My son's name was almost Carver I loved carving so much. At the time, I had only made a spoon and wittled away at wood in a shop with family tools. I had carvers in my life and I was only able to watch them carve away at wood and create beautiful pieces of art work because I did not have the time or the tenacity to become a carver. I did not think that I had the tools necessary to become a carver. All i needed was tools though, however not the type of tools that you can buy in a store. I think that, to really be able to carve and become an artist, you need to have a pure heart. I think that your soul is poured into art work and if a piece of art work is made in bad intentions, then it can have a negative effect on the artistry itself. I cannot explain exactly why i feel this way. I think it is a respect that you need to give the art work. I think it was from, a time, when a good friend was carving a Native mask. He did not have the greatest intentions when he carved his artwork. Sure he was good at it, and he produced some good masks. I do not want to say great because he did not seem to place a lot of effort or soul into it. He sold the masks for drugs, and money to get by. I was not sure if this was the right way to live. In fact, he ended up tarnishing his name as an artists because eventually he was caught stealing somebody else's designs. This gave him a bad name and nobody would buy his art work anymore. I think it was also a form of karmic retribution. I do not know. All I know now, is that I would not want to treat art work with anything other than respect. I want to make art work because it makes me feel good. I want to create art work because I want to create something for somebody to look at and enjoy. One day I will carve, i think i have the tools now. Now i just need to go get some tools.
I think the idea you are expressing about having a pure heart when you create art work is a specifically First Nations tradition. Grad students in Whitehorse did an incredible presentation on beading as leadership - particularly as meditation about the health and wellbeing of the family members and those who would wear the result of the handiwork. A young man wore a beaded vest made for him by a great- grandmother who died when he was still a baby - but she was inspired at that time to make him something that would mark him as a leader as an adult. Another student, a jingle dancer, is creating her jingle dress as a parallel process to gaining Western European wisdom in her master's degree. She must only work on it when her heart is right and her life in balance, because to become the dancer is to be recognized as a wise woman in her community. So these are my experiences with what you are describing. I am also sad when talents are squandered or exploited but I wonder if the act of creating some kind of art is still somewhat healing for the artist. Ideally, people would have the protection of a healthy community so that they can make their art with the right intentions, as a gift to the community.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing...if someone else can do it, you can, too! Try it and see...
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