Installation and Performance

The blue-violet walls and floor of this room have a lightly wooded forest of white trees in the background. In the center of the room is a life-sized copper wire sculpture of a woman's form as a tree with four roots stretching in four directions. Her head and arms rising upward to form branches that reach outward and upward. Papery leaves dot the branches above. Her tree body is covered with a flakes of ivory rice-paper bark. She is lit from within at the base with a white light, and a magenta gel lighting illumines her from above. Leaning on the wall behind, on the right side, is a staff in the midst of the trees. In the far corner behind and to the left is a talking stick suspended in a white tree that is brightly lit. In a spot illumined on the left wall is a twisting gold-leafed covered stick that appears to have decoration. The light illuminating it casts an egg-shape on the wall with additional radiating bands of light beyond. In the middle ground are the broken column-shaped Core Sample sculptures, one laying on the ground parallel in view, the other standing vertically further back and to the right. These are softly lit to reveal stone-like surfaces of smooth gray, magenta, and blue transparent washes. White handprints and symbols are lightly etched onto the surfaces.

Through Eyes of Myth a Voice is Heard

Solo Show

August-September 1992, Masters’ Gallery, SJSU, San Jose, California

23’ wide x 24′ deep x 10’ tall

Clay, oil paint, wood, copper, madrone, bronze, redwood, brass, antler, silver, gold leaf, pearls, silken cord, rice paper, harvested stalks, light, paint, gelatin lighting.

