Merissa Sincavage Seminara
"Multi-Tasker Mother"
Strength, Warmth, Energy, Energy, Energy
Silk, Acorns, Buttons, Wood, Leaves?, Wool, Cotton, Stainless Steel, Dyes, Pigments, Wax...
There are 2 components to this piece.
Both of them have objects, existing or created, symbolizing "strength, warmth and energy".
The hanging piece is a mobile representing air, heaven, future, creativity, thoughts, imagination.
The standing portion stands for earth, bound, stable, balance, grounded.
The piece developed from reading the myth of Persephone... and looking at the balancing she had to do between the worlds... heaven, earth, underworld. This resonated with me. I feel like a mother/multi tasker has this kind of juggling act.
masculine vs feminine and materials--
Well, my work tends to be very autobiographical. I seem to sick to what I know and who do I know best? myself (most of the time), a women, artist, mother, human... this is the work that I always seem most proud of and connected to. I love to make beautiful things and for others to view them the same but life is not always pretty and so neither is my art.
This piece is still very much about me but is outside my comfort zone in the fact that it is three dimensional. I tend to work 2D sticking to one surface and building on it in layers through surface design techniques. Strength, Warmth, Energy, Energy, Energy emerged on its own ,seemingly to me in the beginning. But has come to make some sense as a wade through all the materials I have been drawn to, the techniques I am employing, and life I have been experiencing. The materials have been chosen based on intrigue and my necessity to create objects that are symbols for key things in my life. These symbols are my own creation but with the knowledge that some of these objects already have strong symbolism, which I will try to be build upon and grow. I am going to use my objects to build three dimensional layers to stick to something that is familiar to me.
The piece grew from one piece, the mobile(1st component) to two after laboring over the idea of cyclical life. Persephone's life and how cyclical it was made sense and seems to be how most life is lead now. Day to day, beginning to end, life to death. Everything seems to have a start and and a finish. I wanted to be able to illustrate that idea in this work. It will be present in the gradation of color. This is something that is very obvious to me in the change of the seasons. Color changes, temperature shifts, life/daily chores change... another link to the myth of Persephone and and her seasonal life changes.
The grounded piece(2nd component) is an extension to the idea of cycle. The color gradation will continue through this piece linking them together but in some ways it does have a masculine feel to it. It will hold objects that are heavier, darker and more masculine in feel. It is more about strength, which in society tends to be a more masculine trait. So, that is my only link to masculine I am feeling/ feeling at the moment but my work really tends to evolve, especially this piece, so more may come up. I will let you know.
I hope you were able to take something away from all of this and make sense of it.
Happy New Year!
it's brave of you to go outside of your normal comfort zone. I like the "Strength, Warmth, Energy, Energy, Energy" Mantra. It's definately a mother's mantra for staying grounded and peaceful. Can't wait to see how it developes.
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