CREATIVITY BRIDGE CANDLE HOLDER
This candleholder shows how creativity is an essential connection between problems and solutions. In the story of Bellerophon, he eventually kills the Chimera with the help of the Flying Horse, Pegasus, by melting lead in its throat. The story points to the power of human ingenuity in overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles. The lathe-turned Thurmanite® (made of layered recycled book pages) is both the stand for lathe-spun candle cups as well as the egg form at its center. The meticulous hand painting of the pewter miniatures encourages an attentive focus to each detail of the piece.
This piece became a meta experience. It is about the power of creativity for problem-solving. It required a leap of faith since I wasn’t exactly sure how to make it all. But as I trusted my creative problem-solving, I was able to make progress. At each major stage of work on the piece, I had to figure out a completely new solution to a challenge I had created: how to lathe-turn a ring of this size, how to assemble the cut parts, how to fabricate the end caps, how to solder all of the pewter components, applying new approaches in my miniature painting, and the sequence of its final assembly. These repeated cycles of creatively solving problems resulted in a successful artwork, but more personally important, I feel transformed by the experience.