Wise Woman and the River Serpent
Making this wall hanging felt like going on a Shamanic Journey. First I met the eucalyptus bark in Oakland, CA and I brought this treasure back in my suitcase unharmed. Next my friend Consualo gave me a box of wedding dress material. The bark suggested the edge of a stream and the wedding dress material frothy waterfalls and mountains made of unpressed silk.
On this journey I thought I met a young maiden, but as I began to make her face of white felt, she shape shifted (as beings sometimes do on shamanic journeys) and gained the feisty character of an old wise woman with sparkling eyes. She helped me make her. When I stuffed her head the stuffing looked like wild hair. When I mounted her head it fell down into her shoulders giving her the presence of age , so I knew we were on a path together. More wedding lace suggested a cloud, an extension of her hair. Another piece of eucalyptus bark may be a broom stick or a branch where she can fly or perch.
Next came the serpent made out of material with circles which also make the top of the sky. His eye is an ear ring from my mother in law, Blanche. He jumps like a salmon and is a huge presence, a force of nature personified.
It feels really good to me that we get a peek at how these beings enjoy each other's presence.
