The Funambulist
Working Without a Net
When we were young and just beginning to walk on the wire as self-employed artists, we embraced how much we had to learn about balance and not falling off. We weren’t necessarily brave, just very determined. Back then, we expected that we would fall every so often, so we cobbled together a net to catch us when we fell. That net consisted of an art support group at the local art center and library, free rent in exchange for work and income from numerous temporary illustration and design jobs. Many of you will be familiar with combinations similar to those. It is part of the young Funambulist’s repertoire. That word, funambulist, is ancient Roman in origin. We think it is interesting that in English, it embodies the word for pleasure wrapped up in the very real danger of attempting to walk on a wire high above solid ground—the fun generally being in the not-falling part. (In actuality, Funis is the Latin root, meaning rope.)
As we got older, we became more comfortable with the wire and were able to spend more time on it and less in the net. We gradually replaced our support net with an asta di equilibrio, or balancing pole, which all high-wire walkers use. A typical balancing pole is twenty to forty feet in length curving downward at the ends. This arrangement lowers one’s center of gravity and stabilizes the tendencies to tip to one side or another, off the wire. Turning the pole slightly this way or that counters the side to side tipping action, and helps one stay steady and moving forward. An artist’s balancing pole might consist of a group of supportive and productive galleries or a collection of regular buyers on a mailing list, a circle of supportive friends, perhaps, or all of that put together. Whatever the combination, those balancing forces allowed us to raise the wire higher, take more risks in our art and strive to produce the very best of which we were capable. We couldn’t even see the other end of the wire—we only knew to move forward on it.
With maturity, the experienced funambulist learns to relax, trust in the asta di equilibrio and put the fun back in being a funambulist. We don’t worry about the end of the wire, only the placement of each step. One after another. We know now that we don’t walk alone. Our balancing pole is always ready to help to keep us steady moving down the wire. Perhaps when we do get to the other end, we will look back and say, “Thanks everyone, we couldn’t have done it without you!”
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