Japanese artist frets over “wasting” pencils for lead art: Twitter steps in with ardent praise

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Careless comments caused an artist to work even harder, and Twitter has plenty of compliments for their awesome sculptures!

What is art?

It’s a question that has puzzled critics, philosophers, and even artists over millennia, so don’t expect a comprehensive answer in this lone article. One of the most basic definitions is that it’s human creativity made manifest; so long as you intend to make art, then art is what it is.

But of course not everyone agrees that art is so easily created, and even then not everyone can recognize its artistic merit. Seeing these discussions about the pointless nature of art can make artists feel pretty small, as Twitter sculptor @shiroi003 reminisced in this comment.

▼ (Translation below)

“‘What a waste of a pencil!’ ‘This is squandering resources!’ I got comments like these on this video. A long time ago, when I posted this on Facebook, people wrote things like that in response. I’d worked so hard to recreate my goal, the A-Z alphabet, and people called it a “waste”. It really hurt. That’s why I swore that I’d get better. That way I won’t waste even a single one of these precious pencils.”

The video itself shows a time-lapse video of the pencil being carved into an attractive set of letters, from A all the way down to Z. Commenters leaped in to admonish the nay-sayers:

“Even now, many people don’t yet realize that the ‘common knowledge’ that pencils should only be used to draw with is limiting, and they’re just restricting themselves from seeing the bigger picture. It’s like how it took some people until this year to realize that rugby is a fun sport.”

“What’s even left for people who so easily dismiss things as a ‘waste’? I bet even their hearts are empty.”

“The letters are still left! You can still use it if you want, right?”

The most dramatic mic drop came from the makers of the pencils themselves. Sweet, sweet validation.

“Hello. We make pencils in a small factory. We’re delighted just knowing that our pencils are being used, no matter what form that might take. Especially in the case of such gorgeous artwork as yours! Please keep working hard to make beautiful art.”

Thankfully, those disparaging comments only inspired them to work harder. Their Twitter account is filled with enchanting, miniscule sculptures, each formed wholesale out of the lead of a pencil. Like this teeny-tiny Anywhere Door from Doraemon…

…and a host of cute, colorful icons from video games like Minecraft and Pokémon.

▼ “I’m afraid if you come any closer I’ll break apart!”

▼ Pokémon pencil art!

▼ Their ability has evolved into crafting entire phrases…

▼ …and even carving kanji too. These characters literally read Blue Eyes White Dragon, one of the most famous cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

▼ “It may only be a tiny bit of ‘effort’ (‘doryoku’, the sculpted kanji), but don’t you dare get in the way of it!”

The crown jewels in the repertoire are the ones with moving pieces. The most famous of their work is the chain pencil, which is carefully picked away at until its top and end are connected only by a slack chain, but their work with interlocking heart charms is similarly delightful.

▼ “#TagSomethingYouWantPeopleToWatchOverAndOver This meandering pencil.”

▼ “I finished carving six heart chains!”

One of the great things about art is that people can take something, like an old tire or a piece of fruit or, er… a human jawbone, and use their hard work to turn it into something that sparks a different response to that material in a raw state.

You might not think twice about seeing a regular sharpened pencil lead, but who can deny the tiny pleasure from seeing it skillfully contorted into another shape? And the world needs more tiny pleasures, made of graphite or otherwise.

Source: Twitter/@shiroi003 via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@shiroi003
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