Carrying On

I keep a file of good quotes I come across, and this is one I return to now and again, attributed to John F Kennedy when he was president:

“The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state … {in} democratic society — the highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may.”

When I find myself struggling with issues that all artists face I find that just those four sentences can give me a reason to carry on. Sometimes small reasons are all we need.

I am still not sure if I could articulate what it means for an artist to stay true to themselves. There is more to true to yourself than just making sure you are doing what you want to do, regardless of falling chips of course, but it is a good place to start. Much about art is all about choice, after all. I can’t point to the first time in my life when I made the choice not to look back from choosing to be an artist, but the choice is made over and over, in decisions big and small.

Speaking of impossible dreams, here are some new Don Quixote sculptures:

Adventuring Knight Mixed Media (wood, metal, polymer, paper, paint) 24H” x 9”W x 17”D

This is a reworking of a sculpture I debuted here last spring, I believe. The basic structure is still there, but with a few changes. In particular I felt the front legs were splayed out and stiff and stopped the momentum of the horse and rider. Compare the new one, left, to the old one…

the old Adventuring Knight

Bending both legs at the knee, towards the middle, gave it more graceful movement but made it more unstable. It’s now attached to the base but could stand up on it’s own.

Adventuring Knight, 2014
Mixed Media (wood, metal, polymer, paper, paint)
24H” x 9”W x 17”D

Adventuring Knight (detail)

Adventuring Knight (detail: Rosinante)

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The sculpture below, “Hopes and Possessions” I updated recently with a new base made specifically to fit horse and rider.

Hopes and Possessions, 2014
Wood, wire, string, rope, plaster, acrylic paint
27″H x 20″L x 15″W

Hopes and Possessions

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And then there is this little fellow: “Virtuous Hopes.” The title was taken from a quote from the book … “virtuous hopes are better than wicked possessions”.

He is the smallest of all the sculpture, and he is cute. He is my new favorite.