A Continuous Shape
This documentary follow stone carver Anna Rubincam for three weeks, as she completes a piece from start to finish. It’s incredible to see the transformation from a single block to the final result.
This got me thinking about work. On most days, I spend my time writing code. I put a lot of time and thinking into it, and a mixture of words and numbers get bundled up and turn into something that exists on a screen for someone else to see and use.
Infrequently, I’ll have a day that involves me writing a poem. That process also includes words that I type, and sometimes… it makes its way onto a screen that someone else sees. I might get lucky and read those words aloud, and someone else might hear them.
Most of what I do feels transient in nature. It’s there, and then it’s gone.
I’ve got a portfolio of things that I’ve made over the years (some for work, some for myself), but they all seem so fleeting. A year flashes by, and the thing I made is taken down or deleted. The work is a set of electronic files, and they disappear so easily.
Ever since I was in graduate school for writing, I wondered about the lives of sculptors. I liked the idea of working in a medium so heavy and so permanent. I would think most writers have the same longing: to create something that will outlast their brief lives.
Related:
Extraordinary Stone Tools: Woody Blackwell and the Art of Flintknapping
Artist Michelle Erickson Recreates an 18th-Century Puzzle Jug
When visiting Rubincam’s site, make sure to scroll down to the “Method” section. There’s a great sequence that also walks through the creation process.
avoision (May 19, 2018 at 12:37 pm)