Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine

So, just finished reading 'the Goddess in the Gospels' by Margaret Starbird which is apparently the basis for Dan Brown's take on Christian History as we saw in 'The Da Vinci Code.' Makes for interesting reading, especially as it follows on (for me) from 'The Dance of the Dissident Daughter' by Sue Monk Kidd. I was brought up in maintstream Christianity to believe in a male God, which has been a constant bug-bear for me. How can half the world's population (i.e. women) be also-rans in a religion that claims to be the salvation of the entire human race?

Can't fault Sue Monk Kidds book at all - it is based on sound research and talks about the way the patriachal church has managed to become the accepted Status Quo. Her book managed to pull me back from the brink of turning away from the church. My only criticism of Starbird's book is that she tends to regard inicidents occuring in America as being universal indicators of the state of the church, which therefore weakens her argument for those of us that live outside the States. Sorry, Margaret, but there it is. Other than that, I have to say, that the idea that Christ and the Magdalene were married and therefore together a truer metaphorical picture of the church makes perfect sense to me. 'Splains alot even. Adds weight to the Biblical declaration that Christ has personal knowledge of everything we experience and therefore understands our throughts, fears and 'temptations'. How can a single, celibate man really do that? So, at the risk of being ex-communicated or burnt at the stake or something, I have to thoroughly recommend both of these books and the ideas they present.

Turns out that the power we have always suspected is lurking in the female psyche actually is; the intuition we've often ignored is a Spiritual prompting and our affinity for Mother Earth is built into our genes. No wonder the patriachal powers that be want to suppress it!

Ceibhfhionn

This is another new piece that I decided to name after the celtic water goddess of knowledge, inspiration and creativity, Ceibhfhionn (pronounced CAY-vun). When I went looking for appropriate names, this jumped out at me - the piece is about the lost sacred feminine and her role in creation and continuous creativity. It includes quite a few led lights, which I think work really well.

The Churchie

I have also got word that I have been pre-selected for the Churchie Emerging Artist Award, which is a bit of a buzz. Looks like the next few months are going to be pretty busy carting sculptures around all over the place.

New Work

I have been working on several new pieces over the last few months and one that is now complete is this one: The Bower. It started out as a mosaic piece years ago when I still thought I had to keep 'mosaic' and other materials separate. I don't know why I thought that - one of those rules you pick up along the way that are in fact a load of rubbish. It didn't work at all as a mosaic piece - just another very kitsch mosaic sculpture -  but now I quite like the slightly evil cockatooish bird that is collecting all sorts of odd things in its bower. There is currently A Royal Spoonbill evolving which is obviously closely related to this bird, so stay tuned for some pics when I am done. I am having a great time bringing these creatures into existence.

Successful pre-selection Moreton Bay Region Art Awards

I'm pretty chuffed to have heard on Friday that my two entries into the Moreton Bay Region Art Awards have both been accepted into the exhibition. One is my sculpture Anticipating Avalon and the other is a digital photo from the Lovely Bones series I have done, based on the Skeleton Woman archetype in Women Who Run with the Wolves. I haven't done much digital work of late, and I have enjoyed getting back into it, especially since getting my new computer. Even though I don't technically live in Moreton Bay Shire, I live just over the boundary and so these awards are very local, which makes it all the more pleasing to be involved again.

You can see Anticipating Avalon on my website, but I haven't put the digital images up there yet, so here is the series: The first one is the one accepted into the exhibition.

Theophany

Last weekend, I had a magical experience. Driving up my road after grocery shopping (that's not the magical part) I saw a large bird being harrassed by smaller ones. At first I thought it was a crow, but something in my subconscious noted the shape of its tail. After a double-triple take I began to believe I was looking at a wedge-tailed eagle. This huge bird swooped down in front of my car to eye-level and then disappeared behind my house. When I parked the car and got out to reassure myself that I hadn't been dreaming, I spotted it again and watched it and its mate slowly climb to a great height and drift away on the thermals. I have seen them once before from a distance over the hills, but I've never had such a close encounter with one outside of captivity. The photo isn't good, but are proof at least to me, that my theophany was real!

My Book

Last year, I self-published a little book about my journey to the solo exhibition I had in July. I'd love for you to have a look and tell me what you think!

Journey to Kedesh by Ann Russell

BOOK INFO