Sitting with Stories
Olivia Cox
For my Alternative Process print and development class, we have learned various process’ to turn nothing into something. I have learned how to print photos on just about anything, from salami to metal. For this project, I took an original piece of creative writing about a bench (written in both English and Italian) and transferred it with the Laser Cutter to a piece of MDF wood. I wanted to showcase a piece of writing in a bigger, beautiful way.
Writing has always and will always be art to me. If paintings can be hung in homes, I think beautiful essays can too. They take time to sit with, just like any art, but leave a lasting impression on individuals and homes.
Ah, there it is. The subject of our story, sitting there, ever so still. No- Not him, the bench. Yes, it sits there and is stationary while life happens around it. Speed up and you can see all the millions of people that come to enjoy it. It stands there through it all. Through wars, through rain, through sunny days, through everything and anything that happens as the city progresses and people live on. Did you ever stop to think who made this bench? Who was the artist who created it? Because of course if there is creation, there would have to originally be a creator. Someone to cut down the wood, someone to mold it together and shape it, a designer, a carpenter, someone to drive the crane that would lift it and place it in this very spot. Most likely multiple people with different lives and stories worked on this project together. I can’t help but wonder if they got to enjoy this bench with their families. Maybe go on a date with gelato in hand to sit on it and feel the deep roots that engrain them into the bench forever…
