There Was One Who Believed.

All because "someone" believed...

My wife Wilma has made no secret of the fact that she first noticed me because of my artistic bent and abilities. Of course, when I fell in love with her I shameless used this to it’s fullest effect, and as you can see, it worked!

From the very beginning she has always encouraged me in my art. I could never really list all the ways for because she loved this part of me it just was part of our relationship.

It was exciting and strange for me, that someone was excited about this, for at that time in my life I saw it as almost a curse. I had learned from the important people in my life like teachers and parents that art and doodling was bad as my grades always suffered when I engaged in art. Even the very conservative culture I grew up in disparaged “art” and so this interest by an amazing young woman was nothing but refreshing and breathtaking for me.

As the years went by her enthusiasm and serious efforts in encouraging me began to change my perspective. I to came to “believe” that it was "possibly for real" and that, some day, like in retirement, I (we) would seek to more fully engage this latent thing called art. We often dreamt of working together, merging our gifts, on projects, she would write and I would do illustrations, photography etc.

During the trial, one year ago, for the first time in my life I was doing sketches from my heart and soul. It was this event that like coffee in the morning, jolted  me into using my gift as an expression of my inner self. I could not turn back. It was like the floodgates opened and Wilma was trying to coax me very sensitively wondering if this was it. She began using every way possible to nourish this new thing along. She need not have worried. Though it was all new to me she had succeeded during our 43 years of marriage in making a believer out of me too.  I was on my way. I found a studio and moved into it in June of last year. This week Friday I will have my “coming out party”. My first real art show. The very first time I am really expressing myself in my art.

The interesting thing, Wilma, my amazing wife, the one who “believed” is the one facilitating the event! She, during her years at MCC working for victims of serious crime organised with Ray Dirks, curator of the Mennonite Heritage Gallery an art show for victims of crime. After the trial, she resigned from this position, but a date for another art show had already been arranged. In discussions with Ray, she suggested this slot now be taken to show Odia’s (our daughter) and Cliff’s art. (Including another victim and two of our supporters who are also artists!) Ray agreed and here we are, less than a week away from opening night!

Today, I give tribute and heart felt loveing “thank you” to the most amazing, beautiful woman in my world. A toast to the one who “believed” with a love that risked it all, my wife, Wilma Derksen.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. I does not dishonour others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-6



Follow the Money!

Samson did not understand the meaning of

"friendship."

I am sitting (actually mostly pacing) in my studio and I’m hitting the wall. Not literally, but like the runner, I’m hitting the wall. I am supposed to price my stuff for the art show! I am avoiding it. And I am late. Poor Ray is waiting for my prices.

We were with friends last night, and the question came up, “Why do you do this? Is it for the money? Is it to fill in time? What is the real reason you are doing this?”

Another comment, “After years of creating work will you have a basement full of stuff and your kids will be wondering what to do with all these sculptures, sketches and drawings?”

There is a saying, if you want to know the motivation for something, “follow the money” and it will be revealed, that in fact it usually is for the money.

So I sat down and did a rough calculation. I added up the hours I worked on a piece and paid myself a low but reasonable dollar per hour. Then I added expenses such as overhead, kiln firings, clay and material costs, research costs, tools etc. That came to a figure I could not even dream of charging for any of my pieces.

 So the two questions remain, why do I do this? and how do I price my pieces?

During our time together with these amazing friends, who know us (me) well, we worked out a lot of things related to these two questions. I now have a much clearer idea of the “why”, so the pricing now becomes almost a none issue. I know I’m not in it for the money, (though don’t get me wrong, I like money too, and that is part of the problem!) but I am retiring, and I just need to work things out for myself. Making pieces helps me do that. The scary part is you get to see me work things out.

So, the pricing is just placing a “blessing price" on each piece. Where I don’t gouge you and your purchase blesses both you and me. You feel good about obtaining the piece for your own reasons and I feel good that you value it and actually want it in your life. That by the way is a huge “Wow” for me.

Bottom line, we have amazing friends.

“Giving an honest answer is a sign of true friendship.”

Proverbs 24:26.

Issues with "The System"!

Another side of  "The (typically problematic) System"!

I am in my studio and as you could see, in my last blog, I’m preparing to place “The System” into the kiln. In examining the many hands that are “holding the system up” or “involved with” the system I am testing to see that all is well.

To my surprise, one hand breaks away from the ball. Oh no...now I am glad that I did not remove the stand holding the ball up in the air to facilitate attaching the hands. You see, all these hands are to hold the ball up off the table surface. They are supporting the system! So, now are all the hands loose? I continue going around the ball and sure enough, a second hand is loose. And in fact two fingers are cracked and break away from that hand itself!

So much for the “firing” plans.

Is this not really just like any “system”? Whatever it might be. They get so large, they become unwieldy, ego-centric, insensitive, hurting the very people they need to keep them “off the ground” and alive! People turning away or involved and breaking away in hurt and disappointment. Often hanging in there and in the end leaving hurt and broken. I just was talking to a father who’s child wanted to enter a particular nursing school. The administrative process of applying was so cold, harsh and impersonal, inconsiderate... (no bedside manner!)...she decided to turn to another school for her nursing courses! A wise decision to see such issues early in the involvement with “the system.”

