THE FOUNDATION OF THE CONCEPT OR HOW THE SCULPTURE, DAUGHTER OF FAUN, WAS BORN
The sculptor's words: Many delve into technical processes and materials, but I will tell you about the most important moment of artistic creation... inspiration. True works of art, such as interior sculptures, have their origins not in the sculptor's hands or even in the mind... but somewhere beyond matter, beyond time, and beyond space.
One winter evening, immersed in blissful literary delight, I was enjoying Irvin Stone's book "The Agony and the Ecstasy" about the life of the renowned sculptor Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni.
At that moment, Michelangelo became an apprentice to the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, in the gardens of the Medici family. However, he was not allowed to work with stone for a long time, being told that he was not ready and forced to perform tedious menial tasks.
The Birth of Michelangelo's Inspiration
One day, an ancient sculpture of a faun was brought to the palace of Lorenzo the Magnificent. It made such an impression on Michelangelo that he couldn't sleep or eat. "His hands withered with a thirst for stone..."
He remembered a piece of stone hidden in the corners of the gardens, and while everyone slept, under the moonlight, he found it. He hesitated for a long time... but at dawn, he finally stole that heavy block of marble and carried it to the most secluded place in the gardens. He saw in it not just a stone, but the sculpture that was imprisoned within it...
"Why," he asked himself, trembling, "why am I so excited?" The marble, as white as milk, was a living, spiritual being for him, capable of sensing, feeling, and judging. He couldn't allow himself to be caught off guard, seen suffering and longing. It wasn't fear; it was reverence.
Somewhere deep in his consciousness, he heard: "This is love."
He wasn't scared; he wasn't even surprised. He simply accepted it as a fact. The most important thing for him was that love wouldn't go unanswered. Marble became the hero of his life, his destiny. Until this moment, while his hands lovingly and tenderly touched the marble, he had lived his days as if in a vague dream.
And so, secretly, while no one saw, day and night, he sculpted his first creation, the relief of the faun... without sketches, drawings, or rules... he was consumed by wild inspiration and love... love for the stone... which reciprocated with every strike of his chisel...
INSPIRATION IS A RELAY. AND SOMETIMES, IT'S A RELAY THAT SPANS CENTURIES.
This story overwhelmed me with emotions. I put down the book, opened my laptop, and started molding a clay sphere in a program. I began sculpting, driven by an uncontrollable obsession.
It changed images, faces, and forms. I searched for the image that contained this feeling within it... The chin... the ears... the lips... the neck... the sensual collarbone... and that sensation... a sigh... and your thoughts blossom, with every fiber of your soul reaching skyward... and it feels like you're about to take flight! Soaring on the petals of your own soul...
For several days, I couldn't sleep. I kept returning to the sculpture, altering it while it altered me... Only when you create something capable of truly capturing and carrying that overwhelming feeling within you do you imprison that very emotion within your artwork... and you become liberated.
Thus, the sculpture was named "Daughter of Faun."
Within it flows an eternal relay of inspiration, passed down from the ancient Greek sculpture of the Faun from the 5th century BCE, through Michelangelo's "Head of a Faun" in the 15th century, all the way to the sculpture of the "Daughter of Faun" in the 21st century...
This sculpture symbolizes the most unearthly state of the human soul—absolute inspiration.
Daughter of Faun—a reflection of Michelangelo Buonarroti's inspiration while creating his relief sculpture, the Head of a Faun. The girl with flowers in her eyes, taking a breath—it's not just a decorative object; it's a metaphor...
And if you follow her lead, you'll feel the same... Yes, sculptures feel. Every moment, every second, they experience the emotion that resides within them. If you listen closely, you can hear the rustling of the soul's petals... Is it her soul or yours?
BUT IS THERE A LIMIT?
The first three sculptures of the Daughters of Faun stood near my window, within my line of sight while I worked... It was an extraordinary triptych: one facing the window, the second with her back turned, and the third positioned sideways... I caught myself gazing at them for extended periods, examining their perfectly shaded facial features, graceful necks, shoulders, and blossoming flowers...
This entire scene of light and color wouldn't let me rest... It began to fill me once again with that familiar yet unique feeling... And one day, I couldn't resist.
I abandoned everything and retrieved a dusty canvas and a box of oil paints... I stared at the black-and-white shadows, yet my hand reached only for vibrant colors...
Several sleepless nights passed until I managed to create another space where another restless fragment of my soul could reside...
