Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the Creator:
Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.
The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser are within;
And within this vessel the Eternal soundeth, and the spring wells up.
Kabir says: "Listen to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within."
-Kabir
(15th century)
I
have
returned to my true love, sculpture, after many years of
focusing on two dimensions.
The
Mystical Vessel Series
This
series explores the experience of famous mystics from
diverse traditions. The underlying theme of these
sculptures is the human body as a vessel for Divine
Light and Creativity. I also explore the idea of the artist
as vessel. 12 sculptures are planned in this
series. I will post the videos are they are
complete.
Hildegard
of Bingen
Hildegard
of Bingen is a 12th century German mystic. As with many
mystics, her closeness to God was intimately connected
with her physical illness. This video show my
sculpture and explains more about her life. For
more on Hildegard, checkout the Hildegard
category of my blog.
The Pregnant Virgin Mary
The Virgin Mary is the ultimate
mystic. Her body, the actual container for God, is the
ultimate exemplar for the artist. For more on this
read here.
The
Egg Cracks
This series paved the
way for my vessel series above. As I began to sculpt
these figures, they cried out to be cracked open like
eggs. I was slowly being led by my sculptures inside.