Making Art

Last week, after admiring a neckpiece made and worn by Linda Kaye-Moses, I asked her how long it took to make it. She replied that she had, over time, formulated a response to that question. “My whole life,” she said. I also asked her if the design led her to choose particular materials, or the materials inspired the design. She did say that finding certain stones “opened new possibilities,” but I think the actual answer to that question is “yes.” Whatever the starting point, there is an interplay between the vision and the materials that is not linear. In one of her blog posts Linda describes the process of using a specific stone to create a neckpiece.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how an idea becomes art. I took an OLLI at Berkshire Community College course, “How is Music Conceived and Created?” with the composer Stephen Dankner because I was intrigued by the questions in the course description:

How do composers ‘invent’ music? What specifically is a ‘musical idea’ and from where does it emanate? This course will explore how musical structure is conceived, both on the small and large scale, along with the role musical instruments and virtuoso performers play in inspiring composers.

During one class Dankner played a composition of his own, a string quartet based on the song of the chickadee. I could hear the notes of the birdsong in his music, but my immediate question was why a string quartet? Why not the flute, which seemed more akin to the sound of a bird to me.  His response was that a string quartet was available to play and record the music. He did later write the same music for the flute.  A composer thinks, he said, “What is the potential of sound?” which strikes me as the same question the painter, sculptor or studio jeweler asks about the potential of her medium.

In my own world of leadership development and coaching, I have come to understand how much my accumulated experience and, I would like to think wisdom, is part of the what I create or the questions I ask a client. Working on a program design recently, I realized that what was flowing “naturally” was actually based on years of prior successes and failures. It took me a few hours and “my whole life.”

Thank you, Linda.