Why should I choose to name my endeavor after such a tragic figure? Sisyphus, according to Greek mythology, the king of Corinth and notoriously clever trickster suffered a terrible fate imposed by the gods for his trespasses against them. You may recall Sisyphus was condemned to forever roll a heavy stone up the steep slopes of a Hadean mountain side. As he would near the summit and the completion of his toils, the stone would slip from his grasp and tumble back to the valley below. Sisyphus, compelled by his assigned fate would return to the valley as well, find his stone and begin the climb again, only to fail to reach the summit once more. And so he would repeat this act for all eternity.

provide some amusement for the intended victim. Nor do I consider my life tragic, comically dramatic perhaps, but a classical tragedy certainly not. Have I angered any gods? I have probably only managed to annoy them at worst, despite my best efforts.

Where I find myself on common ground with Sisyphus is his task. The act of pushing the stone up the mountain only to awake the next day and repeat the same act is a metaphor of our daily lives. In my case the metaphor is particularly appropriate, given that stone is my media of choice. It is the stone that I relate to both metaphorically and literally. However, here I diverge from Sisyphus again, I (we) are not condemned. My toil, though tedious, has a resolution and the process (pushing the stone up the mountain) of sculpting feeds my soul. I look forward to the climb.

~ Mike Tolbert ~

Sisyphus Stone Works