Fragility

Its a thought that I have often, what happens when something breaks? Eventually it happens, paint cracks, someone left it in the bright sun, there was a fire, the pottery fell off the shelf, etc, etc. Having a (slight) background in conservation, specifically for books, it irks me. I avoid clear scotch tape like the plague, I'm not even sure I own any at this given moment. Masking tape makes me cringe just a bit too... its one of those things that after you've seen what 50 year old plastic tape does, you just don't go back.

However part of me sees a great deal of value in fragility, you can't take it for granted as easily if it disappears with the next rain. You can't cling to it and ignore the rest of the world if it will shatter. I have a fascination with sand mandalas and the ritual process of destroying them. It puts much more focus on the process and less on the finish product, and at times when there is too much stuff and too little space to live in it just seems like a good idea.

I suppose I could attempt to decide between the two, but I'm not much of a decision maker.

What I can say is that I have watched a few paintings fade away because the ink wasn't light fast, as the artist its not a pleasant feeling. I've broken more than a few of my ceramic pieces as well, one quite recently which has gotten me on to this thought path. I think I'd almost like to be less attached to the finished products, but if I wasn't attached I'm not quite so sure who would be. Either way, I want to make something that will disappear on purpose...