Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Short clip of William working on a sculpture
One of my favorite things to do is watch William working on his sculptures. I was able to shoot this short video without him realizing I was filming him-he can be very Banksy about being filmed. The music in the background is one of our favorite songs, "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" by the group Flogging Molly.
Weekend Work
One of the things that is interesting at this point is that William's studio is about an hour and a half from where we live so he works on his sculptures at home a lot. This weekend was no exception, except that he was doing more work than usual inside the house. Usually our yard is his preferred area to work but the weather required more indoor work. Our weekends usually begin with a coffee date at Bessos, where we discuss what he is working on, how he feels about it, and where he is thinking about going next.
I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because I was busy but he was working on several pieces at once, both with wood and with stone. He puts an immense amount of time into getting each piece exactly like he wants it. I do my best to stay out of his way, I have discovered that the creative process is fragile and he does not need my input, my main task is to enjoy it from a distance and take photographs only when he doesn't realize I am taking them. I am glad that I have started photo documenting though because the sculptures are like children, growing and changing rapidly as he moves them through the process of where he wants them to eventually go.
I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because I was busy but he was working on several pieces at once, both with wood and with stone. He puts an immense amount of time into getting each piece exactly like he wants it. I do my best to stay out of his way, I have discovered that the creative process is fragile and he does not need my input, my main task is to enjoy it from a distance and take photographs only when he doesn't realize I am taking them. I am glad that I have started photo documenting though because the sculptures are like children, growing and changing rapidly as he moves them through the process of where he wants them to eventually go.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sticks and Stones (In Progress)
William has been working on a self portrait series in wood and stone. Do these mediums seem unlikely since he is an abstract artist? I think they are perfect. William was willing to do what so few of us are, he upset the norm by leaving his chosen career path in his mid 40's and choosing to go in a completely different direction.
His path seemed as unchangeable as stone, as solid as the large tree in my front lawn, but by exposing himself to the dramatic "weathering" process of art school-his life has been changed forever.
These pictures are of him working on these pieces. Splitting into his very soul, this step of allowing himself to be transformed by this experience has been an interesting journey for both of us.
I love watching him as he engages in this process. He is not a writer and he doesn't sketch his work before he begins, but I am allowed intimate glimpses into his thought process as he talks about it every Saturday morning during our weekly "coffee date". I realize that he has chosen me to be his living sketch book. My ears and heart take in his ideas as he expounds on things he wants to tweak, wants to create, wants to bring into being from his spirit into the world. If you were to watch him, you might think his work is completely intuitive but I am aware that he may talk out his ideas for months before he actually touches a piece, so the pace of the work seems very rapid, and sometimes is but the pre-planning is frequently a long process.
His path seemed as unchangeable as stone, as solid as the large tree in my front lawn, but by exposing himself to the dramatic "weathering" process of art school-his life has been changed forever.
These pictures are of him working on these pieces. Splitting into his very soul, this step of allowing himself to be transformed by this experience has been an interesting journey for both of us.
I love watching him as he engages in this process. He is not a writer and he doesn't sketch his work before he begins, but I am allowed intimate glimpses into his thought process as he talks about it every Saturday morning during our weekly "coffee date". I realize that he has chosen me to be his living sketch book. My ears and heart take in his ideas as he expounds on things he wants to tweak, wants to create, wants to bring into being from his spirit into the world. If you were to watch him, you might think his work is completely intuitive but I am aware that he may talk out his ideas for months before he actually touches a piece, so the pace of the work seems very rapid, and sometimes is but the pre-planning is frequently a long process.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)