Cairns... Since ancient times, humans have marked their paths with piles of rocks to say "go this way" or "I was here." We all encounter cairns on our journey -- those inner and outer signposts that indicate a change in the route, an event precipitating a shift, a moment of awareness or a year of doing battle -- that forever alter our course. Sometimes we find cairns to mark the way. Other times we must create our own to indicate we passed this way.
Guardians, Totems and Shields...are protectors of inner and outer space and energies. They mark the perimeters, they define the edges. They are the sentinels of realms known and unknown.
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Guardians, Totems and Shields...are protectors of inner and outer space and energies. They mark the perimeters, they define the edges. They are the sentinels of realms known and unknown.
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE.
MORE PHOTOS COMING SOON!
Prayer to Her
Private Collection.
Approximately 5-1/2 x 12-1/4"
Mixed Media, found objects
Though the side is inscribed with ten Hail Marys, this is an homage and invocation to the Divine Feminine in all Her manifestations.
Private Collection.
Approximately 5-1/2 x 12-1/4"
Mixed Media, found objects
Though the side is inscribed with ten Hail Marys, this is an homage and invocation to the Divine Feminine in all Her manifestations.
Kali Wants a Word with the Patriarchy in General and George W. Bush in Particular
Collection of Georgeann Johnson, Mexico.
Approximately 20" x 13"
Mixed media, found objects, bone, goose egg, mirror, dried pomegranate, beads.
This piece addresses my anger and sheer frustration in response to a typical environmentally unconscious statement by George W. Bush. And this was created in his FIRST term of office!
Collection of Georgeann Johnson, Mexico.
Approximately 20" x 13"
Mixed media, found objects, bone, goose egg, mirror, dried pomegranate, beads.
This piece addresses my anger and sheer frustration in response to a typical environmentally unconscious statement by George W. Bush. And this was created in his FIRST term of office!
Ya Mumit
Approximately 5-1/2" x 5' 1"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal, duct tape, bones, wire.
Mumit is the sixty-first of the traditional 99 Holy Names of Allah -- the divine energy of destruction in the service of opening the way for new life. "Ya" is an invocation of that spiritual energy, a request to "be here now!." Sufi teacher Saadi Shakur Chishti writes, "When we go through these transitions consciously, the self that resurrects itself reflects more of the whole, more of its purpose in life, and more of the Beloved than the one that passed away." Yet we often face this psychic dismantling of the old without a vision of the new. We must "jump and the net will appear."
This piece has Mumit written on it in English and Arabic. There are 61 tiny nails on it, and 61 knots in the threads. I infused this piece with the energy of Mumit, by chanting this wasifa (mantra) each time I hammered a nail or knotted the thread. The purpose of this was to focus,invoke and infuse that holy energy into the work and into my life at a time when I was very definitely leaping and I could see no net...
For a beautiful description of the 99 Holy Names of Allah and how they are relevent to our lives, regardless of our spiritual path, please see "The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish," by Neil Douglas-Klotz.
Approximately 5-1/2" x 5' 1"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal, duct tape, bones, wire.
Mumit is the sixty-first of the traditional 99 Holy Names of Allah -- the divine energy of destruction in the service of opening the way for new life. "Ya" is an invocation of that spiritual energy, a request to "be here now!." Sufi teacher Saadi Shakur Chishti writes, "When we go through these transitions consciously, the self that resurrects itself reflects more of the whole, more of its purpose in life, and more of the Beloved than the one that passed away." Yet we often face this psychic dismantling of the old without a vision of the new. We must "jump and the net will appear."
This piece has Mumit written on it in English and Arabic. There are 61 tiny nails on it, and 61 knots in the threads. I infused this piece with the energy of Mumit, by chanting this wasifa (mantra) each time I hammered a nail or knotted the thread. The purpose of this was to focus,invoke and infuse that holy energy into the work and into my life at a time when I was very definitely leaping and I could see no net...
For a beautiful description of the 99 Holy Names of Allah and how they are relevent to our lives, regardless of our spiritual path, please see "The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish," by Neil Douglas-Klotz.
DETAIL: Ya Mumit
DETAIL: Ya Mumit.
Fortuna
Collection of Laura Moore, North Carolina
5 x 13-1/2"
Mixed media, polymer clay, wood, metal, found objects
Fortuna speaks to Life's Ups and Downs.
The sides and back are also embellished.
Collection of Laura Moore, North Carolina
5 x 13-1/2"
Mixed media, polymer clay, wood, metal, found objects
Fortuna speaks to Life's Ups and Downs.
