OMGoddess!
Solo Exhibition, Bear Gallery, Fairbanks, AK
The OMGoddess! title of this exhibition was chosen after my journey through the making and self-discovery of OMGoddess. I have been working with the Goddess figure for a while and as I prepared for this show, my intention was to create Goddesses and I had one of those catchy and hard to nail down titles picked out like Intuition, however, this body of work and being socially distanced at home, a whole different show came out of the process then intended.
Om represents creation, manifestation, and destruction. O-M-G brings direct attention to the Goddess. The creation of this show encompassed all the above.
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was the first piece I created for this show. She has the curves in all the right places, however, when I pondered this further I had the realization that no matter how much weight lost or exercise I put in, I will never look like this. I thought about all the beautiful women in my life who I easily would refer to as beautiful Goddesses and they also do not have this figure. This piece is where the questions and the journey inward investigating my beliefs and where they came from began. This of course led to the inner journey of finding self, place, along with where and how we belong as women.
Hand-built and carved Goddesses
Social isolation began at the same time as these pieces and the show was created in response to 2020, as a society we were pushed into the uncomfortable and uncharted territory between politics, pandemic, loss, and isolation. We were all affected differently, there was breaking down of society, beliefs clashed, families were politically split, loss of family and or friends and I drew inside to find truth. Sometimes you need to rumble with the truth to find yourself. The carving process is a visual of looking for answers to what it means to be a female in today’s world. The media advertisements shout at us contradictory imagery and impossible expectations. The carved figures are attached to wood pieces from the boreal forest on our property.
Women Are Vessels
Women are vessels, whether through the birth of children or ideas and they birth and hold this space. We all have one thing in common, a woman has given birth to you, giving you life. Think about that for a moment, everyone needs a woman to be alive. Yet, women look to the media and others for our approval, how to dress, how to act, how to behave and the list goes on. We currently seek our self worth from those we have given birth to. Women are also usually the ones who are nourishing others around them, whether emotional, spiritual or through food. I have children and have lost children, space is still held and it does not go away. You always love them and dream about that distance not being there.
There Is No Ceiling Through the carving process, many emotions came to light, however, one large repeating theme is that women and girls are not objects, we have a voice, a voice that matters and to be heard. There is No Ceiling references trusting in your flight towards your dreams and written in shorthand around the figure is “There is No Ceiling”. “There is No Ceiling” and it repeats over and over.
Empowered We, and as we, I mean every woman of every kind, including every color, shape, size, and sexual identity deserve a place in this world. We belong in your conference rooms and as Vice President of the United States, for now VP, President is next, We birth you and you have no right to hand us the big butt, big boobs, skinny waist, plump lips, and skinny hips checklist. Don’t judge this generation for being vain, our media has trained them into thinking this is the formula to be beautiful. I am here to say that it is not your outer shell that holds your beauty, it is your soul. Your soul is your spirit, the essence of who you authentically are and you are not a checklist, no one is a checklist, Goddess you are beautiful and so much more than that!
Serenity signifies finding and following our own path and not the path created or deemed by others. Is there anything in your life that needs burning down to live your true life? Instead of hiding in busyness, live in the silence, your truth and be bold. No one gets to give you a checklist. No one has the right to determine your self-worth. You are your own Goddess and I see you and say O-M-Goddess!
Grandmothers These porcelain Grandmothers represent the understanding that when we are rooted in our truth, beauty will abound. Our lives become happier and brighter. As a society of women, it is our job to uplift the women around us. There is not a limited amount of resources available that we need to fight for. There is more than enough to go around and if we share in this experience, those resources grow.
OMGoddess! Exhibition Statement
Ceramic sculptural figurative forms are the main focus of my work. I draw inspiration from my own journey of healing and self-discovery. My artistic process involves walking up to and through my memories, interior self, somatics, and life. I find comfort and a truth in primitive sculptures and ceramics from ancient cultures from all over the world. As humans, I feel we have unconscious or primitive responses to events and others. Through my work, I aspire to bring life and our reactions to it together within my art.
I work intuitively and spontaneously around subject matters that affect not only women but all humans. My hope is that the viewer finds resonance with my sculptures exploring the human physical, spiritual, and emotional strategies used within relationships with ourselves and our communities. I explore how we define and redefine our place in society and how we make decisions based on past experiences or triggers within our lives.
I made OMGoddess! as a response to my life experience from a female perspective. I aspire to create conversations or bring light to life topics. I thank you for joining me on my journey and hope there is a little bit of light that helps you on yours.