stuff/matter[s]

An artist starts with an inspired IDEA, usually by mixing a current
perception with a past experience or tradition. The artist finds
meaning in his excitement to make something new from these two
elements.

The initial inspired IDEA is a very fuzzy image, even if it's from a
still life object right in front of you. The IDEA can only be
realized by giving it form through a proper choice of materials and
techniques that will best convey the original vision. At this point,
the artist's understanding of the nature of the chosen materials
mixes with, and starts to change, the perception of the original
IDEA. So even before the artist starts to transform matter, the
materials start to transform what really matters - the internal
nature of the artist. At this point the original IDEA is altered, but
starts to become more tangible through the evolving vision of its
manifestation in matter.

We'll call this modified vision of the original IDEA the "IDEAL". The
IDEAL is a mix of the artist's vision with their passion for the
materials. It's a combination of both the essential nature of the
artist and the materials.

The struggle of transformation begins! As any artist will tell you,
the materials always have a mind of their own. They will, or will
not, allow you to do certain things to them according to their
specific properties – or inner nature. As the artist works, the
strengths and weaknesses of the materials begin to take over, further
changing the IDEALized version. One might think that it's simply a
matter of skill that controls the materials, making them fall into
step with the original vision. But it can't be that simple, because
the artist is trying to express a new IDEA, something never seen
before. If the artist wanted to merely replicate something else,
something without any original idea behind it, it wouldn't be art.

If the intended work is really meant to be art, the artist's passion,
his psyche or soul, becomes more involved in the work. When this
happens, the artist experiences one or more "crisis points" as the
material and the artist are both transformed. Each crisis point
occurs when the newly transformed material, or IDOL, no longer
matches the initial IDEA. The IDOL now replaces the source of the
originating thought and becomes the primary inspiration.

At this point some artists give up, they think they have failed to
live up to their first IDEA. Their only failure, really, is in not
letting the materials play their part in the process of creation.
Alchemists have said that their materials "talk" to them while they
meditate, whispering secrets about their true nature, their strengths
and weaknesses. If artists listen, they'll hear the same secret
mutterings urging them on. This is where the magic happens in both
art and alchemy, because it allows both the art and the artist to
change and grow, to transform themselves.

After a number of crisis points the artist will consent to what he
and the materials have done and call the project finished. Of course,
the completed piece will not be a copy of the artist's original
experience or initial vision of what it could become. It will be a
shared compromise between the nature of the materials and the
artist's inner nature – a combination of both their hopes, wishes,
and dreams.

What? Are we really to believe that materials such as clay, paint,
lines of poetry, or the vibration of a musical string have hopes and
dreams? An artist would say these things have a will of their own, an
intent. An alchemist would add that they had the same wishes and
desires as we do – to evolve or become better. This is a very
mysterious notion, but if you believe there is a reason and purpose
for the world that we have yet to understand, then it might not seem
so strange after all. Is there a difference between mind and matter?
Alchemists see no distinction between the two, and a growing number
of quantum physicists agree.

- From "How is Alchemy like Art", Issue #10 of the "Guide to Lost
Wonder", Jeff Hoke, 2002.

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