Settling in for an evening of work, and I hear what I think is the sound of escaping gas. I immeditely rush to check my tanks and hoses for leaks. But as I move towards the front of the studio- the direction from which the sound was coming- I realize that the sound is more like that of gently rushing water or perhaps a rapid series of soft waves...
I step outside just beyond the boundery of the rollup door and look up to see the most wonderous sight I have seen in years.
Wave after wave of what appears
to be swarming bees darken the entire sky between my studio and the
building next door. But I quickly realize that these are too big for
bees and far to synchronized to be bats. They are in fact an ocean of
swallows, all moving through the evening sky in a perfect dance of
fluid movenment. Though this dancing, flowing mass of energy must have
been some 100 yards above my head I could hear- no!- feel the sound of
thousands of wings beating in concert against the deepening blue night
sky.
At it's best, the art experience is like this. It leaves you standing
there with your mouth open, unable to do much except take it in.