It was cold in the studio, breath steaming, her fingers frozen rigid around the chisel. The mallet beat a rhythm and the chisel moved, but she was simply the conduit for the metal point and the stone; even if her eyes were shut, she felt sure that the fossilised lovers would be uncovered – hidden in the centre of the creamy white interior for 145 million years.
When enough of their secret had been revealed, when they could breathe once more, she put down her tools and went indoors. Time to get warm and carve some words.
***
This week Rochelle Wisoff-Fields chose a photograph of one of my sculptures for our Friday Fictioneers writing prompt. I’m really excited to see what stories come out of it. To join in or, or to read everyone else’s stories, click here.
This is a limestone sculpture I did some time ago and the picture was taken when I was about half-way through the carving. The black ‘heart’ on the side is simply me working out in charcoal the shape of the sculpture as I go along – you can also see black lines on the one of the face’s eyebrow and eye lid, which show me where to carve.
Dear Claire,
A nice stream of consciousness from the artist herself. I love the ending line…”carve some words.” Nice. Thanks for the use of your picture.
shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle. That is what it feels like, doesn’t it? Carving words.
Beautiful!
Thanks
It’s a great work, but I personally don’t see lovers. I see an outgrowth of the person in the foreground, a projection of another aspect of his/her personality normally hidden away. And that hidden persona is meditating upon the person that all others see. Very fascinating…
Just like writing, I’m very happy for people to interpret my sculpture in any way – it’s all about a personal reaction.
That’s a beautiful story and a great sculpture too. Thank you for submitting the picture. I like that you had the idea of carving with their eyes closed too, although yours was a bit more romantic. 🙂
I really liked your idea, more sinster. It’s so interesting to read all the different stories that come from the same picture.
People have such radically different takes on it. You could see everyone’s personalities coming out in their perception of it.
Yes – are they likely to hack us to death with a chisel or kiss us 😉
Great artwork and I loved the story behind it. Especially this part: “she felt sure that the fossilised lovers would be uncovered – hidden in the centre of the creamy white interior for 145 million years”
Glad that you enjoyed it, and found inspiration.
Wonderful sculpture..very nice that the rest of the sculpture is ‘designed by new medium, the ‘word’..
We could get all philosophical about how the words and the sculpture are combining in our Friday Fictioneers stories – fusing and combining… But I won’t 😉
Enjoyed reading the artist’s story! 🙂
Thanks
Oh, that just is SO sweetly done! Poetry. YES!!! Something with some lyricism in it. Good job!
I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting.
Really creative. Art was so hard centuries ago. 😆
How did all those little shells and animals at the bottom of the sea even hold their chisels??
🙂
i love your use of words…and that romance and secrets were unveiled… and then that last line…
and great artwork, btw.. thank you for sharing it with us. i’m sure it inspired plenty of fantastic stories
Thanks. I’m very pleased that you enjoyed both the stone and the words.
Beautiful story, beautiful sculpture. We have an artist daughter and she brings life out of wood and prints it. My uncle reaches onto canvas with watercolors and tells a story. We may hear/see different stories, but they are still stories created by the art.
janet
And the stories are art too.
your sculpture is lovely, as are your words. thank you for sharing both this week.
Thanks. I’m pleased you felt you could get something out of both of them.
What a befitting story to the lovely sculpture you’ve carved. Thanks for sharing it with us and giving all of us a chance to interpret it..:-)
And in so many different ways. I am amazed.
Thank you so much for sharing..I saw them as lovers too
Thanks for commenting.
Just another day in the office hey? Tap out a sculpture, tap out a story… Great photo Claire, very well done on all counts.
Hmm, well, I have applied a bit of artistic licence. I have stopped sculpting recently to do the writing – I just can’t fit both in. So I’ve put down my chisels to go and write some words permanently at the moment.
Dear Claire,
I can relate to your artist in your story. The chisel freeing the lovers was a great touch and the carving of words was oh, so fine.
Thank you for the beautiful prompt this week.
Aloha,
Doug
Thanks Doug. Just pleased that it has inspired so much great writing. That’s a lovely thing.
This reveals something of the artist’s process — to discover and disclose what is already there, as opposed to creating something fictional or new. Also loved the line about carving words. A wonderfully personal story, brilliantly told. The sculpture is brilliant as well. You are an amazing talent!
Thanks Jan – that’s very kind of you. Carving does often feel like that – that I’m only revealing, not making.
love the idea of carving words
I guess that is what we’re doing. We write something, we chisel away at it, removing a bit here, changing a bit there until we’re happy. The only difference is that if you accidently chop off the nose when you’re writing, it’s a simple process to write it back in…
A great story about the art and the artist. You are an amazing talent, keep creating in what ever form you choose. Your abundance of talent is a gift to be shared.
Tom
Thanks Tom. Glad you enjoyed the sculpture and the story.
Wow at the sculpture really… I have no artistic bone in me, so when I see work like this, I am super impressed.
Love the flow of the words too, very well done. Thanks for sharing the picture, and stopping by mine 🙂
Ah, I don’t know about that – writing is artistic, and you’re a writer. Thanks for commenting.
You say you were half finished when this photo was taken–would like to see a pic of the completed work (although I must say, I like the emerging faces). Good artwork, good story, good prompt.
I’ll try and get one and post it. I gave it on long-term loan to a friend and I think it’s been in her garden, so the colour will have changed significantly. Glad you enjoyed it.
This seemed autobiographical.
As beautiful as the sculptures you carved. Every sentence of your writing shows your passion for your art and your words.
“the fossilised lovers would be uncovered – hidden in the centre of the creamy white interior for 145 million years”
“When enough of their secret had been revealed, when they could breathe once more, ”
Spoken like an honest and passionate artist. Thanks for the unique prompt this week. Respect!
