An interlude

Michelangelo’s Pietá. Photo Credit: Paweesit

One of my favorite descriptions of all time is Irving Stone’s Michelangelo standing in the quarry at sunrise, gazing at raw chunks of marble in the early dawn light. He is peering inside the stone to discover the figure that lays within, the man or woman or angel that needs to be freed through his hammer and chisel.

He was not creating these sculptures, but releasing what he believed already existed within. I realize that with my own book, I have the same feeling, a sense that there is a story to be released. Yet, unlike Michelangelo, I first have to build the blocks of marble, filling endless white pages with words that will ultimately be carved away. It is a process in two stages, and truth is, I like the carving best.

But first, I must create what needs to be chiseled into form. I’m under no allusions that Sex in the Sea is anything approaching a work of art such as that of the Pietá, but with some luck, I hope tell a story that has long been waiting to be told.

The blog is momentarily quiet as the building process continues, hammer and chisel at the ready. Stay tuned.