One

A sculptor who creates with junk seeks to escape a life of destitution by submitting his work to the Winnowing, a competitive ritual that promises a better life for those whose art awes the judges.

After two unsuccessful submissions, the artist must make a blood sacrifice to continue with the ritual, per the Winnowing rules. Because the price of aspiring is so steep, he begins to wonder if he can justify the sacrifices. Ultimately, he decides that he will do anything to pull himself out of the mud.

Following a string of rejections, the artist falls into a soul-crushing depression, and he questions his every decision. On that journey, he rediscovers his lust for life and his audacity, and he returns to his work.

To prove to himself that he’s capable of creating art that awes, he returns to the Winnowing, not as a competitor, but as a man free from the desire for recognition. He rejects the ritual, then returns to his life in the mud, where he continues creating for its own sake.