A Skin with a Heart of its Own

"Coeur-age". Silk, alpaca, wool, cotton, stainless steel, sewing thread. 16"x14.5".

A few posts back I mentioned that I was taking a break from the big coverlet-inspired wall hangings in order to explore some more personal points of departure for my work. I'd been drawing more and found myself wanting to make these drawings three-dimensionally. These are explorations of my heart and skin, anatomical envisionings of what makes me, me.

Pen and Ink, Watercolor pencil, oil pastel. 10.5" x 8.5". 2014.

"What I Felt".  Silk, alpaca, 6.75"x 6.25"x 1.25". 2014.

I see this as the beginning of a series, explorations of my heart and soul, trying to weave my skin and put my heart and soul into it. This is extremely personal work, for it pushes me to find vulnerability and flaws both in myself and in the cloth. No hiding here behind pretty colors and pattern. Maybe because there is a measure of bravery involved here, I feel like these little pieces have taken as much energy to produce as my big wall hangings. Nuclear fission, my friends.