About the Vessel Series

In the body of work entitled The Vessel Series, I’m interested in exploring the concept of a personal quest like the mythological search for Shambhala or the Holy Grail—the inner search for meaning, peace and wholeness, and the idea of pilgrimage—a transformational journey to a sacred center. I’m examining these concepts visually through the interplay between a three-dimensional space and a planar surface. The two dimensional surface is created by a raised pattern. The underlying world beneath is the archetypal form of a light-filled vessel. The use of patterning emphasizes the surface of the image, the seductive, material nature of the physical world—the daily patterns of our lives, our schedules and routines. The primal container lies underneath, partly hidden.

The vessel emerged in my work as I searched for an image that would distil the essence of a pilgrimage I took to Turkey. It was a journey to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Sufi poet, Rumi. As a potter turns the wheel to center the clay, so the Sufi Dervishes whirl, around the axis of their hearts. The heart is the center of their turning. As a clay pot must go through fire to be transformed, so Rumi says we must be transformed by the intense fire of love.

The Neolithic pottery from the archaeological sites that I saw on this trip assumed an archetypal presence. These ancient vessels were made by ancestors whose gene pool is so old that the pots they made are to some degree a heritage to everyone everywhere. Through this pottery, there is an historical connection to early cultures who worshipped the Goddess and beyond that, an archetypal connection to our inner feminine nature.

Influenced by years of working as a potter early in my art career. I enjoy the hands-on approach to the process of art making. My use of materials and my choice of subject matter also reflect a deep interest in what was traditionally considered women’s work. After I apply the surface patterning, I put on paint with my hands, then wipe away with rags to expose the light below. This procedure of uncovering can be seen on another level, as a process of self-discovery between the surface of one’s being and its depths.

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