/Multi-media
My Grandpa's nickname for me was "Hollyhock" which was my favorite flower that grew behind the farmhouse in Neveda, Missouri. This cell is made from natural materials including: walnut ink, acorns, bark, pressed flowers, blueberry ink, leaves, live carnations and so much more!
This sculpture is a replica of my physical form built from a fabricated chicken-wire frame and stretched with hand-crocheted doillies that represent the delicateness of my muscle structure. Each 'bullseye' seen on the figure represents an injury, surgery or injection site I have had in my lifetime due to my rare genetic muscle disease. The pose and metal cuffs represent my strength and determination in the face of illness, but also symbolize the shackles I am bound by my own body daily.
Detail
When my husband had unexpected open-heart surgery in 2020 at the age of 42... I had to "compartmentalize" my emotions so I could function as an art teacher at school. As we got closer to the surgery date, it was harder to keep that box closed and it started to move in my own heart.
Sometimes losing someone leaves an empty room in your soul that only they can occupy.
Four things had to happen to lead to the doctors finding my husband's aneurysm his aorta so they could save his life in 2020.