*Dreams and Legends, bas relief sculpture, 12” x 12” x 1”, air dry clay on cradled wood panel. © Renée Fukumoto*

A few years ago I had the incredible pleasure of attending a 3 day painting workshop in Northern Ontario with two artist friends.

I was so delighted by the beauty of the nature around me, enthralled with the sights, sounds and sensory bounty. I was also soul-fed by the company of a wonderful group of artists.

However, I began the workshop feeling disconnected from the media and style of the instructor. Acrylics are not my favorite. They always felt like a wrestling match. But I chose to surrender to the path of the instructor, the media and style.

I learned to let go of strict representation and to lean in to shapes, textures and depth.

Once I got home I wanted to lean further into texture and depth. I picked up my palette knives and began to lay on the paint in full bodied strokes and swipes, layer upon layer. Long, short, thick, thin.

Suddenly everything opened up. My desire to capture my feelings about what I see began to be met with a transformational process that had so much more depth and meaning than my previous structured and strict representational methods.

Not only was colour speaking to me in a new way but now the physical shapes of each application created light and shadows of its own. My heart danced with the possibilities inherent in this process. In fact my creative spirit reawakened to my desire to sculpt.

Now the bridge between worlds appeared. Creating bas relief sculpture using palette knives and paper clay paste is bringing my buried longing to be a sculptor to life. Sculpting with various types of clay including metal clays has begun to transform me, to reawaken my longings and meeting them with possibilities. Potential is all around me. Endless creative possibilities are billowing up like fullsome thunderheads brimming with rain.

My cup is filled to overflowing. I am grateful.

Curious about the journey? Would you like priority access to newly release art like the sculpture and sculpted jewelry I’ve been working on? Please join my Studio Friends below!