For we humans, Masterpieces are the pinnacle in represented artistry. The work of an artist, or sculptor, or any creative profession, is performed not for the end-result, but for the experience of achieving it. But, in all actuality, the masterpiece of an artisan comes to fruition through loss. The artist simply excavated the end-result from the medium within which they work. It is the observer’s perceptions quantifying the result as a masterpiece. With that said, let us a look at what constitutes a masterpiece from a different point of view, a change in our perception.

When we look at a sculptor’s medium, we see a block of granite, marble, glass, or clay, and we superimpose the image we want to see onto the medium. But a sculptor looks at their medium as the imprisonment of their image. The image is within the medium, and the sculptor releases it by losing the superfluous material preventing the image from being born.

We see a white canvas and cast our vision [our result] upon it. An artist applies paints to lose the whiteness of the canvass, thus releasing the image.

In an excerpt of a poem by my dear friend and author, Susan L Hart, entitled, “Loss Unveils the Masterpiece,” Susan states it succinctly when she says:

“Michelangelo knew …
A most powerful
tool of the Master Sculptor,
Loss is.
It was the taking
away that unveiled
breathtaking David
to the world.

‘I saw the angel
in the stone and
set him free.’
Inside every raw
slab of marble
awaits a Masterpiece
to be revealed.”

It is no different with us. We see ourselves as the image our learnings say we are. Our beliefs and emotions were all created for us by those who taught us, and we believe this is who we are. Now, let’s look at us through the eyes of the artist who created us.

We can say we are the result of design: whether by the design of a supreme being, nature, otherworldly beings, or the blending of primordial chemicals? Whichever belief system we wish to use to justify our existence, the result is us. Our birth was one in four hundred trillion possibilities. Regardless of how we got here, the fact that we are here constitutes us as a Miracle. A Masterpiece if you will.

Our birth created the Masterpiece and we took that Masterpiece and buried it beneath the rubble of our learning. We created this false us we have come to know and love. Our learnings taught us to fear, and our fears have led to anger and hatred. This anger and hatred are fueled into discrimination and prejudice, which we perpetuate, resulting in the loss of the Masterpiece. Our learnings and beliefs surround us, and we see this image as us. It isn’t until we begin questioning our learnings that we allow the Masterpiece to be re-born. Once we acknowledge we don’t know who we are, we can begin to carve away the excess materials and expose the artist’s original rendition — The Masterpiece.

The Masterpiece still exists. It’s there under all the learnings that taught us to fear. As we chip away these learnings and begin to live life without the fears, anger, hatred, and discrimination, then, and only then, will we see ourselves as the true Masterpieces we are. Until we are willing to acknowledge we are the product of our learnings, we will always be the David waiting to be released.

Find Susan L Hart’s complete poem “Loss Unveils the Masterpiece” online at:
susanlhart.com or bit.ly/2FN7IcI

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of CHOICES Magazine