The sides and back are also embellished.
At the Crossroads, Hecate Weeps
Approximately 12-1/2 x 42"
Mixed media, found objects, bone, beads, rope, wire, mirror
This piece was created on 9/11/01 as I listened to the radio news reports of the planes hitting the twin towers of the World Trade Center - and the aftermath. Hecate is an aspect of the Crone Goddess. She guards the crossroads (and all thresholds) and has the ability to see the past, present and future. According to author and Jungian analyst Jean Shinda Bolen, Hecate traditionally carries a key, a rope and a knife... the key allows her to unlock secrets of life, the rope is a symbol of the umbilical cord of rebirth, and the knife is a symbol of the ritual power to cut through delusions. I have chosen an ancient depiction of an Owl Goddess (carved on bone by a man in Honduras) to represent Hecate, who also had the ability to see in the dark. She rests on a circular shield reminiscent of a clock, with thirteen lunar moons to depict the cyclical quality of feminine/Yin time. In this piece Hecate sees our cultural obsessions and addictions to Power, Wealth, Sensation, and She weeps. Above the disc of Hecate is a gas cap and an actual crack pipe, which represent our literal addictions to oil and drugs. We are, as a species, at a critical juncture in time, on this planet... what choices will we make?
Approximately 12-1/2 x 42"
Mixed media, found objects, bone, beads, rope, wire, mirror
This piece was created on 9/11/01 as I listened to the radio news reports of the planes hitting the twin towers of the World Trade Center - and the aftermath. Hecate is an aspect of the Crone Goddess. She guards the crossroads (and all thresholds) and has the ability to see the past, present and future. According to author and Jungian analyst Jean Shinda Bolen, Hecate traditionally carries a key, a rope and a knife... the key allows her to unlock secrets of life, the rope is a symbol of the umbilical cord of rebirth, and the knife is a symbol of the ritual power to cut through delusions. I have chosen an ancient depiction of an Owl Goddess (carved on bone by a man in Honduras) to represent Hecate, who also had the ability to see in the dark. She rests on a circular shield reminiscent of a clock, with thirteen lunar moons to depict the cyclical quality of feminine/Yin time. In this piece Hecate sees our cultural obsessions and addictions to Power, Wealth, Sensation, and She weeps. Above the disc of Hecate is a gas cap and an actual crack pipe, which represent our literal addictions to oil and drugs. We are, as a species, at a critical juncture in time, on this planet... what choices will we make?
Destinations
Approximately 10-1/8 x 38-1/4"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal wood
We all have destinations -- intentional or not -- significant or seemingly not -- over the course of our lives. Some places we stay for just minutes, others for years, yet they ultimately prove to have been definitive, on some level, in who we become. This totem acknowledges our arrivals and departures at those way stations on our journey.
Approximately 10-1/8 x 38-1/4"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal wood
We all have destinations -- intentional or not -- significant or seemingly not -- over the course of our lives. Some places we stay for just minutes, others for years, yet they ultimately prove to have been definitive, on some level, in who we become. This totem acknowledges our arrivals and departures at those way stations on our journey.
Cairn
Approximately 11-3/4 x 38-1/4"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal, wood, stone
We all encounter cairns on our journey -- those inner and outer signposts that mark a change in the route, an event precipitating a shift in perspective, an action that forever alters our course. This piece honors those significant markers in our lives, whether they were perceived as "good" or "bad."
Approximately 11-3/4 x 38-1/4"
Mixed media, found objects, polymer clay, metal, wood, stone
We all encounter cairns on our journey -- those inner and outer signposts that mark a change in the route, an event precipitating a shift in perspective, an action that forever alters our course. This piece honors those significant markers in our lives, whether they were perceived as "good" or "bad."
Tempus
Collection of Gerry Gill, Mexico
Approximately 12 x 40"
Mixed media, found objects, wood, metal, polymer clay bone
This piece addresses the passage of time, the cycles and the linear progressions. Time is of the essence -- or is it? We have time on our hands, we kill time, we run out of time. And yet... time only exists as an artificial construction we have collectively agreed upon. What if we collectively agreed that time didn't exist?
Collection of Gerry Gill, Mexico
Approximately 12 x 40"
Mixed media, found objects, wood, metal, polymer clay bone
This piece addresses the passage of time, the cycles and the linear progressions. Time is of the essence -- or is it? We have time on our hands, we kill time, we run out of time. And yet... time only exists as an artificial construction we have collectively agreed upon. What if we collectively agreed that time didn't exist?
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