The divine feminine theme of the Through the Eyes of Myth a Voice is Heard  installation featured the tools and purpose of the storyteller. It is in itself a body of work; an installation composed like a painting, inviting you to enter into and experience from within, that is populated with elements and light to build the composition, yet some of which are complete works of art in and of themselves. Additionally, a storytelling performance took place within, one that enhanced the space and was enhanced buy it, yet each could stand on it’s own, separate from each other.
The blue-violet walls and floor of this room has a lightly wooded forest of white trees on the left side. In a spot illumined on the left wall is a twisting gold-leafed covered stick that appears to have decoration. The light illuminating it casts an egg-shape on the wall with additional radiating bands of light beyond. In the middle ground are the broken column-shaped Core Sample sculptures, one laying on the ground parallel in view, the other standing vertically further back and to the right. These are softly lit to reveal stone-like surfaces of smooth gray, magenta, and blue transparent washes. White handprints and symbols are lightly etched onto the surfaces.
Leaning on the wall in a blue-violet room with delicate white trees creating a wooded atmosphere, the staff stands nearly 6 and 1/2 feet tall. The curved redwood branch is topped by a 4-point deer antler with eleven small brass bells attached to it. The redwood, freed of bark, is smooth with a sheen to it and there's a red-violet transparent streak flowing down it. A reddened band of coiled copper wraps around the top of the redwood staff a few inches below the base of the antler and again a few inches above the pointed end of the wood. The staff casts a curving shadow on teh wall behind.
Suspended in the blue-violet room with a soft spotlight illumination is a twisting gold-leafed covered stick that appears to have decoration. The light illuminating it casts an egg-shape on the wall with additional radiating bands of light beyond. The piece is suspended from a delicate white tree, and to the left across this space are more white trees.
The blue-violet walls and floor of this room has a lightly wooded forest of white trees in the background. In a spot illumined on the far wall is a twisting gold-leafed covered stick that appears to have decoration. The light illuminating it casts an egg-shape on the wall with additional radiating bands of light beyond. In the foreground are the broken column-shaped Core Sample sculptures, one laying as if pointing away, the other standing vertically further back and to the right. These are softly lit to reveal stone-like surfaces of smooth gray, magenta, and blue transparent washes. White handprints and symbols are lightly etched onto the surfaces.
Suspended in the blue-violet room with a soft spot light illumination is a twisting gold-leafed covered stick of madrone wood with a wrapped ivory-hued silky cord covering for one third of the length of the stick to serve as the handle. Two freshwater pearl strands wind loosely down in a twisted drape from the top to about a third of the way down the stick. Mahogany colored seed beads encircle the tip of the stick, with a silky thread dangling down a few inches with a silver bead and small white feather at the end.
In a space with blue-violet walls and floor, this upright painted column, with broken top angling from upper left down to the right, reveals the undulating night sky quality of the interior of the Core Sample's nature. The outer surface of the Core Sample is smooth, with transparent washes of grays, magenta, violet, and blue hues over a foundation that appears marble stone-like. In transparent effects, blue pigments form silhouettes of birds in various angles of flight descending diagonally across from the upper left to the lower right middle. As the bird silhouettes descend, they evolve into dolphin shapes. On either side are bands of stone-like gray marbling. Filling the bottom left area is a field of overlapping transparent white hand prints. The Core Sample sits upon a platform of recycled burnished 4x4 post wood.
In a blue-violet space, the view of this painted broken-column, laying at an angle on the ground, reveals the undulating night sky quality of the interior of the Core Sample's nature. The outer surface of the Core Sample is smooth, with transparent washes of grays, magenta, violet, and blue hues over a foundation that appears marble stone-like. In transparent effects, white and blue pigments form feminine symbols: a receptive spiral, a handprint, a geometric symbol of Astarte goddess of creation, and a crescent moon. More symbols are apparent on the rest of the surface, though less visible.
Suspended in the blue-violet room with bright spotlight illumination is the curving madrone wood talking stick sculpture. It has the deep red-brown, smooth, skin-line bark on the lower half, and the creamy-colored heart wood visible in the upper half. The upper half serves as the body of the Storyteller bird's skeletal shape. The head is an actual bird skull with a long open-mouthed beak, it has a bronze-hued finish, with coiled copper at the neckline. At the curved shoulder of the stick, two bronze, bone-like, wing appendages reach outward. The body has been lightly wood burned to form delicate tattoo designs spiraling down the body from the neckline. Four bronze bone-like tail feathers jut out at the base of the body where the madrone bark begins. The lower half of the stick culminates in a naturally weathered break that is a reaching hand shape. White trees fill most of the background.
The life-sized copper wire sculpture is of a woman's form as a tree with four roots stretching in four directions. Her head and arms rising upward to form branches that reach outward and upward. Her tree body is covered with a flakes of ivory rice-paper bark. She is lit from within at the base with a white light, and a magenta gel lighting illumines her from above. The overall space has a blue-violet floor and walls with delicate white trees in the background, and a staff leaning against the far wall in the midst of the trees.
Leaning on the wall in a blue-violet room with delicate white trees creating a wooded atmosphere, the staff stands nearly 6 and 1/2 feet tall. The curved redwood branch is topped by a 4-point deer antler with eleven small brass bells attached to it. The redwood, freed of bark, is smooth with a sheen to it and there's a red-violet transparent streak flowing down it. A reddened band of coiled copper wraps around the top of the redwood staff a few inches below the base of the antler and again a few inches above the pointed end of the wood. The staff casts a curving shadow on teh wall behind.
Suspended in the blue-violet room with bright spotlight illumination is the curving madrone wood talking stick sculpture. It has the deep red-brown, smooth, skin-line bark on the lower half, and the creamy-colored heart wood visible in the upper half. The upper half serves as the body of the Storyteller bird's skeletal shape. The head is an actual bird skull with a long open-mouthed beak, it has a bronze-hued finish, with coiled copper at the neckline. At the curved shoulder of the stick, two bronze, bone-like, wing appendages reach outward. The body has been lightly wood burned to form delicate tattoo designs spiraling down the body from the neckline. Four bronze bone-like tail feathers jut out at the base of the body where the madrone bark begins. The lower half of the stick culminates in a naturally weathered break that is a reaching hand shape. White trees fill the background casting their shadows on the wall behind.
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