Book Sculptures
The “Books” are a series of
ceramic sculptures, originally commissioned for the 11th
Annual New England Ceramic Artists show at the Boston
Athenaeum in the Fall of 1996. The sculptures—titled
“Tree of Life” —are composed of dozens of
antique-replica books, each uniquely designed and
crafted. The sculptures are available in a variety of
formats, from individual books to 2 1/2-foot-tall
combinations (like the one shown), and everything in
between. |
What Form Shall I Take Today?
This sculpture explores
the shadow side of beauty in our culture. This large,
rectangular façade has a woman’s form cut out of it that
is too tall and too thin, just as most current images of
women are in contemporary magazines today. This form is
filled from bottom to top with granulated sugar, then
sugar cubes, and finally hundreds of female torsos,
Barbie dolls recreated out of porcelain clay, punctured
with staples and pins to symbolize the emotional and
physical pain that many women put themselves through as
they attempt to fit into this contemporary “cookie
cutter” image. The sculpture is elegant, pristine, and
beautiful from a distance, yet as the viewer approaches
the sculpture (and topic of eating disorders and body
image) the bitter-sweetness, agony, and pain are
revealed to those willing to see. "What form shall I
take today" is now on permanent display at the Brandeis
University Women’s Center in Waltham, MA. |
 The
Tree of Life
The central image on this quilt symbolizes the Tree of
Life in the Garden of Eden. In Jewish mysticism the Tree
of Life represents a path of life-long learning; the
Torah is referred to as the “Eitz Chayyim—the Tree of
Life.” According to the mystics, the Torah is considered
to hold all the information needed by God to create the
world, and by humans to create in the world. This
information is held first of all in the words that are
written, and the black ink is sometimes described as
“black fire.” The information about creation is also
said to be held in the words that are not written, in
the many interpretations and stories that come from the
Torah, through rabbis, scholars and ourselves. These
un-written words are sometimes described as “white
fire.” Hence, the Torah as Tree of Life is expressed as
“black fire dancing on white fire.”
The Hebrew letters on the Tree spell “Chai” which mean
“Life,” as in the words “L’Chaim—To Life!” Numerically
the letters add up to the number 18, and multiples of 18
are often used to designate life-giving activities. May
this quilt inspire you to bring more life into
everything you do, and to continue your life-long
pursuit into the mysteries of the universe. |
