SPARKS OF FIRE & BONE

I threw the old scapula (deer shoulder blade) into the fire, and the sparks ignited into the night air and lit the silhouette of pine trees all around me.

Photo: Fire & Spark. netpix.com

The smell was quite distinct, but the curiosity was stronger. What will it look like as it’s brought out of the fire? Will it keep it’s shape and color when the ashes are brushed off? Or better yet, will that creamy bone color still come through when it is carved?

All these questions pondered in my head as I watched the flames engulf the bone. However, I didn’t let it sit long in the fire. Almost like a sword being forged I quenched the bone in cool water. The next day, I brushed the corners that had been burned to ash, and began to play with a design of a wolf howling at the moon. I grabbed my dremel and lightly carved the design into the bone to reveal a beautiful ivory hue.

There is something about the element of experimentation that is essentially necessary in art. To constantly explore and play. To carry a childlike wonder. 

Photo: Andrea Bonadiman

Bones and skulls are often viewed as symbols of death. Stories of the past and lives once lived. Ancient cultures have viewed bones and skulls as everything from medicinal objects to relics of their ancestors, to death and rebirth. I see this beautiful structure created by nature.

Each skull does hold a story for me. Of course, I wish to create art that is aesethically pleasing to the eye, but I also strive to create art that stirs emotion in the viewer. I want to create curiosity, conjure questions, be the storyteller of both species and land. I invite the audience to see a bone and skull in a new way of beauty rather than only the macabre.