 Temple Dancer |
This Temple Dancer stands 13 1/2" tall sculpted in natural stone clay (La Doll), dressed in irridescent silks with purple-metallic weave pants, with gold armbands and long hair of black mohair, wrapped up under her turban. Poseable snakes are wired and padded with printed fabric stitched over all. Her pose was inspired by an old postcard photo of "The Great Val Sal, Charmer of the Ages," date and photographer unknown. Her uplifted arms entwined with snakes are also reminiscent of the Cretan Snake Goddess, an aspect of the Great Goddess of all of Nature. The snake's undulating movement was a graphic representation of Water, essential to all of life. Their ability to shed their dead skins and be born anew symbolized renewal and regeneration, and connected them to the moon, also born anew each month. In ancient Crete they were honored in each home as communicators with the spirits of the dead, because they traveled through the Underworld, the Earth. The Temple Dancer's circular wooden base is surrounded by beach stones from the coast of Maine, bits of beautiful earth shaped and worn by the power of the waves. A few summers ago they helped create a pattern of undulating serpentine waves outside my studio. They seemed perfect for honoring these creatures of Earth and Water, in a Dance of Life and Renewal.  Click Here for a Close-up  Click Here for a Closer-up Portrait
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