water is in my soul {full circle moments}

from the weekend- a show at east colony fine arts featuring verne orlosk and adele sanborn.

CAUTION: there is much more writing in this post than normal. brace yourself.

works below, by my very talented mom, verne orlosk:

"Soft Touch" (in a handmade driftwood stand!)

"Submissions"

"Resting Place"

"Quite Perfect"

"Within You"

"Touched"

"Outside Moon" and "Outside Inside"

"Generations" MY FAVORITE!

hands of the artist + model + mum

these were some minis. i don't have all the names, but they were awesome things like "octopod" and "snail ring".

i am amazed at her progress over the years and even more amazed at the theme that's emerging.

she was always excellent at drawing, from her old college work, to the skill and creativity of the crafts she'd do with us as kids, to the jewelry she made, and now into these glass pieces, that are a new form of drawing, her own form – on glass. (glass powder and wire).

and then of course, there's the ocean theme. but it's more than that. i love the way it's evolved into an expression of the relationship between us as humans, and the sea. the line between where we end and the sea begins is blurred, even non-existent. how we feel when we hold an offering from the sea is inexplicable and ever-so-natural. like a worry-stone that's had a perfect thumb groove carved by the sea.

the relationship is a visual one that alludes to other complex ideas -- an emotional, theoretical, ancestral relationship .... the possibilities are endless. 

"generations" is my personal favorite and is a great example. it tells a tale of so many layers. 

check this out: the innate pull i have to explore these similarities reflects her theme, and i never put the two together this much until now. after all, our backgrounds are similar (BU, graphic design, mother-daughter), but our mediums and skills and thought processes have differed and yet we still arrive at undeniably similar nudges toward a human relationship with the sea.

4 years ago, my senior thesis was...

"an exploration of the visual interface between the creation of human and oceanic life."

i've spent many days and many mediums on jellyfish. i made a book where they transformed into faint images of a brain and spinal cord. my thesis included a book and a series of posters that visually related human and oceanic anatomy, mainly in the creation of life, and gave way to conversation about the other endless relationship possibilities of us and the sea. (...as well as the classmate who asked me if it was about abortion. which is it NOT.) looking back, having more life experiences, more art aesthetic, more wisdom (i mean, can you get wiser than 26? yes. yes i'm sure i'll look at this in another 4 years and see how much more i've grown and how little i knew back then. that's why i could NEVER keep journals, i would try, but then rip out the pages later because i sounded so stupid back then. or i ruined a good memory by explaining i away.) anyway- i can see the connections growing and i would welcome an opportunity to do a new "senior thesis" every couple years on this topic. never thought i'd say THAT! full circle moments ...