Recently ran across this web link from Concordia University's Fine Arts program: http://caps.concordia.ca/forstudents/advice/fa/statement.php
It links to great example of a nice brief statement and instead of the behemoth technical statement that we have been using for a couple of years, it is time to take said behemoth and condense it down to a nice tight thought, which of course makes me think of the Seth Godin quote "If you can't state your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position." When applied to fine craft/art it makes me feel that if we can't say "why" in a few short words, we really don't have a clue why we do this.
As I've explored before in a previous post titled "WHY" getting to the real reason behind the creating is a challenge and is often one of denial and superficial reasons.
In going back to that post and excerpting certain points and following the illustration in the Concordia link I've developed that following more succinct statement:
Our crafting of jewellery is a pursuit of excellence, an adventure in boldness and an exploration of the hidden beauty in our world.
The desire to create and create with excellence is a result of our personal life journeys and our decision to move past years of meeting mediocrity, staying the wallflower, and denying our desire to craft. This absolute decision drives this competition within ourselves for attempting to attain excellence and boldness in each creation.
Through our stone cutting we find a richness of colour and pattern that has been trapped in basaltic formations for millions of years. It is released from this snare annually to be discovered when we are the adventurous rock-hounds in search of treasure in the ordinary. Cutting and setting these stones that we collect is a gratifying way of sharing this previously hidden beauty with the viewer.
Like the stones, each of us hides and protects some of our inner beauty from the everyday world. The bold jewellery that we craft using these stones are amulets of strength and confidence that draw attention and show the wearer as an extraordinary person in pursuit of their own adventure.
Be bold, be excellent, join the adventure. (might make a good tag line)
I think that I'm warming up to this more honest statement....
