CHRISTINE FEDERIGHI
1998, I've been working in clay for 30 years and my committment is ever strong. I've discovered that working in clay is a journey. Clay talks to the history of mankind through all the early vessels and sculptures made. It talks to our connection to the earth because of its chemical composition: alumina and silica and other oxides. It is transformed by water into a pliable material and then hardened by
fire to last another thousand and plus years. It was used by our prehistoric ancestors and has been used by craftsmen and artists, architectects and builders and even scientists developing the heat resistant tiles for the space shuttle; what a lowly remarkable material.
The work that I make is a personal journal - sometimes enigmatic and poetic. I have always been interested in the vessel and the poetry surrounding the vessel has led me to the sculpture that I make. The vessel metaphor of interior and exterior (that reflect infinity and soul or site and culture) and the idea of containment ( of spirit or narrative) have been important. Descriptions of the vessel include the shoulder, belly, lip and foot.... all figurative descriptions. These ideas led me to my involvement with the figurative image. Actually my tall sculptural figures might just be large pots.. they are coil formed but enclosed hollow structures.
My interest in American Indian art and tribal art fostered the development of decoration that wraps the form. It also helped me see the use of symbol as a narrative. I felt encouraged to develop personal symbols such as the early dogs and later building structures, spiral forms, house images, stairs, plant forms, water references and landscapes. These images have developed because of personal
experiences but can also represent more in the larger realm of universal symbol. To mention a few, Cirlot says in the Dictionary of Symbols" mystics considered the house a feminine symbol and equates the house with the repository of wisdom.... different parts have varied associations such as the stairs are the link between various levels of the psyche. The spiral talks of the evolution of the universe and
has many different meanings in varied cultures.. it donotes cosmic forms in motion or the relationship between unity and multiplicity. It can be related to lunar animals and water." The symbols I used developed because of my experience such as: building my house in Colorado and drilling for the water well. The framework
of the house was intriguing and was a metaphor for the skeletal structure of the figure. The plant forms used were the result of a commission in Florida. I could not deny the effect that Florida has had on my growth and began to use a variety of plant forms to wrap the figure. Other symbols developed in much the same manner.
In 19951 was diagonosed with cancer. I read many of the spiritual books concerning visualization and using an image to mentaly fight the disease. Bernie Seigal and Depaak Choopra talked about T cells or the good cells that fought the abnormal or cancer cells. It was these that I visualized1 the good cells. I planned to make these small carved spheres (good cells) to visualize and wanted to make them for every day that I had cancer. I didn't make them every day but I made quite a lot and continue to do so. They became amulets for good health and I gave them to all the nurses and doctors on my "team". Making these small pieces gave me an artistic involvement when I couldn't make large sculpture.
Deepak Chopra's writing about the physics of the body and the mind body connection seemed to be linked to the spheres' spirals and various forms that I am currently making. His writing in Quantum Healing helped me visualize and develop the relationship of structures and spheres that I have begun to explore in the recent work. The spheres, figures, metal stairs, spirals and house forms are all
scattered about beginning to form, but becoming an environment onto themselves. Each piece has energy and meaning alone and together something totally different.
"In every atom, there are worlds within worlds."
Yoga Vasishtha
