My new series of sculptures is inspired by gravestone renderings of
pillows and books. In the Victorian era, gravestones, through their shapes and carved embellishments, symbolized ideas about death that words could not convey. For Victorians, gravestones shaped like pillows were a symbol of eternal sleep. Closed books
represented the fact that the story of this life is over and open books were used to record a short biography of the deceased.
I love the way that these tactile, familiar objects become hard and permanent markers, removed from the mortal world and placed in the realm of eternity. A tangible object becomes a connection to the intangible.
My sculptures are made from papier-mâché and, as with gravestones, the weight of the pillows and books is changed. Organic forms often move through the sculptures, reminding one of the grass, worms, or roots that pass through the ground beneath the stone.
