I was stopped in my tracks by pottery created by Shadow May, an artist from Red Bank, Tennessee. Next to his work was this copy:
“I work from the perspective that life is fleeting. That belief lends to the urgent and spontaneous nature of my sculptures. ‘Did I do enough in my life? Did I live in fear too often? Did I challenge myself to taste greatness?’
The fundamentals I gained from apprenticeships and production work early in my career have equipped me with a fearless method of creating sculpture — evolving rapidly.”
In addition to loving his work (I brought a piece home with me), I love what drives his approach to creativity. Keeping the preciousness and fleeting nature of life top of mind, without making one’s creative output “precious,” but rather, iterative, gives us a space of freedom from which to create. We can honor our diminishing time here while simultaneously coaxing out bursts of new ideas and creations that can evolve rapidly. And in the process, we can evolve rapidly as well.
