 I am compelled to make
art as I transcend to a place of contentment and peace. I
love the thought provoking meditative intensity of carving,
yet find the necessary balance by working in two dimensions,
primarily felted pictures and mixed
media drawings.
The primal process of stone carving forces me to slow down
and connects me to Source. This allows me to explore a deeper
part of myself, where the sacredness of my Divine feminine
resurfaces, conjuring intimate images of Mother, Mother-and-child
motif and anthropomorphic forms.
At times I am distracted by the banality of day to day life,
but through the sacredness of the process of stone carving,
I realise the honesty which is demanded by the stone. The
act of carving creates self-discipline. There is safety and
trust in this holy practice and therefore, harmony grows
within.
I use a mallet and chisels for hand carving, enjoying the
simplicity of the meditative sounds where steel meets stone.
I also work with rasps and rifflers for smoothing out roughly
chiseled forms and electric cutting tools for taking away
larger chunks of stone. Finally, I create a lustre in the
stone using diamond-bit polishing pads with water.
I am interested in the natural beauty of my environment
which has been heightened by living rurally. I find inspiration
in the gentle beauty and luminosity of the landscape where
the human body melds with the land expressing infinity where
inter-relatedness is evident.
 I am interested in the dichotomies within myself, which
I explore visually in my work. The contrast of textures
within stone evokes a warming in my heart: the blazing beauty
of the intricacies of polished stone’s hidden colours
juxtaposed with rough markings made by my tools. This is
conveyed well in my stone carvings, "Imminent" and "Inextricably
Bound".
 I am influenced deeply by the Mother role which has enveloped
me for a number of years, hence I have examined the polarizing
emotions which stem from that perspective. I delight in the
female form and was particularly inspired by my own pregnant
body which evoked great and abundant symbolism. Further,
I have come to realize, through the exploration of stone
carving, the yearnings of my own inner child for my attention
and consequent healing. This is evident in the stone carving, "Child
Within".
I also have a desire to create more authentically, exploring
more deeply my interest in Shamanism which includes witnessing
the characteristics and behavior of some animals and how
they can further our awareness of ourselves and others. Mostly,
what I desire to accomplish as an artist and human being
is to fully release my ego and allow the creative flow to
move through me wholeheartedly. |
