Life’s short – Enjoy the Journey

We all approach things differently, don’t we? That’s the charm and fascination of art – we can start out with similar ideas, but ultimately, the choices we make in colours and textures, the style we choose, the size – all these stamp our individuality onto a piece.

Yes, we know all this, I hear you say. But there is something else too… The way one approaches the work has an impact. I am a fairly quick working, spontaneous mosaicist. No-one could ever accuse me of being neat! I do plan, but I don’t over-agonize about it. Some pieces are more planned than others, and these tend to be calmer. I do tend to let a piece sit, whilst ideas percolate and suddenly they bubble out…

My Zulu is a case in point. I’ve had the torso for months, but suddenly it hit me, and I was off. I am now waiting for a particular piece to arrive before I continue on… but I know exactly what I want to do. He is fully formed in my my mind – even to the choice of stand for him, and where he will live. He will not be for sale.

But usually, I do start out with a rough idea. I often don’t sketch things out, or if I do, it’s pretty rudimentary.

I have a cement bird that I bought from Bunnings because I loved the soft sinuous curves of the form. I immediately had an idea that I wanted to use – channeling Alison Turner, and her wonderful use of bullet casings. However, my plans have changed, as someone else is taking the same approach with the same form, and I do like to be different. So, I have another idea percolating, but I have to try a technical experiment first..

Life is a journey full of learnings, and twists and turns. Where we end up is often not where we intended to go, but the journey is uniquely ours – so it is in our art.

Have a lovely day, everyone!