Seven Sacred Sites/Sights
Seven Sacred Sites/Sights are seven large moveable sculptures, conceived a seven volume set of artist books. Collectively, they seek to open the channels of perception for their audience, creating a multi-dimensional, multi-perspective/perception awareness of space/reality. Individually, they each, in a manner of loose interpretation, derive meaning from the chakra system. The entire series is inspired by dreams, and relies a lifetime of gathered body knowledge/embodiment and women’s cultural ways of knowing and experience. It is my latest on-going project.
Book 5: PRESS ON- A Rumination on the 5th Chakra: The Voice, Book 6: …Now Lie in It, and Book 7: The Order of the Universe were on display for all of May 2023 at the UU Church in Belfast. Over 200 folks visited, many during the public readings held throughout the month.
Book 2: Through the Wringer and Book 3: Others Within are actively in process and the Books 1 & 4 are conceptualized.
Look for a grand showing of all seven sometime in 2026.
Book 5: PRESS ON- A Rumination on the 5th Chakra: The Voice
The covers are old wood ironing boards from poet Gary Lawless’s mother and artist Joy Vaughan. The pages are handmade cotton rag paper made on pant leg stretchers. These stretchers were part of the “labor saving devices” coming out to save women time with household chores, in this case ironing. I used to hang my father’s and brother’s pants on to dry in the 60’s. The pages are reinforced by iron on patches as needed. The words made of a combo of impressed letters, raised black letters are iron-on letters and the quotes are in various typefaces printed on iron patches at my letterpress studio. The binding is 3plus inch loose-leaf notebook with hinges and wood.
Book 6: …Now Lie in It.
Constructed with WWII army cots, acrylic paint, rhinestones, sequins, floor underlayment, vellum, and digital photos of diatoms (courtesy of Bigelow Laboratory for Oceanic Science.)
Book 7: The Order of the Universe
A 20-foot long 9 feet tall, pop-up accordion book contained by nine-foot-tall Victorian shutters, constructed with electrical conduit, hemlock, Lisa Kushner and Meredith Bruskin’s grandmothers lace table clothes, tatting, curtains, deconstructed wedding dresses, ribbon, and women’s belts from Bali, Pakistan, Palestine, Maasai, Humong (Vietnam), Hungary, Ukraine, Scotland, Guatemala, Peru.
Seven Sacred Sites
High on a southwestern
red rock plateau,
surrounded by space
the powerful and gentle old man
sits with a girl child cupped in his lap
reading a book.
The book itself
is a diorama,
a pictograph of the scene,
the adobe red
desert orange panorama
directly before them.
The man is pointing
alternately
to where they are,
to the book,
teaching the child.
"This is one of the
the seven books,
the seven books of
the seven sacred sites."
He owns all the books.
"These sites," he says, pointing,
one mountain top to the next
now lit up before them traipsing
far across the curve of the world,
"are always visible, available."
Joy and sorrow mix in his throat,
"You only have to look to see.”
VIDEO: PRESS ONWARD
Press On Video Credits: Women in the Moon Film, Nicolle LitrrellReaders: Margaret Lange, Ivy Labato, Helen G. Caddie Larcenia, Carrie Pierce, Diana Furukawa, Karin Spitfire.
VIDEO: Book Opening
Belfast Community Media