The FREEDOM//FLIGHT collection is a branch off my current body of artwork in painting and sculpture under development that explores similar themes of soaring expansion and transformation. The collection is rooted in that feeling when we find an updraft that will take us higher, helping us to soar into our next realm of possibility and evolution as we overcome obstacles. Symbolism is an important aspect of this work, and feathers, wings, beaks in abstract as well as traditional forms find their way into these pieces.
The featured stone of the Freedom//Flight Collection showcases Maligano Jasper, a brecciated stone with soft, creamy yellows and gentle greys, and is a relatively new find from Indonesia. I was drawn to them because the broken, porcelain-like fragments remind me of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending shattered pieces back together with gold, becoming more beautiful because of having been broken.
I discovered these during my own medical journey (and literal fracturing; I had to undergo a Periacetabular Osteotomy and scope earlier this year) and the sublime personal growth I’ve had through that process makes this all the more special to me. I was not alone in the complete upending of my life, as we all incurred this over the past year and a half each in our own way. My hope is that the pieces resonate with people as mementos and symbols of that time of perseverance.
Aesthetically, the yellow and grey tones of this stone really speak to the feelings associated with all of it; the sunny bright hope and sense of connection I’ve found with myself, as well as the grey shadow self I’ve been integrating.
