“My left hand is my thinking hand. The right is only a motor hand. This holds the hammer. The left hand, the thinking hand, must be relaxed, sensitive. The rhythms of thought pass through the fingers and grip of this hand into the stone. It is also a listening hand. It listens for basic weaknesses of flaws in the stone; for the possibility or imminence of fractures.”
“Before I start carving the idea must be almost complete. I say ‘almost’ because the really important thing seems to be the sculptor’s ability to let her intuition guide her over the gap between conception and realization without compromising the integrity of the original idea; the point being that the material has vitality – it resists and makes demands….”
Dame Barbara Hepworth. 1903 – 1975.
Credits to Google images and Wikipedia.
Figure for Landscape. Dame Barbara Hepworth. 1960.
Sphere with Inner Form. Dame Barbara Hepworth. 1963.
Spring. Dame Barbara Hepworth. 1966.
Artist’s Studio (preserved). St. Ives. Cornwall, England.
John thanks again for reminding us of another great modern artist (sculptor) and her creative working methods!
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I’ve always been drawn to exploring the nature, form, reasons, energy and expressions of the actual creative process, in others and myself. I’m finding it quite fascinating to search books and the web for writings by artists about how they create. It’s rare to find such. Lots of quotes regarding art in general but few that reflect on the creative process. It’s not an easy thing to write or speak about. Could I do it? Could you?
Thank YOU Robert..
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You are pursuing something which I think many artist and creative people would be very interested in John. If you can’t find such info it might lead to you writing a book or books on the topic. One author I found helpful is Eric Maisel His books focus on mental health and psychology of the creative person. Your approach is directly to giving the creative person the understanding tools of how great artists think and express their creativity. So……… thanks again!
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