I was recently interviewed for the 8th quarterly issue of Subjectiv Journal, an anthology of Pacific Northwest artists and writers. It was an honor to be included among these extremely talented people.
The interview questions focused on my studio practices. I took the opportunity to discuss my challenge/solution process for generating ideas since that’s what I do in my studio. While it seems very natural to me, I forget that pattern-breaking, risk-taking and an appetite for potential failure is very foreign approach for many people.
The interview helped me to reflect, acknowledge and share all. Studio work is isolating. In one sense, it’s very safe because no one else sees the mistakes. On the other hand, many of the minor victories involved in creating a sculpture are not visible in the final piece.
I don’t have many rules in my studio. And those, I break constantly. There is one exception: Each piece must be significantly better than the last by some measure. If, at some point, I don’t see a piece reaching the next plateau, it’s time to step back and reevaluate. The “What if?” process is ongoing. When a solution surfaces that elevates the piece, I continue. Until then, I’ll observe, explore and reconsider. I may need to remove a head, an arm, restructure the gesture. Nothing is sacred except the goal.
This self-challenge/solution process is not something others see. They only see the result. The thing people regard as art is a simple record that this creative process happened. Art is in the making. It’s the process of coaxing, negotiating and wrestling an idea from ambiguous thought to tangible sculpture.
That’s what draws me to my studio every day. There’s always the promise of another challenge and the possibility of reaching the next plateau. It’s like running up stairs. When your rhythm is on, you reach a step or two at a time. You haven’t simply finished a piece, but reached a significant step above your last.