While I was out in California a friend introduced me proper to the work of Andy Goldsworthy with a viewing of Rivers and Tides.
Now I’d come across his work before, but I’m always keen on process. I quite enjoyed seeing his act of creation in the film. It had a calming, energetic quality that I dug, even though I sometimes get bogged down in philosophy.
The first day I got back to the studio in Ohio, it was a beautiful day outside, unusually warm.
I took a walk out into the fields and figured I’d try to make something with these honeysuckle berries.
With grand ideas of going typographic, I found them to be hard to gather in volume and they were squishy to boot. To do it right would take a day.
So I decided to simply make a circle, file away the experience, and tackle the parade of flags in my inbox.
“Ideas must be put to the test. That’s why we make things,
Andy Goldsworthy
otherwise they would be no more than ideas. There is often a huge difference between an idea and its realisation. I’ve had what I thought were great ideas that just didn’t work.”
I totally know what he means, but I still think my notion might work. The challenge, as with so many things, is allowing yourself the time.
I’m determined to start putting blocks on the schedule to do just that.