Linda Reed

" Work in Progress"

16" high x 30" wide x 13" deep

Process and Materials: There are two separate glass pieces, one is a wave type piece with three layers of profile moving from orange to amber to clear; the other was formed over a created mold, to resemble a tornado, a beginning, a tall representation of formation, it also includes an impression of the profile - a fiber blanket outline built into the slump mold. The glass pieces are held in place on a wooden slab with metal spirals, wood blocks and rock props.
Content / Intent Statement: My self portrait contains wood, metal, stone and glass to demonstrate my connection to those elements that resonate with my soul. It is constructed to bring to mind a shrine, 'a sacred place that holds a collection of objects representing a deity'; it may also be interpreted as a landscape, with landform, tree and weather elements; it presents an evolutionary progression from wilder, more tempestuous, less formed, to more defined yet also mellower, softer, worn - as I move from young and brash and fickle and mercurial to well, yes, still some of all of that, but also older, wiser, a little mellower, softer; there are a number of independent words written within the layers of the profile piece that also represent the progression from youth to maturity, from daughter to lover and wife and mother, from maiden to mother to crone, as well as the unmitigatable and contradictory aspects of my self; a quote from Walt Whitman is included in the middle section , "Do I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes." The piece that represents the final phase of life includes words exhorting me to age with intent and dignity and grace - a road map and reminder. It is evident from the percentage of glass devoted to the age groupings that I am in the middle age and have been for some time - the segments representing youth and old age are slender slices of the whole compared to the middle [age] section. Incorporated in the middle segment are a tree - roots, protection, shelter, stability, groundedness - with a tire swing representing family and comfort, a bird - representing the 'wings' part of 'roots and wings' - freedom, independence, separation, individualism; and a path leading to a door that represents choices. Content/intent is a path I usually prefer not to interpret for the viewer, however in this case (a photographic representation) of a piece that was specifically made to reflect self and not necessarily be an 'eye of the beholder' piece, where the viewer will not have the opportunity to examine the details, and in which part of the allure of the assignment was to have the internal dialogue as to intent, I feel obligated to share my intent with you in words. I hope you find some resonance with your own process and your own interpretation of self when I share this intent with you.

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