Vent: Had to choose between keeping a rusty gear I found or using it in a sculpture, went with the sculpture and now I kind of regret it.

Found this perfect, crusty gear on a walk by the old rail yard. It sat on my shelf for months. Started a piece about industrial decay and had the choice: keep it as a cool object or commit it to the art. I glued it down last week. The piece looks good, but now that specific gear is gone forever, part of a bigger thing. I miss having it to just look at and hold. Anyone else get attached to a particular find and hesitate to actually use it up?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robert2mo ago

Ever heard of a sculptor's remorse?

the_vera2mo agoMost Upvoted

Is that when you stare at a finished statue and realize you gave it a weird nose that you can't fix without starting over? Like, you've been working on this marble guy for months, and now all you see is a honker. In my experience, it hits right after you put the tools down. You step back, the dust settles, and suddenly the whole arm looks wrong. Too bad you already posted the reveal video online.

the_vera23d agoMost Upvoted

My first week throwing pots on the wheel I made a bowl that looked like a sad melting face. I was so proud of it, set it on the shelf to dry. Came back the next day and it had slumped into a puddle that vaguely resembled a pancake. Spent an hour trying to convince myself it was avant-garde but really it was just a clay pancake. My mom still has it on her desk, calls it modern art.