Process and Product

Oh, the delight of sculpting! Even when my hands are cramping after modeling the clay for so many hours and my body is slightly feeling the exhaustion there is nothing like seeing the sculpture take shape. Attempting to articulate the feeling of bliss I feel is almost futile. The experience is ethereal. Time seems to stop. The world fades away. The process transports me to a different place.

Between process and product I prefer the first. It is an adventure. Exploring possibilities. I like to begin with just a basic idea and just flow with it. Making sense of the direction of the sculpture is the most important aspect of the sculpting. The process belongs to me. That’s my time. Many of my sculptures don’t make it to shows. I’m always happy when they do. However, once a sculpture is out there it doesn’t belong to me anymore. The product is the end of it. Detachment comes fast after that.

The product belongs to them. The experience of conception, creation, and experimentation is now a memory. The sculpture is now exposed, vulnerable, and there is nothing I can do to change that. The sculpture is now abandoned waiting for a new home. In fact I decided for it to be there. People ask all the time if it makes me sad seeing them go. The answer is ‘No’. On the contrary, once the process is complete I am detached from the sculpture. That doesn’t mean I’m giving it way.

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