Download - Soaring Spirits - Faye Withers
Women were being borne aloft by birds
by winged maidens and enfolded women
soaring birds symbolically initiating the journey
of the Goddess or Shaman's ascent of the soul
flight between earth and sky realms
by winged and masked bird like beings.
Women were being borne aloft by birds
by winged maidens and enfolded women
soaring birds symbolically initiating the journey
of the Goddess or Shaman's ascent of the soul
flight between earth and sky realms
by winged and masked bird like beings.
Flight has always represented freedom from the
physical restrictions of earthbound life and the
ascent of the soul, this ascent is achieved
through the belief of mystical experiences
trances and ritual dancing. Birds also assume
this journey in the role as messenger from spirit
realms, and the flight of the soul from the grave.
Local ceramic artist describes herself as a
tribal artist in search of a tribe, as someone who makes
ritual objects in search of rituals. Her clay images
reflect a keen sense of archeology, myth and folklore.
The clay surfaces of the procession of bird masked
goddess have been treated in many subtle ways of
colouration in layers of slips, pigments, glazes
and acrylics.
Withers’ sculpture addresses some of the most obviously
ambiguous art forms found from Old European artisans’
images of anthropomorphic figurines that are neither
human nor animal. Hybrid images, perhaps half women
and half bird, that lack naturalistic detail, were con-
ceived as explanatory images to induce an ordered
experience of life and nature itself, assuring the
continuing cycles of birth, life, death and rebirth.
For these artists there were goddesses to please
and appease.
Faye Withers Rituals play a role in all societies, religions, cults,
past and present. Withers states that the belief
remains today that nature and the will of the
goddess/god can be influenced by symbols and
rituals in the continuous cycle of marriage,
baptism, initiation and death. There is a need
within the human psyche to communicate
with the forces that control our lives through
ritual ceremonies.
These sculptures rich in symbolic meaning
and mystery hint at the complex web of
powerful impressions that influence us.
Perhaps we, as viewers, can imagine the
ritual to which these images belong, or
perhaps we can perceive the absence of
ritual and tribe in our lives.
Mythology abounds with stories
of creation with the celestial bird
and the cosmic egg. The Bird
goddess portrays not only the
spirit of life but also the human
soul after death and as a symbol of
rebirth and regeneration, for birds
are born twice, as an egg first and again as
a chick, and thus offer a new life in the cyclical
transformation of nature. The belief is still relevant
today in the ritual celebration of Easter with
decorated eggs, being the sign of rebirth.
Women were being borne aloft by birds
by winged maidens and enfolded women
soaring birds symbolically initiating the journey
of the Goddess or Shaman's ascent of the soul
flight between earth and sky realms
by winged and masked bird like beings.
Women were being borne aloft by birds
by winged maidens and enfolded women
soaring birds symbolically initiating the journey
of the Goddess or Shaman's ascent of the soul
flight between earth and sky realms
by winged and masked bird like beings.
Flight has always represented freedom from the
physical restrictions of earthbound life and the
ascent of the soul, this ascent is achieved
through the belief of mystical experiences
trances and ritual dancing. Birds also assume
this journey in the role as messenger from spirit
realms, and the flight of the soul from the grave.
Local ceramic artist describes herself as a
tribal artist in search of a tribe, as someone who makes
ritual objects in search of rituals. Her clay images
reflect a keen sense of archeology, myth and folklore.
The clay surfaces of the procession of bird masked
goddess have been treated in many subtle ways of
colouration in layers of slips, pigments, glazes
and acrylics.
Withers’ sculpture addresses some of the most obviously
ambiguous art forms found from Old European artisans’
images of anthropomorphic figurines that are neither
human nor animal. Hybrid images, perhaps half women
and half bird, that lack naturalistic detail, were con-
ceived as explanatory images to induce an ordered
experience of life and nature itself, assuring the
continuing cycles of birth, life, death and rebirth.
For these artists there were goddesses to please
and appease.
Faye Withers Rituals play a role in all societies, religions, cults,
past and present. Withers states that the belief
remains today that nature and the will of the
goddess/god can be influenced by symbols and
rituals in the continuous cycle of marriage,
baptism, initiation and death. There is a need
within the human psyche to communicate
with the forces that control our lives through
ritual ceremonies.
These sculptures rich in symbolic meaning
and mystery hint at the complex web of
powerful impressions that influence us.
Perhaps we, as viewers, can imagine the
ritual to which these images belong, or
perhaps we can perceive the absence of
ritual and tribe in our lives.
Mythology abounds with stories
of creation with the celestial bird
and the cosmic egg. The Bird
goddess portrays not only the
spirit of life but also the human
soul after death and as a symbol of
rebirth and regeneration, for birds
are born twice, as an egg first and again as
a chick, and thus offer a new life in the cyclical
transformation of nature. The belief is still relevant
today in the ritual celebration of Easter with
decorated eggs, being the sign of rebirth.