Bronze

It`s been quite a while since my last post. There have been some attempts at writing, but I could not really bring myself to it, I think I had not much to say. In hindsight I can now say that I was experiencing a rough period of doubt and all it`s nasty side effects. In such case, detachment and distance from the outside world are necessary to come to the core of what drives me. And what drives me?

Hard to express in words…

But let me say that a making process can give me a deep feeling of satisfaction. I rediscovered this love while being involved in the making of my first bronzes. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was always reluctant to have something made in bronze because in my perception it is too permanent and conservative. But as it is with everything, it takes an experience to change ones perception. The earthly power and the craftsmanship of the whole process makes my heart beat faster. I followed every step these skilled craftsmen made and by watching their passion for the material and the focus in their work, something in myself was opening up and I rediscovered also the basic need to touch the material and to work together with the material to create.

Enfin, yesterday I picked up the result of the transformation from clay to bronze and I was so impressed. There it stood! Was it my sculpture? Something had happened without my intervention…..chemistry…

Does that mean there will be only bronze from now on? No, definitely not because I am a believer in the fact that the work you are creating has its own laws and that we have to listen to what it needs. So, yes I made a few new works that definitely demand also bronze because they evolved from this one, but let me see what the future brings and take it day by day.

Here some pics of the day of bronze casting and the !Tataa… sculpture!

very hot! at kunstgieterij De Clerq-Ginsberg

poring the liquid bronze into the mould. Critical moment...