The grouping, Legacies, consists of works exploring “life and mortality.” Each piece in the Soul Stick series is linked by concept and design. While simple form evokes a basic presence, the patterns speak to the complexity, anima, of each distinctive being honored. Even as I acknowledge the inevitability of death, I celebrate the value of memory.
The Ultimate Box, (1993), comments on death, most people’s reluctance to discuss death, and the accompanying fears. I hoped to create a coffin that would not repel the viewer, but instead invite the viewer to look inside, touch and question. After I completed the exterior of the box, textile artist, Darcy Falk installed the quilt lining that reflects the exterior design. I then turned my focus to important interior objects. I created three terra cotta vessels and from a large collection of possibilities, I selected what I wished to place in each dish: 1, salt, cinders, Indian tea, 2, blue and yellow corn, a sage wand, 3, Anasazi beans, black beans, and a stone. These items were chosen for their combination of aesthetics and cross-cultural significance. It turned out that my choices of interior items were more about life than death.
Close in time, and tied thematically to The Ultimate box, I began the series Paradigm: Portals & Passageways. While the initial pieces were related to individuals, the larger works evolved into reflections on World War II and Bosnia. Six of these works constituted an exhibit in Rhode Island.
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The Ultimate Box, (1993), comments on death, most people’s reluctance to discuss death, and the accompanying fears. I hoped to create a coffin that would not repel the viewer, but instead invite the viewer to look inside, touch and question. After I completed the exterior of the box, textile artist, Darcy Falk installed the quilt lining that reflects the exterior design. I then turned my focus to important interior objects. I created three terra cotta vessels and from a large collection of possibilities, I selected what I wished to place in each dish: 1, salt, cinders, Indian tea, 2, blue and yellow corn, a sage wand, 3, Anasazi beans, black beans, and a stone. These items were chosen for their combination of aesthetics and cross-cultural significance. It turned out that my choices of interior items were more about life than death.
Close in time, and tied thematically to The Ultimate box, I began the series Paradigm: Portals & Passageways. While the initial pieces were related to individuals, the larger works evolved into reflections on World War II and Bosnia. Six of these works constituted an exhibit in Rhode Island.
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