As An Artist, How Does The Ball of Wax Affect Your Life?
In the previous post, we discussed the introduction to “the eccentric Gallery mistress known as Marion Stevens.” One of the statements she left us with is:
“Art is like a ball of wax, it follows you throughout your life.”
Let us break apart the sentence structure and pull out the key words:
Art
It
Follows
Throughout
Your
Life
noun, compared to “ball of wax”
nominative pronoun, reference to “art”
verb
preposition
personal pronoun
noun
What Is Art?
As defined in the dictionary:
Art:
(noun)
Skill acquired by experience, study, or observation
A branch of learning
An occupation requiring knowledge or skill
The conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects
In definition one, it tells us that the term skill of ar can be acquired externally from any place or anything that we have, experienced, studied, or observed.
A branch of learning, number two, if the branches are science, math, English, or others, then one could also access Art through formal educational designations or institutions.
Number three is where the meaning shifts as an occupation requiring knowledge or skill can be taken in two ways:
one who brings self knowledge or skill of art to the occupation.
being trained in Art is the reference back to meaning one and two where the noun Art can be acquired.
In my opinion, number four is where the true sense of art lies as the internal conscious person who uses their inner skills and creative imagination to convey one’s interpretation in “that moment” of being present to make a permanent or impermanent physical object. A sketch, painting, song, story, fabric, pottery, fashion, photography, interior spaces, and a culinary recipe, to name only a few short topics.
Back to the fourth definition of Art, consciousness here takes on the underlying term for Art:
Being
Being aware
Intuition of cognition
Observation
Knowing
Inspired by…… all of the above
Imagination, imaging, vision
The Art of Imperfection
On one of my trips to Japan, a term was used called “wabi sabi.” The word itself and the way the sounds are pronounced peaks the curiosity, as it should. Her one can see the Japanese culture has embraced this consciousness through the term wabi sabi.
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.” (Wikipedia)
Bringing wabi-sabi into your life doesn’t require, money, training, or special skills. It takes a mind quiet enough to appreciate muted beauty, courage not to fear bareness, and a willingness to accept things as they are - without ornamentation.
I would encourage everyone to explore the Japanese tradition of “wabi sabi.” It can influence the way one thinks and lives.
The Term “Ball of Wax”
Also know as “the whole ball of wax” this means the whole thing, the entirety of something.
The paradox starts with Art being learned from external influences or an internal way of observing and being. In either case, one could argue that everyone has the ability to be creative referring to the entirety of the ball of wax. Whether one chooses to be creative or not is a selection in the direction of one’s life journey.
These words, having been spoken by Marion Stevens, can only be defined by her;
however impossible that is today. Breaking apart the elements in the sentence we can make the argument that her brilliance left us contemplating how art has affected all aspects of our lives and how we see art affecting our life in the future.
In our next post, I will discuss the frustrations of losing the concept of Art while on the streets of Key West.