Thanks Parul. The story is autobiographical, at a stretch. I stopped carving some time ago so that I can write, rather than doing both at the same time. I’m pleased you enjoyed the sculpture and the story.
So nice to hear the description of how the sculpture was done, and I clearly see the lovers in the sculpture. Very tender and nice, and a lovely sculpture.
Thanks Bjorn. Glad you enjoyed it.
Very well carved, both in the studio and at the computer. Perhaps you could post up a picture of the finished sculpture. I’m sure we’d all like to see it.
I’ll try and get one – the sculpture is on long term loan to a friend. But I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for your comments.
Trying to be both artist and writer myself I know how difficult it is to try to follow the dictates of more than one ‘muse’! But that the one informs the other. But in the end, one discipline informs the other. Multiple l muses just different facets of the same ‘goddess’ – perhaps as you show in your sculpture? And as you’ve shown here, the process is the same, it’s only the materials that differ. Thanks for the photo. Ann
Thanks Ann. I’m really glad that you could identify with my story. Thanks for commenting.
Welcome. And thanks so much for the photo. Your sculpture has so many different lives now!
wow – -outstanding!
Thanks Bill.
Loved the imagery in your piece and also loved seeing the behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of the sculpture. 🙂
Thanks for your kind comments Hayley.
Beautiful story and sculpture. I like how they link one to the other, then back again. I enjoyed using your photo as the prompt. I went decidedly dark this time.
Dark can be good. Just glad that it gave you inspiration.
Wonderful last line, and thanks for the back story on the photo. Both the sculpture and the story are works of art.
Here’s mine: http://unexpectedpaths.com/friday-fictioneers/hephaestus-wedge/
Glad that you enjoyed them and found inspiration from the sculpture.
This is a lovely story, you’ve really captured how it feels to be so engrossed that it feels like someone else is creating your art for you. Loved this 🙂
My sculpture doesn’t often have any ‘meaning’, it’s just about emotions and people. Glad you enjoyed it.
Claire- The depth of your talent is amazing. Like writing the sculpture will be interpreted many ways by many people. You have pulled back the curtain to give us insight into the mid of the stone artist. Tanks for sharing your talent and you phot with us.
Thanks Joe, *blush*. Glad it gave you an idea for a story.
Hi Claire,
Always interesting to see what the photographer will write about her own photo. You don’t disappoint. Great job of describing the creative process. I’ve had times when I felt like I was just the channel, and I was amazed at what flowed through me. Must be great to be so multi-talented. Ron
Thanks Ron. It’s lovely when it works like that isn’t – when the words just flow from somewhere inside. If you try and work out where they come from they usually just dry up.
Beautiful work and great story. Loved the part about her being a conduit and also about the fossilized lovers. And thanks for indirectly teaching us a bit about sculpting! Btw, I incorporated the heart in my story.
Thanks Beth. I’m very happy that people saw that little mark as a heart – just pleased that the sculpture inspired you.
First I want to thank you for the inspirational piece. It is truly an artistic work I would enjoy in my home. It is interesting how the art work in and of itself has waited these many years to be discovered. It is as if – it knows that it lies beneath. The wait was for the artist to see and noticed. Therefore the art is speaking to the artist. Nicely done!!!
I’m really pleased that you could relate to what I was trying to explain. Thanks for commenting.
Very nicely done, Claire http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/fridayfictioneers-janus
Thanks.
I love how she “uncovered” instead of created them.
Thanks. Don’t you think that writing feels like that sometimes too?
“when they could breathe once more” – that’s a great line! I enjoyed your description of the artist at work, and I like it even better now that I’ve read the rest of your post and realize that you’re the sculptor. And thank you for explaining the heart! I did notice the other lines, and wondered if someone had vandalized the piece.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Nice job. Interesting take on this prompt.
Thanks Shirley.
And the Main Character is… Claire! Thank you for describing the process, I loved the freeing from stone… and then going out to ‘carve words’.
How about a photo of the finished statue?
Thanks Ted. I’ll try and post one and will let you know.
Dear Claire,
Thank you for the photo and your story. I love the idea of the artist revealing rather than creating. As a sometime silversmith, I can also relate to ‘fingers frozen rigid around…’. Lovely work.
We have to suffer for our art don’t we? 😉 Thanks for commenting.
Aha! The heart of art. Knowing that something will be revealed either about you or to you. Beautiful sculpture and wonderful story.
Denmother
Hah! ‘The heart of art’ – I like that. Thanks for commenting; glad you liked it.
Really nice story and I love the description of the artistic process.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Dear Claire,
I’ve heard of multi-tasking, but this is ridiculous. You’ve excelled in two artistic fields while I struggle for mediocrity in one. Thank you for letting us use your photo. I had a blast with it.
Hah! I don’t think that’s quite right, but thanks for the sentiment and glad that you found inspiration.
A poetic descriptive piece, Claire. Nicely done. It’s an interesting sculpture too – I’d love to see a picture of the finished work. The only crit I can come up with is that the second sentence is very long. Maybe a break somewhere would make it read more easily. But that’s a tiny thing – I loved this story.
You’re right – I didn’t notice that – barely space for a breath. I appreciate you pointing it out. Glad you liked the story.
Thanks for the photo of your work, it proved to be a great prompt and provoked a wide range of wonderful responses. Your own tale has a haunting spiritual quality about it. It has an honesty too coming, as it does. from someone who works in this medium.
Loved it!
Love finding out about the work, I hadn’t noticed the black lines until now, of course I saw the heart, that drifts into the focal point for the sub-text of my story.
Liked the writing and the idea of carving words!