Portrait of a Young Artist

“The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question.”
― James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man


Ceramics student throwing on the wheel in the classroom next to mine during class today, a young man caught in the act of creating the beautiful on a day that is best described for him and his friends as "the first day of the rest of their life" for all those who took the national university entrance exam, part I, in Turkey yesterday. So much of their eighteen years has been invested in preparation for this multiple choice exam consisting of 160 questions to be completed in 160 minutes, that their recent stress level is a fragile and tangible aura.

The art studios are, I hope, always a haven for these students who are encouraged to spend their time engaged in creating the beautiful - however you choose to define it.

Part II of the exam is at the end of June.

Mono Monday Portrait Hobb's challenge (artistic licence!)