22" polychrome & laminate wood, 2002
Photo credit: Cliff Pfeiffer
Photo credit: Cliff Pfeiffer
I am the Masked Goddess.
In the image of the Giraffe I make my influence known.
The giraffe speaks in a quiet voice so listen carefully for mine;
it may come out of your ears,
not into them.
Are you ready?
We will walk together.
I move quickly.
Are you fearful? Don’t be a statue. Don’t turn around.
Fear makes foolishness.
The lion’s always in the grass but it is wary of my smarting hooves.
Where are we going?
Wherever you say.
I listen with anticipation.
Listen to Charlanne read this poem. Click here
12 comments:
Very thought provoking and quietly brilliant prose and work. It seems such a natural collaboration - an almost (more than almost) seamlessly occurring combination. What a lovely addition to the blogosperere. Thank you for this.
This is terrific. I have 11 works of D. Dodson's. They are: Rhino Goddess (wood sculpture), Carousel Meres(6)( aluminum & iron), Puppy (27" wood sculpture),
Rose Rhino (wood sculpture), Crab Casting (iron with woood base), and 15th Anniverary ( a mixed media piece).
They are all exceptional.
J. Gugudan
What a delicious idea to blend prose and Donna's sculptures...I truly enjoyed looking and reading. In this piece I particularly love the use of of the 2 different woods. The form of the giraffe and the juxtaposition if the 2 woods express such strength and grace together - what an inspiring piece...
Thank you for making it available for me to view! I love it!!
K Bailey
Thank you! The Carousel Meres can be seen online at http://tiny.cc/jQDrv. That body of work was a collaboration between myself and one of my collectors where I created a body of work and the collector created the title. It was another great experience in collaboration! In a later blog perhaps we will feature Puppy or the Rhino Goddess...
Kristen,
I am also very moved by that juxtaposition of texture in the wood (as well as shade). It gave me that sense of "mask" and the strength and confidence of the goddess wearing it.
Thanks for the comment - it's really rewarding for me to see this conversation opening up.
Two quick first responsees:
Love the head of this piece, it is Minataur-ish; there is a monster female connection that is deep.
On the critical side: all your girls have the same shape breasts. Would love to see variation and exploration in this area. It's the only place where you seem to have settled into a routine and it's starting to be rut-ish. Customizing this feature for each personality would be great.
thanks lizii. the giraffe goddess started out as something else entirely and then i changed it to a giraffe- the spalted maple wood seemed like a natural imitation of a giraffe's skin- it reminds me so much of this student i used to work with who was short and stocky- and really into horses- so maybe it's odd i saw her totem animal as a long and tall, graceful giraffe- but it probably explains some of her attraction to horses as well- or to a feeling- another inspiration was lynn sherr who is an alum of wellesley college- my alma mater- she is quite famous as a news reporter for abc- she wrote a book called tall blondes about giraffes- i read some of their natural history and how they were these exotic pets to royal families in europe- and were thought to be spotted camels- giraffe goddess comes across entirely as a stuffed animal or benevolent, friendly presence in that her body seems to fit her more than her head- and back to the student that inspired her- she had really bad acne- and was perhaps more at home in her body than in her face or head- i hate to admit it- but of course- stuffed animals seem to be an inspiration for my work in that socioculturally they serve as a totem animal- in how they make you feel- and what role they play in the spiritual life of a child- and in the imaginary life as well- hence the somewhat maternal or generic type of breasts instead of something more sexual and articulate.
I loved your poem Charley--these lines in particular:
it may come out of your ears,
not into them....
Where are we going?
Wherever you say.
I listen with anticipation.
Congrats to both of you. It's a beautiful blog: welcome to the wonderful world of blogger!
Dear KD,
It has been a pleasure knowing a person who understands that experience so well.
Dear Donna,
I am realizing how much have matured as as artist. I like reading the comments others are writing and am impressed that someone named Olive owns several of your pieces. I think you should publish a book with all your works and some of the poetry and blog entries associated with them. Keep me posted. Camille
Thanks Camille! A book project is a great idea and we are working on it! One reason to start blogging is to define our audience, genre and market. Suggestions are welcome.
I love the strength and radiant spirit in Donna's sculptures and the poems look into this as well as adding complexity.
I have several of Donna's pieces and they are wonderful to live with.
Post a Comment