The art of admiring

Every time I am asked how long does it take me to finish one sculpture the answer is received with raised eyebrows and open mouths. Yes, it takes a big deal of time to finish just one piece of art, therefore I only make two per year.

But I can’t… I won’t speed up my process. I like the long conversations held between me and my alebrijes, those intense sessions of creativity, when I listen and they speak and I move my hands at their pace until they ask me to stop.

It’s intimate, bonding, it’s a deep connection with my soul and that of my sculpture, it’s something that keeps me alive and ready to peacefully part ways when we both have had enough of each other and can finally move on.

Each piece takes anywhere from 3 to 6 months from beginning to end, sometimes longer. I take breaks, I use long sessions of just observing them from different angles, making mental notes. I research, I take long walks, I imagine. Sometimes I argue in disagreement to their demands… All that, only to make one piece of art that I will truly admire for the rest of my life.

The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.

Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray’s Portrait

Art may not have a practical use, and in my case, it may take way too long to finish, but I believe in feeding humanity’s brains and souls with beautiful shapes. I believe we all need to stop and observe. Just observe. Observe and immerse in the artist’s essence, share with us those long hours and even months of dedicated work just so you can take this moment to fill up your eyes and heart with beauty. Next time you’re in front of a beautiful work of art think that beauty is a mater of perspective, that is also contradictory and made for the only sake of being observed. Think that beauty may just be beauty, and that is absolutely perfect.