I will not be getting consultants and counsellors and the like to fix this situation but will employ other methods to do the repair.

Clay shrinks as it dries. What happened was the two items, the hand and the ball were at different levels of dryness so the hands tore away from the ball since the two items were drying and shrinking at different rates.

I know...another example of how "systems" tend to operate...

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words...”

Mathew 22:15



Why Do I Do This? - Part Two.

"Supporting the System" 

about to be fired.

Continuing from last weekend...Why do I do this?

Sixth. I love working with my hands, forming the wet clay into recognizable shapes. Hands moveing automatically forming and shaping, adding and subtracting, sliding, stroking and as the form comes into reality. One seemingly simple or imperceptible change in the surface of the clay can change the spirit, attitude, meaning and message of a figure. It is awesome, and it is sobering. Detail suddenly looms into unimaginable importance. It is seemingly magical.

Seventh. We, all of us, are made in the image of God. He is the great “creator”, of nature and of each of us. That creative aspect is part of the image of God in all of us. This is a God given urge and ability. Each of us will express it in our own unique way. So then when I look to God for inspiration and guidance in my own creative adventures, it is the most fulfilling, awe-inspiring and meaningfully thing I can imagine. That in this small way I like God, am bringing things into existence that never existed before. That are original and unique. That the message and layers of meaning are way beyond my awareness and understanding. It is a fearsome thing to contemplate. It is God’s gift to us. I am grateful, in awe and humbled.

Eight. It is a therapeutic thing. It is meditation. Every one of my pieces deal with some aspect of my life, my past, my questions and my desires to express a feeling or a concept. One cannot help but gain new insights during the hours of the creative process, thinking about the issues, questions and implications of the piece you are creating. It brings a sense of wholeness, goodness, healing and satisfaction to my soul.

Last but not least, number nine. The surprises in the process of the making are so amazing, and so fun. As you follow your muse in the making suddenly that look  or form that develops brings something new and different to light. Or, it comes out of the kiln and the colors give it another unexpected dimension. Fantastic. (If it goes wrong...you just start over and it will get even better!)

“...the creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:”

Isaiah 42:5



Why Do I Do This? - Part One.

Samson!



What makes me want to spend my time in my studio, a small cubical, 20 min. from my house, attempting to create items conjured up in my brain that may not mean anything to anyone else?

What makes me want to spending hours alone, wearing an apron, hands in mud, trying to solve all kinds of engineering type of problems in the making of odd looking things called sculptures out of a substance called clay?

I have written an art statement now for my art show coming up. It seems to be kind of a “left brain” document that seemed to cover the facts needed for newsletters and other various promotional purposes. But I did not answer this basic question, why am I doing this?

Let me count the ways and the reasons that I can think of this morning...probably there will be more reasons tomorrow. This kind of thing seems to be a moving target so let’s see where this goes.

First, I am finally convinced that I do have some kind of a “God given gift” as an artist and now more that ever feel responsible in not only to use it, but to attempt to grow and fine tune it in the short time I have left on this earth. Allow it to be all that it can be!

Secondly, I am embarrassed that, in the past, I have not really excepted the fact that it is a “real gift” and have left it so long to seriously apply it and act on it. I am leaning heavily on the truth of the saying, “It’s never to late.” I have spoken to my God about this and even though I still feel bad about that Him and I are ok about it now. We have an understanding and I’m confident in His profound presence and assistance in the this our joint venture together. (Am I serious in this? You bet, I can’t go on in any other way!)

Third. I do this because I love the 360 degree affect of sculpted pieces. That no matter what angle you look at it, it all contributes to the affect of the image and the message. By now my mind seems to just go there naturally and I cannot really conceive of an idea without it being an image “in the round”.

Fourthly. Now be patient with me here, I’m not sure how to say this without being socially embarrassing, but, I love the sensuality, texture and feel of the clay in my hands. There’s this “tactile” thing here that takes me away into another world. Of course it is tied to the fact that something is formed in the process but that is another item on the list.  Now, here I’m isolating the “feel” and the satisfaction and joy it brings to have an image in mind and have your hands move over this medium of clay to bring it into reality. Every sweep of the fingers, every move of the hand over the clay is made not only to create something but is done for the love of the movement.

Fifthly, I do it for the magic of the creative activity. Once the action has begun to create a piece, I seem to move into another unknown dimension. I am totally unconscious of time and space. I think of it now as the "Sanctuary of the Creative." I am on some kind of “automatic pilot” where my body moves until someting like my stomach growling will suddenly yank me back to reality. Not surprising when I realize it's way past lunch time. But, behold, a miracle, hours have gone by and there is something new I have created before me. It’s magic and I love that.

Wow, that was interesting... I will stop there for now. There are still additional reasons why I do this, I'll share them next time.

“The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God...”

Exodus 8:19

Art Show January 27 - March 10, 2012

My daughter Odia Reimer designed this for the promotion of the art show.

She's simply amazing.  (Said the proud father!)

Would love to see you all there, especially at the openning and at the "Artist Talk Night." You are all invited.

Blessing to all,
Cliff