One day I’ll carve a goose sculpture
Just the other day a customer asked me if I had ever carved a goose sculpture and I had to reply that I hadn’t, though I really have meant to for many years. I’ve said ‘one day I will’ too often. For anyone who knows me I won’t need to explain, but I’m ridiculously (and unapologetically) fond of my geese who live here at my workshop, and I have all the inspiration I need close at hand.
Today I’m filled with new, unrestrained purpose for the project. My next quarry visit will include selecting a block of stone for a goose sculpture.
A little miracle today is the reason. After thirty days under the warmest down, and receiving the most diligent and unwavering care, an egg became a faltering, fluffy yellow tiny gosling, pipping and peeking out from under a protective wing.
It is such a tender and beautiful scene – I feel quite emotional, and joyful, and proud of my goose. I will carve to honour the moment.
2 Comments
This is so exciting, Jennifer, at a number of levels, and embodies so much of what I prize about creativity, both the ‘natural’ and the ‘human’ kind (by which, in the case of the latter, I mean something that is so often a response or reaction in some way to the former).
But my first instinctive reaction is a loud ‘Ahhh!’ purely for the pure joie de vivre and beauty that is embodied in that little gosling.
Your sketchbook is exquisite and a source of inspiration in itself – thank you so much for making this available to us. I recently bought a copy of an extant sketchbook by Thomas Bewick, and begin to see just what treasure troves of imagination these books can be, affording the viewer a truly personal window into the ‘soul’ (and mind) of a creative person/practitioner. I am constantly wondering how many drafts of each poem I should keep and, at the same time, meaning (and often failing) to write notes on how a piece came into being, the ‘donnée’ or ingiting spark, if you like.
Thankyou so much! Your words are so beautifully put together – and yes, my goodness I’m feeling Ahhh, and making very silly noises to my goose and gander, and cooing nest-side!
It is so interesting you mention about keeping your drafts – it must be all of them! There is such pleasure (quite apart from that given to others seeing them) in going over them yourself I find. Sometimes an idea isn’t quite completed and you can go back and be re-united with it, and make it soar – perhaps in a slightly different way. I’d love to see your notebooks! The Thomas Bewick sketchbook sounds very special – and I’m rather envious! Thanks again for your lovely comments.