Well hello there Bulb Guardian

The Two Worlds

The Two Worlds is a work of art dedicated to my experiences in traveling to Guatemala and the impact it has had on me as a person.  My two trips to that country reminded me that I have a great respect for the natural world and that the Earth is an abundant place.  I love being there and am sometimes torn in my fantasies.  Fantasies of living there or staying for extended periods of time.  The figure on the left has a blue jay on its head, one of my favorite birds and one I always saw as a child.  The other figure has the quetzal, a bird I have never seen alive but which is represented everywhere in Guatemala from actual specimens in Church museums to the actual currency it represents freedom and elusiveness/mystery.  I filled the work with symbolism and made it small on purpose because I want to submit it to a show. 

I will list the symbols below:

Two figures - double identities/allegiances 

mouse - my power animal and favorite pet!

frog - between worlds (amphibian water-land)

goose/swan - (peep peep) Fannie Earls, Suffolk, Va.

shellfish - the Chesapeake Bay (where I grew up)

buds - untapped potential

mushrooms - phallic/decay

flowers - fulfilled potential

ruins - life experiences

grasses - abundance and prosperity

hands - handmade/trust in life

butterfly - transformation 

dragonfly - eternity also Suffolk/grams

lily - Christian iconography 

quetzal -Guatemala

blue jay - United States

The shape made between the faces of the figures and birds is really exciting, I am going to make this object which will be featured on its own blog post.  I can see it as three or four wheel thrown pieces put together.  two bowls and a base :) 

Self Reflection pot guardian

A new guardian, plant-daphne woman, she is very large much bigger than usual figures, there is a brick wall behind her and she has a mushroom which looks like an erect phallus.  There is also a statement of male sex with the headless figure behind her, all cock and no brain.  The figure is androgynous but has a female persona behind her.  The work is full of my usual symbols of bird trinity, quetzal, growth in the form of plants, hands, and precolumbian art images.

Ressurection of the Bulb Guardian

Bulb Guardian part II

This is the new Bulb Guardian, I made it while drawing on mental images of the original, but after doing a bit of research I found the name and image of the original, it was titled Bulb Guardian.
There were several aspects from four years ago that I wanted to maintain:

1. The hand built brick wall which joins the wheel thrown with the handbuilt.

2. The bulbous form (I had forgotten it was titled bulb guardian at the time but knew I wanted it round!)

3. The figure sitting on the edge of the pot (not in it like the current goddesses)

4. A pushed in pot but not collapsed (more of an indentation not a total profile shift)

5. The figures arms turn into vines/branches (she is a plant-daphne)

The new one changes sexual overtones from direct to indirect, or a maturation of suggestion.  The figure is more rotund and in alignment with the shape of the pot, she is "rooted" in this indention of the pot, anchoring herself in.  The figure is not nude anymore so is de-sexualized, (there aren't even breasts) the  flower buds and hanging fruits instead are suggestive and phallic so for me the newer one is much more "sexy".  Finally the new symbols of the mouse, ruins, and quetzal have been added as a "new perspective" when viewed from the back.
Here are some images of the original, I'm very happy thus far with the new version, I would also like a silvery/blue/black/yellow shiny coat when its all said and done.

The original:

Trinity Begins

I have been doing some sketches and writings about this trinity pot that I wanted to create, it was going to have a tree with roots on the actual side of the pot, the shape would be like an amphora, and the plant would have three stems, the mother, and the two children, representing my sister and I.  The pot is done, the figure at first glance scary, but like African masks she (she is actually wearing a Guatemala mask) is only designed to scare away potential danger.  The central figure is composed of a woman with no real form of her own, her face is a mask, the belly is a rose, her breasts are eggplants, arms vines... this sort of woman is based on a (somewhat Picassoesque) painting by Wilfredo Lam called "The Jungle" where its unclear whether the round objects are breasts or fruit.

Ive been inspired by that painting before

The trinity theme is repeated several times, in some lichenshrooms, three birds, three buds, three eggs, three figures, behind the central figure are three plants, there are even three eggplants, this particular trinity is a personal play on a common motif in religious art. 

Photographer-Artist John Darvie's photoshoot

Hello, here are some images that photographer/artist and owner of Apollo1 gallery shot for me recently.