Fall
Occasionally there are moments in my life when all of my senses feel heightened. When I am truly present in the moment, experiencing it vividly on an emotional, physical and spiritual level. It doesn’t happen in dramatic moments – but late at night when all my defenses are down. In ordinary moments that suddenly feel extraordinary.
I had a moment like that recently, and the visual image was so vivid, that I decided to try and capture it in a piece.
It came together in stages. That’s the way it goes: sometimes things come together easily, and sometimes I have to set them aside until the next level becomes clear to me.
I finished the central cloisonne part of this piece and then I stopped – not sure where to go. It was almost a year before my friend Michelangelo Iaffaldano dropped by the studio and made a remark that gave me a glimmer of an idea.
But the vicissitudes of life took over and I forgot about it again.It was a busy time in my life, I was organizing an enameling exhibition, building my new supply business, designing a literary award and preparing for a show. One of the things I was working on at the time was an exhibition sponsored by the Metal Arts Guild that called for collaborations. I was lamenting the fact that I didn’t have time to prepare anything for it, when suddenly at the very last minute the inspiration occurred to me. I would get Michelangelo, (who had showed me the direction to go anyway), finish it for me!
It really was the last minute: the deadline for entries in the show was Saturday morning. Michelangelo came over on Friday evening, made a couple of preliminary sketches, and applied the graphite. I fired it – and was delighted with the results.
We didn’t get into the show – but I didn’t care. I was glad to have had the push I needed to bring the original idea to final fruition.
imago corvi 