...versus working fast, something to consider for studio work.
This all came to me recently after hearing a story on NPR about a journalist who was walking around the world, over a seven year span, writing about it as he goes. His comments about why he was doing it were intriguing and relevant to thoughts I have had recently in the studio, and those are about working fast versus working slow. The journalist spoke about the importance of his slow journey in how it was allowing him to see things on the 'granular level'. An intriguing perspective on how we experience things in life. And for the artist, at least for me working in clay, I have thought about this often lately when working on pieces trying to get them completed. I am so prone to move too quickly with my studio work, not allowing an idea, or a related process, to take its time to develop more naturally. After all, an idea is quick to spawn another, causing excitement to move onward. Slowing down can be difficult, at least for me anyway, and I suspect many others as well, especially considering the fast paced world we live in today. Watching students on their cell phones as they leave my classes makes me wonder what the rush is to 'connect' to others so immediately. What did we do before all the technology that allowed for this to happen (I say as I write a blog that immediately goes out into cyberspace, to many in all parts of the globe!).
So, I have deliberately worked to give myself permission to slow down in the studio, allowing my thoughts to develop more carefully, along with the processes I then use to become more deliberate and meaningful as they help me create pieces that hopefully express all I intend. Finding ones voice in what we make in clay is difficult enough, no need to rush through the gates so fast that we miss the opportunity to develop our thoughts more fully. Like a small seed planted into the ground this time of year, we learn to nurture it along, being patient, awaiting the fruit that is so satisfying later in the growing season. So to, our work starts that way and if we take our time, work more slowly, the fruits of our efforts may be realized further down the road.
This is probably something many reading this post may already realize, therefore sorry I am only now getting around to granting myself the permission to work slower.
Below is a double vessel idea I am exploring that I hope addresses aspects of sharing, with an underlying sense of spirituality and ritual. All coming about in a very slow manner...
