Luna wn 21%v
Seem to be stuck on a question that I probably ought to just leave alone-
Who am I making this stuff for?
In fact, when listening to my own intuition regarding this question I get a clear “that’s a detour, don’t worry about it, get back to work”. So I won’t spend a whole lot of time on it here. Trying to answer that leads to all kinds of guesswork and mental calculation that isn’t exactly beneficial to the making.
But my internal planner keeps asking this question anyway. It’s not far from the question “why are you making this/ what’s it for?” This is coming up now, during the making of lance #2, because it’s at first consideration a ceremonial weapon from another life.
Why? the simple answer: The lance form is beautiful. It has an extremely rich historic and mythic context. In the world of the imagination it opens many doors. I have an intimate and longstanding connection with the form.
On a bigger arc, it brings up questions about how and where I want my creations to be/go in the world. Being actively used among a small and mostly hidden bunch of practitioners? Hanging out on someone’s mantlepiece most of the time? Piling up in my home? Hanging in a gallery? Left out in the wilderness? I think a list of places and a jotting down of my gut feelings about each might be in order to generate a beginning snapshot.
Once those are examined, the hairier task of working out the economics of the thing comes to the forefront. Not just the how-much-money in/out question, but the overall energetic exchange. For that I must consider relationship, community, ownership and value. It is important to get the exchange right. Trouble is I still have difficulty placing myself.
Enough time spent on this question for the moment. It’s not going anywhere, I’m sure I can revisit it later. It’ll certainly revisit me, anyway. In the mean time, back to the doing.
Looks like I will be making a pair of wedding rings after all, and am thrilled to have been presented with a new collaboration/commission for a trio of garter buckles. These tasks are right, undeniably RIGHT, no question about it.