Aesthetics and our work

["Bob Hackett" <kinfolk@zzzzzzz>]

  Throughout both our lives and our developement as artists/craftmen we find
ourselves standing before portals or doorways.We make decisions about which
handles we grab and which portals we step through.Most of these passages are
lifechanging and some come to define our life by the direction they cause us
to go.Would any of our lives be the same if we hadn't embraced art?How would
our art and lives be altered if we worked in glass or wood instead of stone?
    Art is more than about aesthetics or the lack of it.Art is about voice
and intent.Art is about having something to say and staying true to that
voice.That voice can range from a whisper to a scream but it still needs to
be expressed,which leads us to intent.
   I intend to say something through my work.Sometimes that statement isn't
clear to anyone,including me,and I know I've missed it and need to try
again.My intent is to remain true to that voice.
  Other times I try to capture a past success ,it sold before so surely it
will sell again.In bowing to the need to pay the bills my intent is to make
money(not near as satisfying as the original intent).
    One cannot be a present day artist/craftsman and not come in contact
with other's work.Once we come in contact with it we are influenced by
it,for better or worse.We may see things in that work that send us in a new
direction or that we would like to incorporate into present work.Our intent
is changed yet again,if only slighty.
    One of the previous posts talked about how an established artist would
visit emerging artists and plagiarize thier work.To me this is taking the
easy way out and is outright theft.How would you feel if ,on a visit to your
studio,I tore out your vocal cords and tried to use them as my own?
   Then there are the so called artists who follow the latest trend and jump
on any bandwagon that looks inviting.Is the voice they're shouting with
really thier own?Are they being true to thier voice or is thier intent
focused in another direction?
   We need to be careful which handle we turn and what door we walk thru,we
may not be able to find our way back.Once we're lost we run the risk of
finding ourselves  faced with such weighty questions as "how do I keep this
dead cow from floating in the resin"or "what type of manure should I fling
at this one".
   I,for one, hope I never get to that point.That was not my intent when I
started this trip and I would consider it a failure if it ended that
way.Perhaps I too need to further my education(my intent is to stop learning
the day before they start throwing dirt on my coffin).

Mainely,Bob