Amélie moule: mai

13 juin 2014

Ça y est, ma bourse de moulage a pris fin avec l'arrivée du mois de juin... voici donc le sixième et dernier chapitre d'Amélie moule.  Bonne lecture!

"Well... this is it, the six months of the grant are over.
Over already.
Time has gone so incredibly fast...

When I look back, my first instinct is mild panic, a sort of oh-my-god-what-was-I-thinking-I-haven't-remotely-done-enough-how-could-I-be-so-wasteful feeling.  But then my brains kick in (thankfully) and say "hey, relax girl and look at the numbers".

Oh right, the numbers...  Let's see.  More than 2300 hours of firing over the course of 6 months.  That's an average of 12,5 hours of firing a day, including holidays and weekends and everything.

I... how did I............... I mean, really??

There is so much peace of mind to be found in numbers.

Yet, as I am turning the page on this pretty big chapter in my life and career, my mind tends to drift into nostalgia a little - and I've got the perfect piece of music to set the mood:

(If I could choose my voice, it would be hers, unquestionably.)

First, a few words about May...  In short, it's been tough.  Both physically and mentally.  The "last month" factor combined with the fact that I have to come up with a solo really put on the pressure, and I ended up working insane amounts, throwing myself in every direction and struggling to find focus.  Silly mistakes were made, things had to be redone 2-3 times, crooked pieces kept coming out of perfectly straight molds, there were tears and frustration and "poetry attacks" as you like to call them... but then time ran out and I had to stop redoing things over and over again and just accept them the way they were.
And it was like the clouds had suddenly parted.
My mindset completely shifted, I felt a profound love for all my "crooked" pieces and realised that they were actually truly beautiful.  And isn't it the most wonderful part of art making, to accidentally find beauty within the flaws of your own creations?

Here are a few pictures - do tell me what you think...

Nature morte 1: Psyché

 Nature morte 2: Éphéméride

  Nature morte 3: Élégie

And while we're at it, I'm also adding pictures of a few mold-blown pieces I've been working on recently, which were more like exploratory projects but interesting nonetheless:

Le rêve - variations sur le thème

Métamorphose

Looking back on the past year as a whole, on everything that the grant you've given me has allowed me to achieve, all I can say is: thank you.  Thank you so, so, so, so much.  I don't think I'm exaggerating if I say that it has absolutely changed my life as an artist.

I've grown beyond my wildest dreams.

I've built my self-confidence.

I've improved my technical skills, my understanding of the material, my artistic vocabulary.

I've had fun, I've cried, I've failed, I've succeeded, I've experienced the entire emotional spectrum.

And I've even started to find poetry.

So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Much love, 

Amelie"