It’s done, the creation was not nearly as direct a process as it could have been but I am pleased with the outcome. It did turn out to be more of an illustrative piece than an exercise in the beauty of a repeating form and yet, there is a repeating pattern of dots from the molding, to the metal grate, to the die holder, to the delicate row of chicken feathers.
In Memory II is about loss but it is less about any particular loss and more about loss in the abstract.
Although some people might find loss sad, in fact, loss is only a reminder of what you had—or still have. You can easily dwell on a loss or you can rejoice in the fact that you had the opportunity to have: met that person, acquired a possession, heard that song or had the good fortune to have been in good health. The choice is ours to make. Even more important, loss creates a space. It is only when there is space, is there room for something new.
As with all of my work, although contrasts or beauty are integral to my pieces, these Foundlings are more about the unexpected. It is my hope that this wakes us up to all we have and all we have to be grateful for.
