Mountain Spell with the Lone Tree Art Commission at the Performing Arts Center
It's been a while since I've written. Life has intervened with all of its textures. The season has changed from an an extended cool Spring to Summer bursting with warm days and the occasional thunderstorm to cool us down.
My work has been consuming. There have been some wonderful highs and some wrenching lows...marvelous successes followed by a pile of rubble on floor. These opposites are not bad or good--they just are. I give neither the positive or the negative any play. They are opportunities to learn the lessons of the present moment so that I don't have to learn them in a future time. I've been grateful for each of them. For instance--
Connection. I've had the good fortune to have personal connections grow into public placements. My community of patrons and friends have opened doors and pocketbooks to make a place for my sculpture in their communities and homes.
Persistence. Piles of tangled filament have led to careful analysis of root causes and marked improvements in technique and tools. I had one piece I reworked countless times...and as I did, I discovered better, simpler, more elegant ways to complete an astonishingly beautiful new piece.
Patience. I admit that I want to get things done right now. In practicing patience, I've learned that all things happen in their own time, on their own schedule...and they happen exactly when they are supposed to in exactly the right place.
Not Doing. I look at the river of life as it floats by and I ask myself if there is something I should or could contribute to make the moment better, or if it's even mine to do at all. In not doing, I've become more attuned to what I can do, if anything. And many times, the answer is nothing.
As we move toward fall, I constantly practice gratitude. And as I do, I am given grace to continue on my path.
My work has been consuming. There have been some wonderful highs and some wrenching lows...marvelous successes followed by a pile of rubble on floor. These opposites are not bad or good--they just are. I give neither the positive or the negative any play. They are opportunities to learn the lessons of the present moment so that I don't have to learn them in a future time. I've been grateful for each of them. For instance--
Connection. I've had the good fortune to have personal connections grow into public placements. My community of patrons and friends have opened doors and pocketbooks to make a place for my sculpture in their communities and homes.
Persistence. Piles of tangled filament have led to careful analysis of root causes and marked improvements in technique and tools. I had one piece I reworked countless times...and as I did, I discovered better, simpler, more elegant ways to complete an astonishingly beautiful new piece.
Patience. I admit that I want to get things done right now. In practicing patience, I've learned that all things happen in their own time, on their own schedule...and they happen exactly when they are supposed to in exactly the right place.
Not Doing. I look at the river of life as it floats by and I ask myself if there is something I should or could contribute to make the moment better, or if it's even mine to do at all. In not doing, I've become more attuned to what I can do, if anything. And many times, the answer is nothing.
As we move toward fall, I constantly practice gratitude. And as I do, I am given grace to continue on my path.
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