Revelation

Revelation
marble

2012

I have worked for a year or so on and off on this sculpture. When I found this slab of marble, it was so dirty that it was almost black. I felt my way into it in a tactile kind of way letting my hands lead the way, being guided by touch rather than vision. During all this time the slab looked rather ugly or listless. In comparison to the dreamlike Alabaster with its astral qualities, Marble feels rather unchanging, unemotional to me. I just had to carry on and trust that it would turn out alright without seeing any results in the meantime. The last phase of the work was to sand the flat surfaces using an angle grinder and varying degrees of sandpaper. It was only then that the stone revealed itself to me in its full beauty and intricate patterns. And it was only then that I realised that inutively I had chosen to work on the more interesting side of the slab. The bottom side still looked rather dull even after having been sanded. 

The same applies to every spiritual or other practice. You practice and practice and no results are shown. Only when you have made the final step, does the revelation occur.