Yves Dana – and my catalogue reading
I know I’ve mentioned him before, but today in my ‘pausa cataloga’ (not sure if that is good italian) I read a beautiful book of his sculptures from cover to cover. It felt like falling in love, so exciting and enjoyable, I just wanted to suck it all up…
So, at least once a day I try to spend somewhere between 15 and 30 mins looking or reading the catalogues in the foundry office (today I just got sucked in and it was an hour, oops). I started this about a week ago, but should have done it when I arrived as there are so many I don’t have a hope of getting through them all before I leave. Its nice as it has the added benefit of getting to know the folks in the office better.
The last few days I’ve been reading Helaine’s ‘mythology’ catalogue which is amazing and really useful. Yesterday I read how she was influenced by a writer to who said it should be possible to create a work in a sitting, to work intensely on her models till they were done, and then do very little changes in the process of translation and enlargement.
This was great and timely advice, as I’m currently working on my third piece, and having tried to work it out in a few small maquettes (I think I was working too small and it didn’t really help) I decided to launch into the piece as I am creating a surface related to a group of figures in the geometry of a pyruvate molecule. I initially thought I was maybe missing something by working too fast, and nearly getting it in the first sitting. But following that reading, I’ve decided to try to get it as fast as possible so I don’t go astray or lose it.
Reading Dana today was also useful. His response to his materials – he initially worked in iron, then moved to stone, now also works in plaster for casting in bronze – he is inspired and challenged by the hard materials. I was also intersted that he works on his pieces directly without doing maquettes.
Another thing I noticed was how prolific he was at the start of his career when he was doing his iron works – around 14 works a year, which is more than 1 a month. This has given me the resolve that when I return I really need to set myself a similar aim for the next year. I think I need to get lots of works done as you learn so much from each one. And the size I’ve been working now is fine – 40 – 80cm or so… large enough to challenge but small enough to get done and push to its limit and fully resolve in the timeframe.
So, feeling in a transition phase but in a good way – sucking up the last of what I can from Pietrasanta, whilst beginning to look to the new chapter that will open when I get home.
Meanwhile the doom of the ash cloud seems to be chiming with the work I’m developing!
