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The
Difference
Between a good artist
And a great one
Is:
The Novice
Will often lay down her tool
Or brush
Then pick up an invisible club
On the mind's table
And helplessly smash the easels and Jade.
Whereas the vintage woman
No longer hurts herself or anyone
And keeps on
Sculpting
Light.
From the Penguin publication, The Gift, Poems by Hafiz, copyright 1999 Daniel Ladinsky and used by his permission.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST~ Connie Butler is a Humboldt County California figurative sculptor, working in bronze sculpture, stone sculpture, wood sculpture, plaster sculpture and clay sculpture. ~"Like the older wiser snake finally getting the hang of shedding old patterns to release new forms." Now that I have reached the younger aspect of my old age, I realize that all my life I have known that matter is imbued with spirit. It makes no difference what we call this energy: God, The Implicate Order, or Friend. A holy, invisible web underlies our material existence. For me, the process of creation is the concentration of my attention on wood, stone, or clay. When I first began, I trembled with respect and honor for the material. Now, I wait until a conversation between my mind and the material begins. It is a dialogue. The work is a compromise between the original image and the resistance of the wood to take shape. How do I know when to begin? When a force is kindled in my heart. When do I stop work? When there is a quiet sense of completion. Connie Butler |