Blowing Up Modern Art Mobiles on Pennyworth | Mark Leary Mobiles
On expectation
“But what if it’s different than I’d hoped for,” asked mouse.
“That’s your opportunity,” said owl, “to find gratitude in what it is.”
Thoughts while making
Eight
years ago, the FX Channel bought one of my mobiles for a show called
“Lights Out.” I was so excited, I counted down the days until the series
aired.
My expectations were high, but if the mobile was even on set, it didn’t make the final cut.
Others followed, most recently Netflix’s Grand Army. Another no show. With each, I had similar expectation and let down.
Like
many of you over the course of this past year, I’ve recognized once
again how expectations can be fraught. And I’ve realized that the best I
can hope for – like literally the *best* – is doing my work with good
heart, good intention. It’s the one thing we *do* have control over in
life. The rest will be whatever it will be.
This year, I made
upward of 500 mobiles, connecting with hundreds of people around the
world; celebrating birth and love, childhood memories brought forward,
the passing of time and the desire for beauty.
And this – THIS –
is what brings me joy in every mobile I get to make. The stories. The
relationships. The connection. And it’s why I’m filled with such
gratitude for having the chance to create and share art, without
expectation, whether it’s spinning peacefully in a Brooklyn loft or
getting blown up in the smashing Pennyworth series on Epix.
Blown
up? Yep, Blue Moon Rising and the stabiles in this post were spinning
barely noticeable in the background of an awesome
action-packed-bullets-flying-everywhere-around-them scene today with the
incredible actors, Jesse Romero and Paloma Faith. It made me smile for what it was, and even more grateful for each and every one of you.
As we wrap up this Year of All Years, where’s one place in your life where you can transform expectation into gratitude?
