i am slowly trying to catch up on projects. this is for the fiberart of so ca challenge-the theme is inua.
in the inuit culture, Inua refers to a sort of soul that exists in all people, animals, lakes, mountains, and plants- they were sometimes personified in mythology. i choose sedna-the goddess of the sea. she is depicted in several ways -from the nurturing mother to a quite terrible force. i have incorporated a wonderful vintage batik from bali-circa early 1950’s. i have the providence on this piece-unusual for me. my mother acquired this fabric as a gift-when she sent some life magazines to her pen pal in bali during the early 1950’s. even though the batik is not culturally correct-it feels right to me-(i hope sedna feels the same way.) for the background i used a lovely floral vintage damask tablecloth-which i dyed with dylon. i love the way the subtle pattern pops!
i’m not quite sure how she will turn out in the end-kind or cruel-perhaps realistically somewhere in between.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Pat Sieler // Sep 11, 2009 at 12:22 pm
That is handsome. What is the significance of the bird? I like the idea of everything having a soul. That is how I see things as well.
How big is it? Really lovely.
How is your son?
2 turke3 // Sep 11, 2009 at 5:51 pm
thank you pat-i’m having a lot more fun with this than i thought i would. in the inuit culture the raven is portrayed as “the giver of light”-a creator and sometimes a trickster. ( i did have sedna holding a seal in her left hand, but it didn’t work for me so i ripped it out-will think about it.)
it is not too big-about 24″ x 34″. i think i might incorperate some small bones somewhere-and i have some beautiful vintage “horn” buttons that i may find a use for here. that is the beauty of collage-add a little-see if it works-if not-try something else.
my son is back to work this week-i’m acting as chauffeur-as he still is unable to drive-not to mention he has no car. the car can be replaced and the bones will mend with time-hopefully the lessons learned will be lifelong-
i would NEVER want to be 21 again!!!
3 Phyllis // Sep 14, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I am so happy your son is on the mend and his mom is comforted by that. Yes, 21 is not an age to be repeated!
I love this piece…the colors as well as the images and symbolism. I am curious. What is “dylon” and is this something less toxic to use than say other dyes? The other element that I find so intriguing about your pieces are the stories of these spirits. I am about to buy a book that has this as a topic because I would like to use these in my pieces going forward. I guess collage is a medium perfect for creation of spirit stories.
4 turke3 // Sep 21, 2009 at 3:25 pm
hi phyllis- i’m sure your journey into the spirit world will be magical-i can’t wait to see your creations! i don’t know that dylon is any less toxic than other brands-but i do love the colors! here is their website-www.dylon.co.uk/
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