Well isn’t it interesting how many of us have ended up doing something related to dementia? It’s obviously in the air. My piece was inspired from living with my Grandmother for the last years of her life and being part of the unraveling that took place in her head. It was a really difficult time for all the family. I’d wanted to make a piece about that experience for some time but to be honest I felt too angry until recently to make a start – I didn’t want the challenges of her last years to colour my entire relationship with her.
As it turned out, my friend brought me some beautiful eggs from her hens, (I’m still working around my bird theme), and using tiny pieces of shattered shells seemed to make sense. So the piece is about trying to find patterns and sense that is hidden, keeping precious memories safe, and connections. I’ve used egg shells, gold thread to the special pieces in place, wax to ‘fix’ the memories, handmade paper to reflect my Gran’s physicality. It’s difficult to photograph this piece – it is a lot more fragile in real life but you’ll just have to take my word for it!
Beautiful piece Carla. Those egg shells are really lovely. To me they almost look like the shape of a person lying down. Very much like the sparing use of stitch.
Thank you. It’s interesting – people keep telling me they see different things in the pattern of the shells. I’ll try ink blots next time!
Carla, This piece is most successful and original. I too love the fragility of this piece and realise that our lives are just that – fragile. I hope you enjoy the next challenge – I’ll post the subject soon.