My sculptures from college have all manifested in my life. I also work with graphic design, and my most recent works are already creating a shift. Here are a few examples
Blue Heron ~ modeled clay cast in plaster ~ Fall 2005
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For my first sculpture class, I chose the blue heron...sculpted in clay then cast in plaster. I was kind of confused myself as to why....but the whole process gave me a great feeling of peace. This was a time in my life when I was just starting to glimpse what I was most passionate about....back in 2004...I didn't add the base decorations until 2010...when I and the sculpture really came alive with more clarity of self expression. I now feel more of a connection with why this was the animal I chose....in looking at what a Blue Heron animal totem symbolizes, "the Ability to Stand Alone" "Uniqueness" "Independence" "Peace" "Call to balance" "Self Esteem" "Boundaries" "Dignity" "Exploration" "Fluidity".....this is what I knew lay ahead of me when I first created this sculpture...but only now am I beginning to live those words.
Kokopelli ~ Copper sculpture 2005/2006
The Kokopelli has always been a symbol I was drawn to....again..without ever really knowing why...As a little girl I visited the Grand Canyon and took home a keychain with the cute flute player I so admired...he had fun hair, he played the flute, he danced...I liked him..so I drew him a lot and collected other items with him on them.....and eventually made this sculpture. Then I began to read about what the Kokopelli really symbolized. I always sort of knew he was the god of mischief...but I came to find out as I was creating this sculpture, that the legend also describes him as a god of fertility...who carried a bag of seeds on his back...and planted them into the ground...his feet then dancing them into the soil...his flute beckoning the spring season to bring warmth. He a healer and storyteller.....Well, go figure that the grad school I have chosen is in the southwest for the healing profession of creative arts therapy...where the Kokopelli is most cherished and found in ancient petroglyphs. I never would have guessed at the time of creating this sculpture that I would have any interest in attending grad school...and def. never thought about New Mexico....Connection and manifestion has been made.
Flower Child ~ woven reed and paper sculpture Spring 2006
I loved my paper making class....at the end we were given the assignment to create a sculpture using any technique...we had learned how to cover wire mesh, create pieces of paper...make molds...and weave reeds to cover....I LOVED weaving...plus I had already made a cast of my face so I created a rubber mold to place paper into...On the day we learned to weave the reeds, I created what I called a "lute"....this is the little 4 stringed instrument at the bottom...then when the assignment came...I drew a picture of what you see above...I was inspired by my orchid plant and I wanted to be at the center of it all...=) This is what was created...and I had no clue what to tell people about it...they would ask me what it meant and all I could say was "Flower Child"....wellll.....that was 2006...in 2009 I received a special birthday present...a ukulele...I am now a ukulele fanatic and have recorded 7 songs...with more to come. I have truly blossomed from this instrument...and I now teach children's music classes...allowing every child to strum the uke and enjoy seeing their little eyes light up every time. Music has helped me realize my gifts...my feminine calling..."me"...and that is how this sculpture has manifested...
Finding Your Center ~ direct plaster, fabric, and wood Spring 2007
Coming up with an idea for my senior year final sculpture was a mess....I had just taken paper making..I wanted to do a figure of myself in clay with hanging paper sculptures....it was very complex...but it began with pictures of Hawaiian women...doing the hula..with their ukuleles....mind you again...at this time I was not a ukulele player. Anyway...my teacher guided me to try a figure in direct plaster...this was intensely hard. Create a metal skeleton, then dip and wrap burlap and plaster to build it up, then apply creamy plaster to the burlap and sculpt for about 10 minutes before the plaster dries...then scrape away and polish up...then fix the cracks...what a test of patience! My teacher then guided me to come up with something simple that would create the idea of movement instead of little hanging sculptures.....I remember saying...."Like hoops?"....Then we came up with the idea of wrapping them in fabric. During this semester I was also signed up for Tai Chi...which is what this pose really came to look like....a girl hangin on the beach in her sarong...doing tai chi...with hula hoops. Pretty ideal life if you ask me....WELL, a year later....I was on the road vending at music festivals when I discovered those awesome oversize hula hoops. I was nervous at first...I had never thought about hooping before...but soon I was not only a hula hooper..but I was making and selling them with my friend. When I was creating the hoops for this sculpture..I wasn't thinking about hula hoops...I was just thinking about the movement around the sculpture...and that it was centering. I really enjoyed the process of wrapping those wooden circles with fabric..and had even envisioned doing more sculptures. Go figure that's what ended up happening...only not as wooden sculptures...as live art out on the road making many people smile. Hula hooping has definitely become a big part of who I am...and has healed me and others in many ways.
Namaste. Sat Nam. Blessings.
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