Stumbling across Jim Ellis���s blacksmith���s shop
provoked a novel sensation: the shock of the
old still animated. Even more remarkable was
my immediate association of the shop with
Francis Bacon���s studio, both visually of the
same realm, both the remnants of craftsmen���s
work, however different the materials and aim;
clearly, both intended to create. The amassed
loose ends in both cases comprised substantial if inadvertent works of art. In both cases
they represent the byproducts of all the art
achieved, truly commemorative works of art.
I���m glad my father and mother drove through
Scully Square often, although it could be inconvenient behind those Scully Square wagons, explaining to me about them, horses and
blacksmiths. The clutter of creation began
then, the many scraps of experience which,
once distilled, enable one to find beauty.
HYLAND
