The Moose: A Construction

The Moose is constructed of various materials. Her guts are a manifestation of my everyday life. They include masses of my finished crossword puzzles, half-finished sketches, letters, carefully selected headlines as well as random newspaper pages. So that even her unexposed areas are a reflection of my personal primordial soup. The next layer of her construction is mostly plaster-wrap, which is left unpainted to emphasize her humble origins. Other objects were incorporated to construct the massive pair of antlers that she sports. For those of you who are sticklers for accuracy, I am aware that only the males have antlers. But this is art, and in my art, anything is possible. The lights flowed from there, illumination seeming her birthright. It was only a small leap to add crystals and complete her transformation into a chandelier.

She is only the first in a planned series. The menagerie continues.

The Elk: Atonement

The Elk was the next construction. I created her with the intent of including others in the final process of emotional transfer. When I make a piece, it is created by not only my hands but with emotional intent and a will to communicate. I wanted this to be a broader piece, one that would enfold some small shards of the emotional content of other women within a framework of a specific theme. The best way to explain and include the reader/viewer in the process is to post this letter and it’s invitation to select group of friends.

The Elk: A Call to Arms

Ladies, start your engines.

I have been working on a new construction. She’s an Elk. Not just any elk, but a soul mate for my Moose and an inspiration to all women everywhere, with her indomitable spirit and willingness to carry our sins. And let’s not forget her impressive rack, which has undergone multiple reconstructions. Yes, as I have explained before, being female does not preclude my cervine ladies from having antlers. They do not bow to convention and they spit in eye of male dominion. Yikes. In their case, a huge rack does not open doors, it merely makes it more difficult to get through.
Well, this lady has a story, every good girl does have a story. The old saying behind every successful man there’s a good woman? Well, that may be true, but behind every successful Elk, there’s a good group of women.
The title of the piece is Atonement. She has multiple layers of construction, beginning with her paper interior. It contains the flotsam and jetsam of my life, and the news, some of it relevant and some of it random. This is personal, so don’t ask me any more about it, or else you won’t be included in the drinking part, which I’m coming to. Relax and keep reading. Yes, I said drinking, don’t get ahead of yourselves and stop getting your underpants in a bunch.
Anyway, she has her tree branches, which are her antlers, and her antlers which are tree branches, the nature of nature and the reality of all things to change. It’s tricky, get it? These antlers were the appendages which were too large to fit out the door, and they had to be unceremoniously removed with a hack saw. I cried, but she was strong and now she is better than ever. Hmmm, who does this remind you of? And don’t say The 6 Million Dollar Woman. I was referring to me, the ski accidents and the resultant surgeries; my multiple cobblings together after my various attempts to either defy gravity or my age. Whatever. Anyway, her antlers were rebuilt. Can anyone spell process? Now they are removable. I am getting smarter in my old age. Now, comes the piece-de-la-resistance, (French, oh la la)  She will not be adorned with chandelier crystals, like her counterpart the Moose. She will be adorned with little tiny liquor bottles. Empty ones. Yes, I know, this in itself is cute and fun and whimsical, and visually interesting, and involves drinking, but there is more to it than that. There is a method to my madness. I will explain.
There is a custom in the South. When a person has done something that they regret, they hang a bottle from a tree, in atonement. Well, my Elk and her antler branches will be our tree and she will be the repository of anything that you want to rid yourself of emotionally. No one needs to ever know what you’d like to leave behind, it’s only for you. But the bottle emptying part, here’s where it gets social. I’d like each of you to come by, think about what it is that you no longer wish to carry inside. It can be whatever burden, thought, memory, or sin that you no longer wish to bear. Then drink a little bottle and then hand it off to me for hanging on the Elk. I know, it’s tough duty, and you’ll suffer through it for our friendship and the sake of art. I thank you all in advance. And, I know that one or two of us are on the wagon, so drinking the alcohol can be removed from the process. That’s okay, just come, hold the bottle, think what it is that you’d like to give away.  The booze will be imbued with your thoughts, then dabbed behind your ears, thrown over your left shoulder, whatever you can choose, but you must put your thoughts and emotions into what’s in the bottle and then after it’s emptying, it’s absence will remain all yours.

I love you all. Join me.
Kate