Recently I have been spending a lot of time learning to carve stone. I always try to find creative outlets, but it has been a couple years since I have been this obsessed about art. It is definitely refreshing to be back in that mode.
One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of my favorite two dimensional artists were/are great sculptors (and quite a few of them even carved stone). Michelangelo, Leonardo, Degas, Picasso, Matisse, Kathe Kollwitz, Ernst Barlach, Giacometti, . . . the list goes on forever. Given that a relatively small percentage of artists learn to sculpt, how is it that such a large number of the greats learned it?
I think that part of it has to be that when you are sculpting you are continually making mental drawings from all different angles. When one looks at Michelangelo's penwork, they can easily see that his pen was following the contours that his chisel would have in a carving. While everybody else was cross hatching at arbitrary angles, he was making his hatching find the surface that they described.
I am convinced, however, that a bigger reason is that sculpture (particularly subtractive sculpture) forces a person to be absolutely fearless when they approach their artwork. One slip while carving stone and months worth of work are ruined. Take a look at this page from my teacher's website:
www.baldwinsculptor.com/html/t… to extenuating circumstances he had to carve the keystone of a central arch in situ! Can you believe the pressure of carving a hand and portrait where a single mistake means that the whole building needs to be taken apart!
The higher that the stakes go, the more one has to proceed with utmost confidence. When you only have one chance to make a line, you cannot risk having that line be timid and wobbly. I think that people who are used to working under those conditions have that confidence spill over into the rest of their artwork, and ultimately into the rest of their life.
I don't think that sculpture is the only form of bold art. Ink painting, some forms of street art, tattoo art, and many other mediums promote a gutsy attitude. Anyway, the next time you find yourself reaching for that undo button or eraser, see what happens to your drawing if you just pretend like it isn't there. Let me know if it ends up being better or worse.
