[Today’s featured artwork for Day 15 of the 365 Days Project is by Shane Wilson.]
In a world hell-bent on moving faster with increasingly sensational visual and emotional stimulation commanding our attention, can people slow down long enough to truly appreciate art…and life?
#15 – Art teaches patience, appreciation and deep understanding.
My sculptures take their time coming into this world. They don’t explode on the scene expecting to be immediately applauded. They humbly arrive at a pace all their own, despite my urging to please hurry up.
Most of the work takes weeks or months to accomplish. And some pieces are created in less than a day. Regardless of how long it takes, a work of art created today is the result of decades of previous work. Each piece is built on the successes and failures of the ones that came before. There are no instant miracles.
And when my artwork is ready to meet the world, it is my hope that people will take the time to experience it: to sit with it a moment, relax the mind and savor the free-associations and insights as they come up. It is my job to help them leave their bustling world behind so they can step for a moment into mine. It is always worth it.
Claude Monet planted a garden before he started painting it.
“It took me some time to understand my water lilies… I cultivated them with no thought of painting them… One does not fully appreciate a landscape in one day… And then, suddenly, I had a revelation of the magic of my pond. I took my palette. From this moment, I have had almost no other model.”
Claude Monet
Shane Wilson’s artwork can be viewed at Shane Wilson.
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
Descriptions of the images included in this post:
Gaia
Shane Wilson, British Columbia, Canada
Carved moose antlers, bronze moose skull
Big Horns Ram – Shatter and Melt
Shane Wilson, British Columbia, Canada
Big horn sheep horns
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