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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)

「鉛筆がもったいない！」「資源の無駄使い！」と言われた動画がこちら。昔とあるFacebookに掲載された時に書かれました。憧れのAtoZを作り出せたのにまさかの無駄呼ばわり。本当に悔しかった。だからこそ私はもっと上手くなりたい。貴… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) December 11, 2019

“‘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.

@shiroi003 初めまして、小さな工場で鉛筆を作っております。どんな形であれ鉛筆を使ってもらえてるのはありがたいものです。こんな素敵な芸術作品ならなおさらです。これからも素晴らしい作品作りを頑張ってください。

—
桜@絵を描かない人 (@sakura_pencil) December 12, 2019

“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…

「もう、しょうがないなぁ」

「えんぴつどこでもドア〜」 https://t.co/vYoO9e5lUM

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) March 08, 2019

…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!”

「それ以上ボクに近づけば折れるだけじゃすまないよ？」 https://t.co/7j2lZ6Okok

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) October 18, 2019

▼ Pokémon pencil art!

View this post on Instagram

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. Which do you choose? … Sword? Shield? あなたはソード派？シールド派？ . . . #Pokemon #PokeBall #ポケモン #モンスターボール #ソード #シールド #本日発売 #彫刻 #アート #pencilcarving #pencilsculpture #pencil #sculpture #art #pencilart #microart #instaart #instaartist #instagram #instagramjapan

A post shared by Shiroi (@shiroi8) on Nov 15, 2019 at 4:08am PST

▼ Their ability has evolved into crafting entire phrases…

NIKEのお馴染みキャッチコピー「JUST DO IT.」いいからやろう！行動するのみ！このスポーツブランド全開感が好きです。SHOE DOG読みたいなぁ。
#鉛筆彫刻 #NIKE https://t.co/47gmjwzalp

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) November 19, 2018

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

【新作完成】
『遊戯王』青眼の白龍《ブルーアイズ・ホワイトドラゴン》を鉛筆で作ってみた。 https://t.co/rWb5RNLKQh

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) December 06, 2019

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

小さな努力だって馬鹿にするなよ！ https://t.co/RVcK5UStJy

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) March 26, 2019

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.”

#何度でも見てほしいお気に入りを貼るタグ

ウネウネする鉛筆 https://t.co/HFO97r0hw1

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) August 23, 2019

▼ “I finished carving six heart chains!”

これでハートチェーン6本量産できました！ https://t.co/37oGD87NVq

—
シロイ/鉛筆彫刻人✏ (@shiroi003) November 20, 2019

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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