An interesting thing happened today when I was adapting some heavy duty cartons for shipping my new sculptures. I was applying packing tape to the edges of some carton flaps with the idea that this would minimize the cardboard dust. About halfway through doing this on the second carton, I noticed that I was cutting strips that fit the edges exactly.
It was just by feel - or some unknown brain activity. I was holding the tape applicator in the air with one hand, pulling some tape off with the other, and then cutting it off against the serrated edge of the applicator. I wasn't looking, just letting my hands do it.
I wasn't holding the tape applicator along the edge of the carton flap, or measuring, or even thinking about it. I'd decided that it didn't matter how long the strips were anyway. I could overlap them if they were short, or cut them off if they were long. But suddenly each strip was exactly right.
It reminded me of Louise Nevelson saying with some disdain that if you had to measure, you weren't really doing sculpture because you didn't have the feel of it. You should be able to make everything fit by feel, just knowing what was right. Sorry I don't remember the source of this. It was either the video on Nevelson, or her autobiography.
This experience also reminded me of the Inner Game books by Tim Gallwey - plus the Inner Game of Music written by Gallwey and Barry Green. This was Self 2 cutting the tape the exact length, by its own mysterious means. Of course, as soon as I realized what I was doing, I became self conscious and my accuracy rate decreased some. Gallwey would say that Self 1 was back in the driver's seat, trying to boss Self 2 and thereby keeping Self 2 from doing what it can do so effortlessly.
Barry Green has a new book out. Maybe I'll get it. It might keep Self 1 busy thinking about something besides giving Self 2 directions.
6:25:55 PM 
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