Keep Caves
I created my own version of these grottos in clay which to me are like small caves that are for keeping tokens of what is important to us
When I lived in Venezuela, I was obsessed with the grottos scattered throughout the Andes mountains. To me they were a strange combination of Catholism and pagan offerings. Carved in mountain sides, erected next to walking trails, sometimes in the most unlikely of places, these mini caves of mystery always caught my immediate full attention. Sometimes they were small, others were cavernous. They usually held a saint and had various offerings accumulated, like candles, prayers, and flowers. You could feel a peaceful aura around each one.
Copper Flower
Keep Cave Series
So I created my own version of these grottos which to me are like small caves that are for keeping tokens of what is important to us, be it mementos, remembrances, or objects of hopes and wishes. Some people use them for decoration, others as altars or even shrines.
I like to have a theme for the cave, such as a marsh, a flower pattern, or the sea. I like to make small objects that can go in the cave, such as flowers, mini stands, and symbols.
My hope is that you will grace your abode with one (or more)!
Transformation Series
Over a period of a couple years I made these three sculptures to depict a difficult transition I was going through.
Over a period of a couple years I made these three sculptures to depict a difficult transition I was going through. Several traumatic events happened close together in my life and I was new in sobriety. I felt overly emotional and at times overwhelmed with what life was throwing at me and my family. That is represented by the women being made of pieces, stuck together and giving me shape as the events were all consuming.
I totally connected to the book, “Dark Nights of the Soul” by Thomas Moore. It allowed me to feel my despair, learn and grow in it, and have hope that light would return. That is represented by her looking upward.
At the same time, I started on a spiritual path which supported and guided me in this transition. I learned that I was not alone on a soul level. That I could turn over people, places, and things that were outside of my control. That faith was accepting the dark and the light. That I could flow through life instead of fighting and resisting. That is represented by the copper spiral that she pulls from within herself and then gazes at directly.
At the end of this transition, she is sitting upright, fully gazing at her new spiritually strong self, a survivor, ready to become a thriver.
