I wrote this for the March 14: Flash Fiction Challenge
My father was an artist; a sculptor, usually working in clay or stone. One day he, and six of his drinking buddies, brought a large stone and sat it in the centre of his studio.
“What are you going to make from that, Papa?” I asked.
“I won’t make anything from it,” he said, “I think I can find something.”
He told me that he believed a fisherman was hiding in the stone. That he would find the fisherman by knocking off small bits and pieces. He promised he’d take care not to cut the fisherman with his chisel.
The prompt and instructions were:
In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a chisel. Use chisel as a noun or a verb. Think about what might be chiseled, who is chiseling. Be the chisel. Go where the prompt leads!
It’s a better attitude, more open. The stone is simply a prompt.
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Our fathers, ourselves.
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I believe it was Michelangelo who said that he was simply giving birth to the figure (human or not) that was already inside the piece of marble.
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oh sorry. i just read your comment on Carrotranch and you’ve said the same thing about Michelangelo… didn’t mean to repeat the same thing! 🙂
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Very cute way the father explained the process! Adds a touch of magic to the tale.
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Nice one!
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That moment of understanding creation as discovery. Great telling of an old truth and a nice nod to your mom.
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