Faith

Faith is both the title of this piece and also what it is about. It was my first piece back at the lathe after a long while away from turning. The turning itself was a challenge as it was on off-center winged bowl from maple that was 3” square by 6” long. I had previously done this form on a smaller scale, so I knew the method of work, but of course with larger scale comes larger challenges. In this case it was the one wing sticking out farther than than before.  While I loved the way the bowl sat up on the arc of the wings, I was not sure that the structure would survive my coralizing process. There is only one way to proceed with such a challenge, by having faith in myself and my abilities. 

   With pieces that take many hours, one way to keep encouraged is to work the entire piece at once, jumping from area to area rather then completing a little bit at a time. This shows slow but steady progress and is also much safer structurally as it is progressively thinned over its entirety. I am not holding onto a thin part while trying to work my way through a much thicker area. The holes are all expanded at the same rate and have a coherence that would not be there if areas were completed one at a time. I treat it as I did my paintings, working from blocking in of forms, to adding more shade and depth, to final detailing. 

   Of course with such involved projects that last many days, weeks or months, it becomes quite like a meditative process. My eyes and hands working together while my mind is able to relax and escape from any issues that might be troubling me. It is often said that art is a form of therapy. Working through this piece resolved some issues and directed me back on the correct path. As faith helps hold us together in difficult times, the maple in this piece holds the form together and demonstrates that with faith, you can be strong and support much more than might be possible. 

   Art is always an adventure. Having faith in myself has enabled me to produce works that challenge me and go beyond any imaginary limits. How has faith enriched your life?