Lets Leave the Tools in the Artist's Hands

I started working on a small sculpture the other day. I was working with a small tan/brown soapstone from Brazil. It had come with a small stone carving set which I had purchased to get use to using the tools and to learn different techniques. After using a small file on the stone I realized that I was so excited to start that I never really gave it much thought of what this stone would become. It was at that moment that I had remembered a quote that my art history teacher told our class a few years back.

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

-Michelangelo

I was just cutting in and carving this stone without giving any thought of what I was trying to discover. I began to analyze the stone from every angle. I couldn't come to a conclusion so I put it down for a day or so. After some time had passed I picked it back up to see what I could possibly find in the stone. Nothing. I was at a loss again. However, this time I picked up the file again and began to brush it over the smooth surface of the stone. I was moving slow and began to analyze the stone as little stone flakes fell to the table. As I was analyzing the stone I once again remembered another quote from Michelangelo, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." All of a sudden it registered with me that Michelangelo discovered the statue in the stone before ever carving it. I was trying to carve it before discovering it. I checked out the stone again and it was almost immediately that I realized what it was that I was suppose to "set free".

The purpose of this post is not the sculpture that I am currently working on, though you can count on me posting a picture of it when completed. Rather, It is about the quotes and the lesson that I learned. Michelangelo was saying that every piece of stone had an object or purpose in it. He understood that his job was to find what it was to be and to set it free to fulfill its purpose.

I've seen many sculptures of the famous biblical hero David. And each one was crafted different by each different artist. Donatello's rendition of David, which is one of my favorites, is of a young David with sword in hand as he stands victorious with his left foot on top of the severed head of Goliath.

These famous figures never carved themselves out to freedom; it was always a job left up to the sculpting masters. Now, obviously a stone figure can't just come to life and make that decision. It was just a thought that made me realize that in my own life I have picked up the tools to try to carve out what I felt was supposed to be apart of me and who I was to become. Often times, when holding the tools in my hands, I wouldn't even consult with the artist that had been patently working on me for years. I know that I am not the only one who has tried to take control into their own hands. Many people try to take control when they feel that life is hard and they are spinning out of control. So, here we are taking things into our own hands and trying to carve out what we think to be best for us. Meanwhile, before we were ever created, God, who is our master artist, has always known what we are to become and has been working on us; cutting off what isn't needed. Do you remember the old children's song "He's got the whole world in His hands"? That is for real. God has us in His hands and He is working on us. He knows what we are to become and how to get us there. You see, we are the ones that are trying to discover while He is the one that has already uncovered. He knows what piece is needed and what is not. We just need to learn how to keep the tools in His hands.

"O're the land of the free and the home of the brave"

On this 10th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, a day forever etched in our minds, will go down as a day in infamy. Looking through the pictures of that fateful day, one picture always stands out to me. It resembles the picture from Iwo Jima towards the end of WWII.

This image displays hope. Hope of a nation torn apart by the senseless acts of terror. Through the destruction the symbol of our freedom remains constant. I can only imagine now why Francis Scott Key pinned the poem which later become our national anthem;

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

As Francis Scott Key watched from the British ship HMS Tonnant, on his way to Baltimore in the aftermath of the Battle of Baltimore at Fort McHenry, it became clear to him that our flag, which stands for freedom, was still waving. This poem defines what he saw in those early morning hours and restored hope in his heart as well as the prisoners on the ship. The poem has five stanzas, one which was added during the Civil War, here are the other stanzas: 

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust;"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

When our land is illumined with liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile
The flag of the stars, and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained,
Who their birthright have gained
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.

Seeing our firefighters lift this flag from the chaos and destruction that struck our country, restores hope, causes pride to swell in our hearts and reminds us of our freedom. Let this day be a day of remembrances but also let it be a day of hope that we live in the greatest nation on earth! Thank God for the United States of America!