle down his neck into his torso. When I started to make his arm I needed more support, so I grabbed the large nail clippers and opened them, with the thicker part of the clippers in his bicep and the thinner part of the clippers in his forarm. Then I propped him up against another hunk of clay and used the fork to support his arm so that it wouldnt flop back. You can see the nail clippers in this one.
I decided to put a bunch of pictures of cause I got a different look from the flash settings. Sometimes it looked metalic, like the one above and below. But then other time it wasnt as monochromatic.
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