Adopt the pace of Nature

Adopt the pace of Nature: her secret is patience.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

With any new artistic medium there is the learning, the doing and most importantly, the waiting. There should always be a waiting part but I am not a very patient artist. After three kids I have learned to be a very tolerant and patient person, though not when it comes to creating. An inspirational fire burns within me and can be unstoppable, even during the necessary “waiting” time of artmaking.

Knowing how I like to explore new mediums, a couple of years ago the Gallery gave me a glass kiln for Christmas. A most wonderful and generous gift that left me a Bullseye fanatic for a few short months. However, I soon learned that I am not glass worthy. I kept pulling my pieces out too soon, under slumping, over heating, cutting and creating furiously all trying to cut essential temperature and waiting time corners. I keep a small, beautiful glass fish I made, hanging in my studio that has a sad fracture at the wire as a reminder of my impatience.

The clay fish and sea tiles I have been working on have had sufficient time to dry, only because of the delay in getting the kiln installed. Now that the kiln is ready to be loaded, I am nervous for the new clay projects that lie ahead. The waiting time for drying is paramount to success as is the firing, soak and cooling…

Metal is a good medium for me, not too fragile, needs a lot of muscle, bends back and takes a beating. As my husband lovingly tells me, I cook like I weld, HOT and FAST! A few metal sculptures are silently weathering and gaining beautiful patinas in the garden. That is a good place for them, patiently waiting for Nature to add her beauty.