Composition Troubles

[Tonya Stanley <tonya.stanley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Everyone!

First, let me say how glad I am to get such wonderful responses from
members of this list. As you all know, starting out any new endeavor can
be a daunting task and to find such kindred spirits like yourselves
makes my heart soar!

Next, you all need to realize how much of a novice at this I really am.
I have been spending my time making small custom memorial stones, house
numbers and name plates, and tile inlays in slate for my uncles
customers. These are great practice for what I really want to be doing,
which is larger scale artistic endeavors. I feel like I could be doing
so much more!

Inspiration has been hard to come by though. I dropped out of art school
back in the early nineties for more practical reasons and now which I
had not. Elements of design and principles have eluded me and I find it
difficult at times to adapt my ideas to the constraints of the stone.
(POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACES)

Lettering and small graphics are easy, but when I tackled my first "self
commissioned" piece, something I wanted to do purely for the pleasure, a
150 year history of our town, I choked. It seems impossible to get all
of it into a pictorial. I guess I am having trouble developing my own
style. I really want to make it a personal statement, not just a copy of
another man's (woman's) genius.

I guess the question I am asking now is how to go about developing a
style. A difficult question at that. I know I love thick flowing lines,
pattern and movement.

But, some of the imagery involved, like loggers and sawmills fit great,
planes and boat building and the more modern events don't fit my more
flowing techniques. They are stiff, and dominating. Integrating them is
proving daunting.

I have searched the web in an effort to discover how others have handled
similar situations in stone and found older examples where symbolism is
used, mostly animals and human figures. I love the older examples and
have been tempted to narrow my scope to the earliest events in our towns
history to eliminate some of the contrast caused by the more modern time
line, but I am not so easily swayed from a challenge.

So, it is this I leave you with today. An image of a young girl
pondering how she will make a 150 year history fit into a composition in
slate. I think I have stone carvers block lol. Sorry to vent on the list
but I thought maybe, just maybe you have been there, done that and could
offer some lovely pearls of wisdom, of which I am certain you all have.

Thanks.
Tonya