Today, I decided to scale back. To not worry about sculpting a whole figure. Instead, I wanted to work on just a face.  

Today's Lesson Learned 

I need tools for detail work such as eyes. 

Today's Thought

In my artistic explorations I've begun to wonder how much credit goes to the artist and how much credit goes to the tools. 

There's this great documentary about music. In the film a guitarist is interviewed. He says that his band has this very complicated song because it changes time signatures. For the uninitiated, changing time signatures is the type of thing an elementary school orchestra can do. He then plays an uninspiring three chords on his guitar. He then turns on the thousands of dollars worth of sound equipment he has bought, plays the same three chords, but filtered through all this equipment (that would probably take me several decades to afford), the sound is a wave of sensory information.

So the question for me becomes, is he a guitarist or is he a sound engineer? I don't think there's anything wrong with either profession. I have a lot of respect for both. It's the labeling that gets me.

If it was reversed... If there was a sound engineer who could shred an acoustic guitar into a sound experience that rivaled any rock concert but only knows how to setup a simple amp with no effects, would we call him a sound engineer anymore or would we tell him that he should be a guitarist?

So I think it's great that this guitarist can afford all this equipment. I'm crazy jealous of him. However, if he's challenged by--what I would consider--elementary school musicianship, should we not call him an sound engineer?

(I've been wondering a lot about this in regards to my music composition; however, the time grows short for me to post before midnight.)

That whole guitarist vs. sound engineer thing brings me to sculpture. Working with clay in such a small format, it's impossible for my fingers to create detail without tools. So it leaves me wondering about how much of what I accomplished today was because of the tools or because of any artistic ability I may possess... and should method or labeling matter to me or anyone else?