In the Mind of the Artist

Richard Jaworowski, a friend and sculptor from Connecticut, called me the other day in a state of great excitement; he wanted to share with me a dream he had experienced the night before. In that dream, Shirley and I were visiting his studio in Willimantic, Connecticut. There, we joined Richard and his wife, and the four of us milled about the place drinking wine and talking, discussing the virtues of his various marble sculptures and woodcarvings, laughing and enjoying ourselves. We caressed the sensuous stone pieces with our hands, enjoying both the rough and polished surfaces, taking pleasure from both the look and the feel of the marble stone before us.

Next came the exciting part of his dream, the reason for the phone call. The four of us retired to his ‘private studio’, a studio that doesn’t exist in reality, only in this dream. Marble pieces filled the studio, new works of art as yet uncarved, new pieces with exciting shapes and an unimagined sensual tension.

When he awoke, the images of several of these new ‘dream’ pieces remained sharp in his mind. I listened as he related his excitement at this private glimpse into a realm of personal possibility that existed in the mind and soul of a dedicated artist.

What a joy it must be, I thought, to feel so excited about a new and unexplored image from the subconscious working its way to the surface and making itself known to the conscious mind of the artist, especially after all the years of sacrifice and dedication to the craft. I struggled to imagine what that actual process must feel like within the psyche of the artist.

Living a life dedicated to art and marble is a hard path to follow, and Richard has endured many challenges and disappointments over the years. Listening to him today, to hear the joy in his voice as he talked about carving the new images afloat in his mind, I felt envious of his gift.

Follow the link below to visit an online gallery of Richard's work

The Art of Richard Jaworowski

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