芦図蒔絵硯箱 c. 1910s

Kamisaka Sekka made this inkstone box sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century and it lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I wonder about the artist as he leant over this box, layering line after line of gold lacquer into reeds. I can picture his hand moving slowly, meticulously, his breath held as he inlaid slivers of mother-of-pearl. It must have been a quiet, meditative process – totally different to my own painting practice. But I get it: there is something about that act of repetition, a way of attuning yourself to the subject and to the world. I love the subtle shimmer of the gold against the deep brown. The reeds aren't quite representational, but they're not abstract either. They’re somewhere in between, like a dream of reeds. Each of us, as artists, is connected to one another through the lineage of art history and our shared interest in creation. We're constantly learning from and responding to what’s come before, interpreting the world around us through our own unique lens.