As Your Soul Demands
The wide range of available materials makes it hard for a potential artisan to choose. Each material has the potential of linking you to the broad expanse of human culture. But rather than be a jack of all material and master of none, you would do better to choose one that has the strongest personal appeal as a primary focus. Let the material shape you as your soul demands.”
So writes woodworker/philosopher Doug Stowe in the opening pages of his book The Wisdom of the Hands: Crafting, A Life. My friend Tim Musso shared his copy with me and so much of Stowe’s writing resonated that I have a six-page google document with transcribed segments for reference. I started reading slowly, but gradually found myself eager to soak up Stowe’s deep yet simple wisdom.As already established, I’m easily seduced by material, so the opening line of the passage above rings with deep truth. Materials available to makers range wide and the processes to work them combined with the results possible are as varied as the places any of us might lose our keys. This said, if you were to guess that I am seldom if ever bored you would be correct! So much to make! So little time!!
Making
And it is making that Stowe centers and rhapsodizes about. He highlights the benefits of using one’s hands to make useful and beautiful things. Tangible, hand-made objects, he argues, enrich life and inform culture. He also posits that, “The engagement of the hands provides a liberation of mind.” I can give personal testimony to this observation. Stowe goes on to extoll crafting and making as a solid foundation for moral development and trust in oneself. He writes:
…trust yourself to understand your own needs and desires, …allow yourself to become a passionate learner awakened to your own inner life. In your life as an artisan, you would seek your own creative path.”
Did you notice how I breezed past his call for focus on one material? I have yet to find my material of choice. In this phase of my work clay is my focus. Will it become the focus for years to come? I have no idea. I am a passionate learner awakened to my inner life and so I practice intentional tender mercy toward myself on this point (and many others). This keeps me from spinning into the would have, could have, should have spiral of regret and self-recrimination and allows me to continue on my creative path.
Life as an artisan
Uncertainty and resisting regret aside, I have an update on the series of bowls I call Women Who Feed Themselves. You may remember my entry about the one I almost threw away. Well, a raft of these bodacious beauties in 9” and 7” sizes can be seen and purchased at The Blue Door Store at the Riverside Art Museum. Yay!! Showing my work and getting it out of my studio at home = a huge win-win! When I carried three boxes of finished work into the RAM I also carried my expectations very lightly. Work accepted into the shop must pass auditors, and I wasn’t sure how many pieces would be approved. As luck would have it, the two auditors were right there as I unpacked my wares. I'd been asked to bring bright colored bowls so I went all out. [gallery type="slideshow" size="large" ids="9354,9353,9352,9351,9350,9349"]The auditors liked 90% of my work. Woot!Having work selected by auditors is no guarantee that shop visitors will buy. Trust and patience are key, a little forgetting that the work is out there also helps. I’m good at one of these and cultivating the others…
Back to the story...
This past weekend Ken was out in the wilds of Utah hiking with our favorite son, and I was ready for a solo culture date. I took myself to the Cheech Marin Center for the first time. Housed in the building that was once the main branch of Riverside Public Library, The Cheech opened earlier this year. However, crowds make me anxious and I like my art served without a side of distress, so I’d postponed this outing. My hope, late Saturday afternoon, was that I’d find the space free of unmasked throngs. My hope was fulfilled.Zeke, a smiling member of the museum staff, waited as I fanned out various cards to show him my RAM membership upon entry. Looking at my card he said, “You’re Rebecca of the bowls!” My head came up and tilted to the side. “Yes,” I replied. How did Zeke’s random statement sound so reasonable? He proceeded to tell me he recognized my name (as printed on my membership card) because his department makes the tags for items in the museum shop. Ah, I nodded. There was more. “My supervisor just bought four of your bowls.” You could have knocked me over!
Rebecca of the Bowls
Zeke answered my questions about his favorite part of the exhibit, and how best to proceed. I smiled as I stepped away to begin my viewing. A few moments later, still carried by the bubbly joy of my new moniker, Rebecca of the Bowls, Annie said hello. She is director of Guest Services and the collector (Uh-hem) who bought my bowls. Small, happy gasp. "They are perfect for pasta or salad," she beamed. Yes, yes they are!We chatted easily for a few minutes until Annie excused herself so I could enjoy my museum time. But I was already enjoying it. So. Much.Annie said collector. I met someone not already known to me who collects my work. (!!!!)Pretty sure she chose the four in the last two photos above.I walked into the Cheech with a few setbacks resting on my heart—a tough studio day, a disappointing email. Zeke’s and Annie’s warmth and kindness changed all that. I walked both floors of the museum with a light step and lighter heart. The unexpected affirmation of my work got my smile going.The artwork kept my face alight.If you;re in Riverside, please go see the de la Torre Brothers' exhibit before it ends January 22, 2023. You will smile too!
Soul Demands
May you encounter kindness and support when you’re not even looking for it. May you be the person whose words of genuine appreciation buoy the heart of another. We are in this together and each of us has the gift of giving and receiving tenderness—one material that, whether you call yourself an artist or not, every soul demands.