Knowing When to Stop
I've often dreamed of being able to work at leisure and let each piece dictate it's own time frame. Who wouldn't want to be free of all time constraints and nuisances such as deadlines? It may sound liberating but I know things would spiral on for eternity and I would never get anything done. You can't show, let alone sell, a collection of unfinished art.
No matter what painting, sculpture, or design I've worked on I've always felt it could use just a "little bit more". I've always wanted just one more brush stroke. Just one more hour. Sooner or later you have to accept enough is enough and move on.
Today was my self imposed deadline for that moment. Ready or not, I had no say in the matter. "A man's got to know his limits." as Clint would say.
Today was circled in red on my project calendar as the point of no return months ago. It's been glaring at me from a distance like some crimson beacon of inevitability. If I hope to finish on schedule I need to leave the remaining time for finishing and refinement. Those are uncharted waters and I'm going to need some wiggle room just in case things go awry.
Time to cover the english wheel and put down my hammers and dollies.
For once I feel the timing is perfect. I am very comfortable with where I am today and I feel it's "there". I've spent the last few months adding a pinch and a dash here and there just like a pot of pasta sauce. The last taste today was just right. Time to move on.
This doesn't mean the pace will let up. Only the focus will change. I'll now have to spend hour upon hour grinding, sanding, and buffing the metal to get just the right look. I've got the finished image in my mind's eye, all I have to do is make it a reality. There is no room for error.
I'll get to have a lot of fun and be more loose at this stage so I'm excited and reenergized. Working six days a week has worn me down but the notion of playing with patina and wielding my paints has me enthused.
Time to fire up the Pink Floyd and fling some paint. Dark Side of the Moon anyone?
posted by Anthony Lauro
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8:54 PM
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