The Latest Effigy from GERM Studio

                                       

Well she has been many months in the making but I have finally finished her.  

My latest mixed-media effigy is titled “Éliane”.  Her name makes reference to her sun like qualities and a character trait of lovability.  

Strength, Warmth, Brilliant, Grounded, Love—were the words that formed the structure of this effigy.  As each piece was joined together these words were present in my mind.

She is dressed in the colours of the earth and stars.  The beading is chaotic in nature yet if you look long enough the small circular objects appear to align themselves into understandable patterns. There is order to her attire with hints of unpredictability.

The effigy Éliane has the number four at her core.  Four is a composite number that is a positive integer and has positive divisors.  The number four has three divisors.  Three being a number that suggests duality.

 

The Awakening of Intellectual Evolution

 

 

I have often been asked why do I frequently use animals other than humans as my subjects?  To begin with, I seem to gravitate towards animals and forms that have an ancient feel.  My instincts lead me towards animals and objects that are strong archetypes.

All too often answers to life’s questions are better understood if presented by those perceived as most different from us. Realities about the human condition are reflected back to the observer through nature.  People have preoccupations with their material needs rather than the spiritual, putting humans and non-human animals at the same level of intellectual evolutionary development. What would happen if the masses began see through the eyes of nature?  Possible intellectual progress…

Another reason for my paintings and drawing having non-human animals is that they transcend cultural barriers.  There is a visceral reaction to nature that I want to tap into. We will see ourselves in nature conversely nature will contain humanity within it.  We are rooted in nature as nature is rooted in us.  Every thing physical on this earth comes from the same stuff.  Common sense tells us that everything will reflect similarities in one another.

Embedded in all my work is a story of awakening and moving towards Intellectual Evolution. 

Everyone has the potential to be more than simply material.

OVER EXTENDED

 

 

Two cylindrical hollow stems cast shadows of truth down upon the water surface.  Below the water surface the reality of the tall grasses is not what is revealed from above.  Is the truth about the rushes evident from above the waters surface?   Can it not be seen that the once strong and healthy structures can no longer support themselves, much less another being?

Penetrating below the surface is not given any thought.  What is convenient is what is real.  The rushes will be used.  There is denial that any connection exists.  Absolution of responsibility sets in.  There is no integration perceived by the Red-Winged Blackbird.

The rushes collapse under the weight.  They move further away from their once centered position, a place that gave strength to all those involved in the collaborative community. 

Now the Blackbird is without the support or connection of the grasses.  It is on its own and over-extended.  Will it look down below the surface of the water to see what can be revealed about its situation, or will it simply look at the surface and see only that it is no longer supported?  Will it fly away without giving thought to the destruction it has caused to the community (and thus itself) for the sake of its ego? 

The over-extended Blackbird tells today’s real story of egocentricity. 

 

Getting real should mean going beyond the surface of the water into the depths where the tall hollow grasses are rooted.

Upon first glance the hollow grass seem to be just that, empty.   By looking beyond the hard stalk exterior of the rushes, what is exposed is that they are filled with the echos of completeness.  The open spaces of these narrow containers call for the Blackbird to come back to help and built a link between the broken stems, binding the two to form a new and authentic connection.