Rooted and Connected

The idea behind this piece came to me as I listened to the Prior of the Benedictine Hermitage, New Comaldali, on the Big Sur coast. He was talking about a book he had written. He spoke of when all of us were more indigenous, more connected to the earth. We knew which plants healed what ailments, which ones to stay away from. Women could be shamans as well as men and we did not carry a sense of body shame. I wanted to depict a strong woman who was connected with her environment, whose feet looked firmly rooted. The swirling patterns underneath the roots signify the dynamic quality the emits from our life if we live so connected. The patina is liver of sulfur. The leaves are covered with gold wax and fashioned after those of the Bodhi tree, under which Buddha attained enlightenment.