1 Jun 2007

Sales

Posted by joncooper

I was sitting at my desk, staring dejectedly at the clay scene that I had crafted, when my professor walked by. “Why are you so sad?” he asked.

I sighed. “It’s these sculptures I’m making – they drive me crazy!”

He shook his head. “I do not see why; it is resting peacefully on the table. I have never yet seen a sculpture come to life and wage war against its creator.”

“Very funny, professor. Listen. Do you remember when you told me to start putting myself into these things – to make something that was meaningful?”

He nodded.

“Well, I’ve started doing exactly that. I’m not making lighthouses anymore, now I’m making – that,” I said, pointing to the object in front of me.

“I had noticed,” he told me. “I am very impressed! You should be proud.”

“It hasn’t been a success,” I said. “I don’t know if you noticed, but the lighthouses were selling really well. People love lighthouses. These – things – they just aren’t selling.”

“It’s a beautiful scene,” he replied. “Very nicely rendered, done using a fine technique. The people look very lifelike, and the animals – ”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure the technique is nice, professor, but they just aren’t selling! No one wants them. Why am I making them if nobody cares? What possible good am I doing? I might as well be at home scraping mold of the walls.”

“I have a mold problem too,” the Professor said thoughtfully. “It is most troublesome. Have you tried – ”

“You’re not paying any attention!” I said. “I don’t care about mold. You told me that I should take the time to learn sculpting. You told me that I should put my heart into it. You told me that I should give it my very best. And what happened? I spend days making figures for nobody!”

“Nobody?” he asked.

“Nobody,” I replied.

He stared at the sculptor I had made for a few moments, looking puzzled. “No one in the entire world wants them?”

“Not a single person.”

“You took your sculpture to everyone in the entire world and you could not find anyone who was interested? Not even your mother?”

“C’mon,” I said. “You know what I mean.”

“How can I know what you mean if you do not mean what you say? You say that you have tried to offer your sculptures to everyone in the universe, but I think that is not the case. Yes, there are those that are not interested in quality, but there are those that care a great deal about it.”

“I suppose so,” I said, “but they’re not easy to find.”

“I did not say life would be easy,” he replied, “only that it would be worthwhile, if lived for the right reason. But suppose that what you said is true and every single person who has ever been born and who ever will be born despises your sculptures. You have a natural talent for this; not everyone can do what you have done. Are you saying that you are only willing to exercise it if you can find a willing audience?”

“Of course!” I replied. “Otherwise it’s just a waste of time.”

The professor drummed his fingers on the table and looked at the sculpture thoughtfully. “Let me say this, and then I will go. You have a talent for this work. Given time and effort, it may be that you will turn into an amazing and world-famous sculptor. It will take time. It will be hard. It will take long nights and agonizing and other general unpleasantness. It will not be easy, but it is a journey that you are capable of making.”

“So,” he said, “you have a choice. You can decide that the road is not worth it and abandon this effort to do something else – something easier, perhaps. Or you can continue to take the road, not knowing where it will lead. It is entirely up to you.”

“But I don’t know what will happen,” I said. “I might end up just wasting my time.”

“Only God knows what will happen,” he replied.

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