Anointing the Goddess

I met Kim Gifford at the Woodstock Writers Festival last year when Jon was a guest speaker.  We got along immediately and when I saw one of her photo collages on facebook, I knew I wanted to show her work at the Pig Barn Gallery.  I didn’t have a theme in mind at the time, but I saw the fairytale quality in her work.  It was both dark and hopeful at the same time.  It evoked stories of  transformation.

Then, when I was hanging a Gallery 99 exhibit, I came across Joyce Zimmerman’s work.  She made small 3D collages using found  images and objects.  Each piece was in a plastic food container, which acts as a frame.  In her collages, Joyce visually told the story of the women of the bible.  Like Kim’s pieces, they had a dark beauty about them.

So now I had two people for the show but still wasn’t sure about the theme.  During a Meditation retreat I had heard the phrase Fruitful Darkness, and that seemed to fit.   But somehow, in my mind, it seemed to focus more on the darkness than the fruit.

Then, just before Christmas, I was getting a massage and I had a vision.  I was not longer in a room but outside in what  felt like ancient Egypt.   My body was being anointed for a ritual, (maybe a death ritual? transformation)  I saw the ocean, small waves crashing in the distance and there were small blue flowers at my feet. I was wearing a collar made of gold that rested on my shoulders.  And Mandy (my  masseuse) was a priestess performing the ritual and it felt like we were no longer alone, that there was another being present. I suddenly felt worthy and deserving.    I completely understood the idea of the body as a vessel, and the inner woman, the feminine that is inside all of us, women and men.  The words “Anointing the Goddess” came to my mind.  And I knew that this was the theme of the show.

When I got home I made this streaming piece called Anointing the Goddess.

Since then I’ve been making goddess streaming pieces and potholders, just right for the show.  I found 2 more artist’s whose work fits the theme Diane Swanson and Donna Wynbandt (more about them later).  And it was pretty easy to fit Jon’s photos in the show, there are so many goddesses at Bedlam Farm.

Join us to celebrate the goddess in us all, at the last show in the Pig Barn Gallery,  June 23rd and 24th.