Flower, Fruit and Seed Journal
2018
This body of work is my most recent iteration of the Flower, Fruit, and Seed metaphor that I have been exploring since my early thirties. It could also be referred to as the “Maiden, Mother and Crone” in archetypal language. For the first time, my interpretation positions all three stages of a woman’s life together as a radial medallion form, like a flower. The materials represent the various media I used to express myself during those stages of my life. Flower (maiden) = paper and fiber; Fruit (mother) = metal and plastic; Seed (crone)= metal, plastic, gems and augmented reality. Ultimately I will make at least eight medallions that will represent every seven year segment of my life.
*Click on the image and play the audio to hear me reciting the narration that accompanies it. When exhibited, the audio plays through augmented reality technology. Images at the bottom of this page have the transcribed narration.
"Innocent" 2018, paper, bronze, acrylic (detail)
"Innocent" 2018, paper, bronze, acrylic
"Creative Seeker" 2018, paper, copper, silver, amethyst
"Warrior Mother" 2018, paper, bronze, copper, garnet
"Injured Survivor", 2018, paper, gold electroform, glass eye, thread, paint
Innocent: "At birth we are still close to the maker, to the mystery and the life/ death cycle. The goddesses are vying for control of a sprouting personality. When I was a very young girl with wild hair and soft, chubby, skin, I was simple and delicate like a flower. My sweet nectar was essential- it brought me love My dreams scared me, but offered vision. The strong women who guided me gave me strength". (Paper, bronze)
Creative Seeker: "Nothing in an artist’s life can compare to that time of complete uninterrupted exploration, where all that matters is the process of experimenting, learning, failing and starting over again. This was that time for me when my past experiences embraced my heart to form this lifelong CREATIVE trajectory of desirable burdens. My beautiful FEMALE mentors protected and prodded me through this journey of finding my voice". (Paper, copper, silver, amethyst)
Warrior Mother: "I am now the mother with my own pack to protect and nurture. I shelter them with my devotion and I water them with tears and hugs. I always thought this was my one true calling, but as the prophesy of Desirable Burdens predicted I am holding too many blessings and find myself weighted down by the heaping load. But the warrior prevails!" (Paper, bronze, copper, garnet)
Injured Survivor: "Mourning so much and living trapped in sadness. I would have thought that failing sight would provide vision and Mom mom’s death would help my faith, but they left me blind, dull, and ensnared in insecurity. I gnawed off that entangled limb to set myself free because ripping away the madness was the only way to survive". (Paper, gold electroform, glass eye, thread, paint)
Photos by Hub Willson