“Ascension From The Ocean Floor”

This piece began with a photograph of coral, taken through a glass specimen case in a biology building at Indiana University. As I carved through the crevices in the image, I thought of the many creases in our brains that hold memory, experience, feelings-- all the parts that make up who we are. I reflected on my mother, and how full her life was before Alzheimer’s... and how memories that enriched her soul, short-term and long ago, faded away as she declined in her disease. Just as the coral remained intact and beautiful in its solid remains of life, so did my mama's spirit. I titled the piece, "Ascension from the Ocean Floor," and experienced a catharsis in allowing this two-dimensional image to become fully alive in a reimagined entity, envisioned rising from the ocean floor to experience a new way of being.

An original macro photograph was printed on handmade kozo paper, layered with multiple layers of encaustic medium, intricately carved with wooden tools, further colored with powdered pigment, and sculpted into shape. The segments were hand-sewn together, and tentacles were added to complete the life of this form. It is a pedestal piece, but could be mounted onto found wood and made into a wall hanging.