A thought occurred to me this morning as I was feeding my sourdough starter and I would like to share it here, on this sculpture blog, because it relates to a principle that pervades my sculpture work. Having decided a couple of weeks ago that I would have a go at baking sourdough bread - it seemed a good idea at the time - I've reached the stage with the 'starter' where I need to feed it, i.e. add more flour and water to it, every day to get the natural yeast production functioning at its optimum level.
I have been faithfully and diligently following the recipe in my cookery book for several days now and have taken great delight in watching the creamy mixture gradually come to life as bubbles rise to the surface. I check it every so often during the day to see if it's all going according to plan, i.e. according to the recipe.
This morning, however, something happened in my kitchen with the flour mixture that usually happens with the clay in my studio. I looked into the jar and tuned in to what I was seeing; forgetting about adhering to the recipe and tuning in to how the starter was looking (in the same way I look at and tune into the state and condition of the clay when I take off its plastic covering when I start work). It was telling me that, even though it wasn't yet the 'prescribed' time to feed it (the recipe says feeding every 24 hours), it needed some help because it was beginning to drown, with liquid forming on the top. It didn't look 100% happy. So, I gave it some more flour and a little water.
I had made the process my own. I was in tune with my material, in conversation with my material. Just as I do when I'm working in my studio.
Just like significance of place (see previous post of 28/01 The Significance of Place), the significance of material, integrity of material is a thread that runs through/fundamental principle in my work (as per the 27 July 2014 post Fundamental Principles).
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