One year to Master?

[Grayson]

I'm not good at it; but when I do make something nice, no master enjoys his work more than I do mine.

 

[papart1]

I just pratice....practice..... and more. The drawing part of this journey is and will continue to be hampered by what is called Parkenson's Desease. Having been recently diagnosed by 2 neorolists this past year leads me down a slightly different path to overcome. Now I almost have the shaking under ( well almost) control whilts cutting, but taking a few more erasers for the sketching/drawing It's a beautiful journey and throughly on board. The cafe has been a source of inpiration and help, I thank everyone. Rob

 

[NORMAN]

Becoming a master is a lifelong journey! Every new project has it's challenges, and each time I feel like a beginner all over again! It's a very humbling experience. I always fall somewhat short of the mark. If you keep growing and challenging yourself as an artist, you're always striving to get better, perhaps in your mind, you never become a master, which by definition could also have an egotistical component to it. The mastery of certain skills of a trade would qualify one to call themselves a master craftsman. Nevertheless, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Everyone has a different aesthetic sense, and the concept of being a master can be somewhat of an intangible! You have to always put in your time, pay your dues, get an incredible amount of experience. There really is no time frame for this! It takes as long as it takes. Everybody is different. Finished no, only just begun! My teacher said " Consider each finished project, a starting/launching off point and inspiration for the next." Get the most you can out of each artistic endeavor, striving to continually improve your craftsmanship, and acquisition of the technical skills required. And in time your diligent efforts and high standards will be reflected in the increasing quality/level of your work. The satisfaction comes each time in the surprising outcome you have achieved , when you feel you have taken each assignment as far as you can with your current skillset.

Look at your work of today and then back at your work of 5 years ago or even 2 years ago and compare the two. If you can not see an improvement in your current work over you passed work then you are going in the wrong direction.

 

[John B.]

Papart 1,
Very sorry to hear of your problem and will keep a good thought for you.
Keep up the sketching and cutting and maybe the shaking will come under your control.
Best wishes. John B.

 

[mdengraver]

It is not good to set a deadline on the mastery of a skill, synthesize it in your own way. You should always be striving to improve, to reach out for what seems like the unattainable, to dream the impossible dream, no matter how far, without giving up, it's a passionate quest you are driven by, that keeps you motivated, and that forever propels you onward. Put in as much time as it takes! By mastering a committed attitude and mindset of humble patience and perseverance in deliberation, and execution first, one opens the door up for noticeable improvements in the quality of one's work over time! Try to learn as much as you can from practice, and from each project you take on. By consciously following through in the moment, with the ultimate goal of mastering good craftsmanship, and the acquisition of the required technical skills, even further matched with the acquisition of good artistic skills and added imagination, and vision, the improvements in time will often follow. As Scott Pilkington said, "you have to do a lot of things badly, until all of a sudden you start doing things goodly! The master has failed more times then you've even tried!"

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

Anyway, he seemed to have disappeared from the planet. Probably when he found out it wasn't as easy as it appears.

 

[mdengraver]

It's easy to be naive until you find out what is involved!

 

[Albert219]

I remember him I believe he died before year was up...I remember him because his first work that he displayed was worse than my first...

 

[TRH]

I went through an engraving apprenticeship at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington DC. starting in 1968. The program was 10 years long, with evaluations every 6 months. Back then only about 1/3 of the people who started actually advanced to finish it. When this apprenticeship ended, you became a 'Journeyman' and there were four steps of increasing salary which could be granted depending on continued advancement. I knew a couple of guys who worked competently for over 30 years without ever getting the top salary. Each of these steps usually took about four or five years to achieve. You became a 'master' when you officially began to teach your own apprentices, but often just working on projects with a variety of other engravers was the best way to learn anything. I don't know how anyone could become a 'master' while working alone in isolation.