Goddess in the Clay
My favorite dreams to manifest are the desires that germinate in rich soil waiting for the right time. This is when I feel the most guided by Spirit because the manifestation is based on Universal Timing, not my small human perspective of what is right and perfect. I had three wishes when I moved to the Eastern Sierra four years ago: create a successful AirBnB business (Sweet Water Hideaway is 95% booked), buy a pottery wheel and kiln, and re-activate my author career (The Book of Spells has sold nearly 20k copies and will be in Target again this summer).
It's okay that we often don't know the germination period for our dreams.
It has been a dream of mine to be in a gallery or museum with the art I handcraft and the placard that explains in words that art. This wish has manifested in the Goddess in the Clay Collection as part of the Show, titled: Her Blue Body Everything We Know that is now on display at the Siskiyou Arts Museum.
A line from Alice Walker's 1991 publication by the show's same name, "Her Blue Body Everything We Know" guides this show and offers artistic homage to the Earth and nature as Mother.
"We have a beautiful mother
Her green lap immense
Her brown embrace eternal
Her blue body
Everything We Know."
This collection of artworks offers a glimpse into the Earth, the body, and the cosmos as representations of the female divine, the Mother of All. Quala Birch invites the viewer to explore dreamy, galactic nebulae and soul journeys with large canvases that depict the birth and ground of creation. Holly DeFount locates mythic Goddesses from world history in the Siskiyou County landscape, intentionally juxtaposing the global with the local, and works metals to create a set of alchemical tools for use by the wisewoman diviner.
As a devotional offering, Holly is illustrating all 13 of the Goddesses of the Mount Shasta Goddess Temple.
Within my Goddess in the Clay is an inner collection, like a sacred womb, of functional art used in the veneration of the Divine Feminine. All these pieces were glazed a deep cobalt blue to symbolize the night sky and Her Mystery as the Goddess who weaves the sacred into my life and guides my spiritual path.
1. Goblet was purposefully shaped to mimic the curves of a woman’s body as a representation of the sacredness of the feminine form
2. Bowl symbolizes the ubiquitous nourishment we receive from our Mother Earth
3. Plate, combined with the goblet and bowl, represent the pieces needed for a Dumb Supper, when we dine with our beloved deceased on Dia de los Muertos, and other Pagan holidays.
4. Cauldron is the symbol of the womb, the place of creation, where with focused intention and alchemy we can seed and manifest our deepest desires.
5. Censor is used to burn incense so that the fragrant smoke will carry our wishes on the wind to the Goddess
6. Luminara represents the illumination and light-filled guidance that comes when we sit in meditation and allow the Goddess to lead our actions
7. Offering bowl can hold water, flowers, honey and other items that are considered a gift to the Goddess in symbolic payment for Her guidance, assistance and care.
8. Cauldron Cup is a reminder of the magick that exists in the mundane and the practical. Our intention is what creates the Magick.
9. Heart symbolizes the love that our Mother Earth/Divine Feminine/Goddess consistently pours into us. She is the source of the love that we love with.
10. Butterfly represents the transformation to wholeness that occurs when we recognize the Divine Feminine that lives in us and through our actions and deeds.
Taken together, these pieces help us glimpse the scope of Her vast expression, from the conceptual to the tactile, and showcase the sacred work of women's hands.
Show Curator: Yeshe Matthews
Show Sponsor: Mt Shasta Goddess Temple
Photography by Amy Leist