Its winter, and with the snow on the ground and sub zero temperatures, marble becomes unworkable. My Marble Pieta will have to patiently wait until the spring thaw. In the off season, I turn to new projects or continue to develop older ones. Winter is the perfect time to work on maquette designs that will later be carved into stone.

Whenever I start a new piece, I’m always a little embarrassed on the difficulty I have applying the image of my imagination into anything remotely recognizable to anyone but me. If I close my eyes I can see it… but then, with pencil to paper, brush to canvas or hands to clay there is such a struggle. It takes a real leap of faith to push through this awkward phase. And this is why I always start my projects in complete isolation…. No witness to my failure. I honestly believe that any person out there can create art, if they could only get passed this initial hurtle. Art is created by the sheer will of personality.

Of course some are more talented then others… And Michelangelo was a true master… a Universal Artist.

A Master Painter, Master Sculptor, and Master Architect.

But as I pointed out in my post “The Importance of the Maquette” Michelangelo destroyed all that fell short of perfection.  And we are only left with his best works; the legacy of the impossible standard. Continue reading →