Page 14 - The Enso circle continuing Residents' Exhibition Catalog, Term Five, December 2022

About

the

Artist & GAIL BYRNES

the

Work Grief and loss. These have been themes throughout my life and

especially during these past twelve weeks. My creative juices have
ebbed and flowed, following the natural flow of creation and destruction,
or in other words, life-death-rebirth. However, I find that my art always
returns to the creation of Spirit Dolls, which brings me joy and eases my
heart.

During this term, I explored making dolls using plaster gauze and
cardboard tubes, inspired by a class with Lyn Belisle. These two dolls
are nature spirits. Both faces are made from river rocks and clay. “Taking
Flight” represents the air element, which is expressed in the heart
chakra – the bridge between the world of spirit and the embodied plane.
Dragonflies are believed to be connected to the spirit world, the world of
angels and fairies. “Hope” represents the energy of trees, which ground
us to the earth as their branches reach to the sky above.

Both Spirit Dolls represent the connection between life on this earth
and spirit. Mary Oliver is my favorite poet and has inspired me for years.
These lines from “White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field” touched
me deeply and inspired the creation of these two Spirit Dolls. “….maybe
death isn’t darkness, after all, but so much light wrapping itself around
us….”

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