Struggle + Flow in the Studio
The Studio is a place of solace and refuge as the artist settles into their creative state of flow.
Finding solace and pleasure in the simple things, I slip easily into hyper focus and flow once I begin the process of sculpting. My tools are fine edged and sharp or smooth and rounded; dental tools, clay sculpting tools as well as found objects. Detail oriented, I love the tiny business edges of the dental tools for sculpting my tiny jewelry, whether in polymer clay or precious metal clay.
The struggle is in laying down the responsibilities and distractions of daily life in order to just begin. It’s a little like beating my way through a jungle, pushing past the clinging vines and broad obscuring leaves of the undergrowth as I make my way to the work bench.
Sculpted animal portraits express multiple purpose: celebrating the animal as an individual, unique and beautiful in its place in Creation and as a representation for a concept or person.
I’ve been exploring the process of sculpting in a variety of media and enjoy each one for their unique characteristics. I doubt that I will restrict myself to one medium as one of the main the pleasures I find as an artist is exploring and expanding.
The process of sculpting on such a small scale is challenging and consuming. I have so many sculpture ideas living in my head that it could take a long time to see them all come to life. And then there’s all the larger scale pieces that are asking to be realized. Its exciting and amazing to feel like I’m on the edge of discovery and adventure.
Finding stories that come from personal experience, the stories of collectors or from tales and poems and then expressing some part of them in sculpture or painting is an age old human expression.
Creating these small expressions of personal stories in such a touchable, interactive form as a piece of jewelry is delightful and so satisfying.
I hope you come along for the journey and even more so I hope you reach out to me with your own story and maybe it will find itself expressed in a personal story pendant sculpture.
Join my Studio Friends and share it with folks you think might enjoy these pieces too.
I will be releasing them to my email list first. First look, first dibs.
After that I’ll share them with my social media followers.
Have a blessed season of thankfulness and joy, from my heart to yours.
~ Renée
