I took inspiration for my votive sculpture from the ancient ones from history, but it quickly turned into something more personal. I am intrigued by fertility votives. You see them not only in the Etruscan times but throughout centuries. The concept of fertility I could understand from knowing people who have had kids and struggle to have children. The whole process is a delicate miracle. Then to raise a child is a whole separate journey. I created my votive with the image of pregnancy in mind with the bulbous curves. I draped the sheer fabric to create the illusion of modesty and mystery in pregnancy. To those of use who have never been pregnant there are aspects that must remain a mystery. Each pregnancy is different so mothers who can relate, still can not completely understand another woman's journey. I wanted to show the form underneath just as a pregnant woman cannot hide that she carries a human within. 

In Our Hands

nickle, photo tranfer, fabric

My amulet started out as a protection for hands, because as artists we rely on our hands to create the reality of what we see within our minds. I searched for images of hands that showed a difference in age between young and old. I then found a quote from a National Geographic article that said, "the baby brain is an incredible learning machine. It's future-to a great extent-is in our hands." This quote helped me bring my thoughts together. The article was about researchers that had discovered that babies and young children until the age of four have higher IQs, when they are nurtured warmly by parents who read to them, help teach them numbers, speak to them in affectionate voices, spend time answering questions, and also hugging, kissing, and nurturing them at home. How a child develops depends largely on an adult's help. The overlapping of hands shows the movement of life from toddlers into adulthood. My amulet took on a badge look, to help convey it as an important and revered object. But it's tattered and worn which can signify use or neglect. Which is it to be? I ask myself, what kind of parent would I be? One who prizes my children or neglects them? The question also asks, is motherhood as prized as it was at one time? There was an age when families were large, though today the average is smaller. Perhaps families are driven by wealth and fast paces of life, or just the fact that there is no need for large families, and to have lots of kids could be a burden financially. The questions are limitless to ask yourself when you are in charge of aiding the future of another human being.