For several years I participated in an "Art Night" held at a neighborhood school. I displayed some of my work and tried to assist the kids in making their own sculptures. My friend Janice taught art there and she recently retired. I was reminded at these events how difficult it is to describe or explain the process by which an artist manages to execute their work(s). There are hours of trial and error, random insights, learned eye-hand coordination and patterns of execution which result in the slow establishment of a style which is recognizable.
One day, downtown, I was sitting on a bench working on a piece. A woman from Germany approached me and asked if my work was on the walls of a bakery. I affirmed her observation of the similarity. She then stated, "I don't like your art, but I respect it". I smiled and thanked her, because this was a compliment I had never received. It rewarded the risk that artists of all kinds take when they share their work with the world.
