One of the really interesting pieces that Grey touches on is the idea of inspiration. He states that, “every artist has his or her own unique process of inspiration…some people receive full blown, detailed images in a flash during the guided visualizations or shamanic drumming. Others may receive only the briefest glimmer or feeling and it is not until their pencil touches the paper that the imagery comes flooding through”(Grey,80). I could not agree more with this statement. As I mentioned earlier in the term my dad is a carpenter and can make amazing things out of wood. But it was not until this certain project that I could see how truly gifted my dad was. I went to a Christian elementary school and the principle came to my dad and asked if he could make the school a life size Bible all out of wood with the stories from within coming alive in the form of shapes and people.
Instantly my dad got what Grey refers to as visualizations. He could instantly see how each piece was going to look and where he was going to place each one. He carved out each piece with premier accuracy and painted everything with intense precision. Each piece was just the way he had envisioned it to be. It was a 6 year project that he worked on and off on but he finally got it done.
In addition, the night before he was going to present it he got another vision of how to make it better. I can still remember him working all night on it trying to make those last minute changes that he believed was going to put it on top. Grey refers to this in his article when he states that, “pressure is a great catalyst. Important ideas can come at the last minute under a deadline. Often as a painting is coming to completion, I will have to change an entire section because an essential insight suddenly arises” (Grey,80). This is exactly what happened to my dad. The deadline approached and all of a sudden he had new ideas of how to improve it. Its funny looking at it now how many comparisons I can draw from Grey’s article and the process it took for dad to complete it. Everything layed out exactly as Grey explained. He had an inspiration, envisioned it, made it, tinkered with it at the last minute, then presented it to my school.
It was such rewarding project to see come together because you could see how passionate my dad is about wood working and the extents he goes to make the details perfect. He’s a perfectionist and you were really able to tell when it was complete.
I appreciated the comparison of your dad’s creative process to this week’s reading. It sounds like your dad’s carpentry project followed a very similar creative trajectory to that of Grey’s. It is also evident that there is a link between your dad’s art medium, carpentry of the bible, and spirituality. Not only does it sound like he was passionately invested in this project, but it was also likely related to his religion.
I am often envious of people who experience the “visions” you mentioned in your post. I had a friend in high school that was a talented musician. He could hear a song on the radio one time and would be able sit down at a piano and play it, along with the addition of harmony. It was often hard for him to explain exactly how he could do this except for stating that he could “hear” it. This echoes the sentiments of visual artists who claim that they can “see” their work before they create it, like your dad.
However, Grey (2001) recognizes that this is only one of many artistic processes. The article states that, “Not all artists will recognize each phase in their work, and each phase takes its own time, widely varying from work to work” (76). I paint, sew, and play piano, three activities which require a certain level of creativity. Sometimes I am trying to recreate a finished product I have seen somewhere else or an image that has been inspired by someone else. However, my most creative moments come from starting at point A without a vision of what point B will look like. This process allows me to forgive myself as I go along because if I am not adhering to a vision, there cannot be any mistakes.
I would love to see a picture of the final life-size bible. You should see if your father can get you a picture of it for your final portfolio. I think that the process of inspiration is portrayed perfectly in your example. Grey discusses inspiration and its definitional origin, “inspiration means access to spirit,” and I think that your example, the creation of a bible, fits nicely into this understanding of inspiration. Whether it is the spirit of god bestowing an aesthetic vision, or the spirit of art revealing a beautiful image, it is a “spirit [which] brings vision to the artist via the imagination,” (82, Grey). I’d be curious to see if your father has opened his fifth chakra which “gives voice to divine inspiration and a sense of sacred mission,” or whether the ‘mission’ was just a mundane task assigned by your principal (99, Grey). Either way, your father it sounds like your father is in-spired/in-spirited.
Your Dad has unique skill in visualization. I also don’t think that we are all equally capable of visualizing. Some people are just more capable of acquiring this sense, and that probably helps them in becoming creators and artists. This also relates to Grey’s thoughts regarding process. Grey noted, “Every artist has his or her own unique process of inspiration.” (Grey, 80) Your Dad’s inspiration seems to come from visualizing what he wants to accomplish. He is able to see what he wants to portray, and he can match that visualization. Some people need to sit down and calmly think about the next step in the process of creation, while others need to jump right in and get started. I would consider my creative process to be more like the latter of the two ways. It also does not surprise me that your Dad is a “perfectionist.” A perfectionist in art needs to fully understand what they are building or creating before beginning. Maybe this is due to being able to visualize a number of options, which is a unique skill.