How much have your skills improved and when did you peak?

[anotherdreamer]

I'm new to this site and to sculpting so I apologize in advance for anything stupid I might write but I'm about as green as you can be. I've just started sculpting and have a question. Do you feel that you hit a point where your talents had peaked? I have only a few pieces under my belt but am amazed at the rate I feel I'm improving and was just curious if and when this will slow down. I don't mean to say that my pieces would be inspiring to anyone else or are very good but it just feels like they improve so much with every new piece.

[anatomist1]

One of the greatest things about sculpture for me was the efficiency of the self-learning process, in terms of technique. The reason it is so fast is because there are no 'middle-men' or obstacles - just a constant, direct feedback loop between your actions and physics/materials. Almost every action is an experiment in which you can instantly judge success or error just by looking, and use the knowledge to inform the next action.

I think that the reason this learning rate seems so astounding has to do with how primitive and convoluted most of our systems of teaching and learning are, particularly schools and universities. What you are experiencing now in the studio is what you are really capable of doing, probably in many other areas as well. It probably feels unfamiliar because years of schooling have taught you to expect learning to be slow, tedious, and dependent on teachers, books, and bureacratic institutions... not to mention influences like TV and other mass media, which seem to serve anti-learning functions.

People often wonder why it seemed like there were so many great men in some prior era, like the Revolutionary War period in US history. I think this is why. It was an era of wide-open self-learning and experimentation on any and all subjects. Going from being a farmer or a blacksmith to a General or statesman in just a few years was not that rare. The main difference, aside from the different nature of the opportunites, was that there wasn't a massive de facto conspiracy of social conditioning forcing people to believe that they were mediocre and helpless like there is now. On the contrary, there was a widespread belief that most anything could be learned independently, largely through reading.

There are some places that buck the trend of soul-crushing overpriced education. If you ever want to learn how to build your own house from scratch, including wiring, plumbing, hvac, and everything except pouring the slab, The Shelter Institute can teach you in a week, for a few hundred dollars:

http://www.shelterinstitute.com/

[HorseModels]

I'm new to this site and to sculpting so I apologize in advance for anything stupid I might write but I'm about as green as you can be. I've just started sculpting and have a question. Do you feel that you hit a point where your talents had peaked? I have only a few pieces under my belt but am amazed at the rate I feel I'm improving and was just curious if and when this will slow down. I don't mean to say that my pieces would be inspiring to anyone else or are very good but it just feels like they improve so much with every new piece.

Hello anotherdreamer! Don't ever think that you HAVE to peak. I look back at the things I did 25 years ago and cringe...wait a minute! I look back at the things I did last year and cringe! I know I strive to make each of my sculpture editions better than the last one. I don't compare myself to anyone BUT myself. I don't have to see mountains of improvement, but as long as I can see some improvement, I feel that I am going in the right direction. I think the day I stop improving, I will be six feet under! :D

[Thatch]

Besides developing mechanical skills and a better understanding of the media I find that there is a constant growing in spatial awareness. I don't think there is a peak so to speak but there is getting past experimentation. A settling down once the envelope has been pushed for a long enough period. In school I was taught that it is called the mature period. One day I might get there.

Thatch

[bobcoon]

Well Dreamer, I have to say that I am not a beginner...my first sculpture was produced in 1961 (shudder!!!). I hold both a B.F.A. degree and an M.F.A. degree, the latest in 1966. Since that time I have been teaching sculpture. HOWEVER...I am still learning, still improving, and I really do not think that I have peaked (I hope I never do). My interest, my dedication, my desire is at least what it used to be. Sometimes I am amazed that it took me this long to come to a realization that, on the surface, seems so simple and uncomplicated. I really do not look at work some years ago and shudder, it is just then and my current work is now. New ideas come along constantly, and the vision (and drawings) for new works is still growing.
Maybe I am just one of the lucky ones, As long as my body will agree, I will continue to work metal and make these things!!!

[GlennT]

If the constant flow of great ideas was matched in full by their realization physically, then I would probably be able to say that I have peaked. Apparently I need to be satisfied if I can realize a few of them in this lifetime.
Given the limitations of the human condition, it seems unlikely that any sculptor can reach their peak, but climbing towards the summit is the best that we can hope for and there is plenty of grace and beauty to be attained in that.

GlennT

[ironman]

Hi, I don't think that your talent ever peaks, but over time your work changes, for the better I hope. I've been making sculpture since the early 70's, I'm almost 60 yrs old, and I'm doing the best work that I ever did!
Why? Because I'm in the studio 7 days a week. I am constantly looking at my work with a critical eye, visiting galleries and museums on a regular basis, surrounding myself with artist friends, staying humble, working for myself and keeping the $$$ and the EGO out of the studio. Remaining open to new ideas and growth. I spend a hell of a lot of time just looking at my work, doing that self critical analysis that is necessary for learning.
I eat, sleep and breath art!
Being an artist is ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY!
Have a great day,
Jeff