1000 CRAYON BOUQUET

ThingsWeMadeWhileTheSkyWasFalling
by Arrow Ray Koharik 2020

60” x 60”
1000 melted crayons on canvas
113°F
September 5/6, 2020

HomeSchool - InStudio

More than one week of constant nonstop crayon peeling. A lesson in Persistence & Determination. Bleeding thumbs. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing; cerulean blue from sky, magnolia yellow from sunrise. Rose from rouge. Patience. Work ethic. Process.

Discussing entropy and the quiet systems of the world. Time and pressure. Heat. Resistance. Boiling points, stress and failure.
High pressure systems. Weather and the current manipulation of it.

Art and accidents. Composition, Color theory, and critics. Intentions and interpretations. Devotion and perception... And the sell-ability of the color pink.

Imagination.... imagine that... a boy whose thoughts are his alone. No constant scrolling feed of imagery. Just heart and soul. And gift. And god. A grace to just behold.

Learning is not indoctrination and regurgitation. Memory and merit.

It is an attempt and a failure. It is guttural. Feral. It’s from the inside out. It is not asking why or what or how - for someone else’s answer. It is discovering an answer through practice and re-evaluation. Conquest and Defeat. And Conquest.

Watching someone toss and turn to fall asleep, with the same itching burning thought in his mind that I see him wake up with... a fever to move. To do. To make. To create. Drawing after drawing. Book after book. Staplers, crayons, and plaster. Rosemary cuttings and mud rocks. Page after page. And then tear it up, knock it down, in failure and frustration. True self defeat. Only to rise again in pride and conquest of the next mark made.

It is me that is in school. I am the student.
And I am forever grateful to him.