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“Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider who sat down beside her, scaring Miss Muffet away.”
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
This piece explores the stereotypes in children’s stories in which a female protagonist has been shown with a weakness of character and my attempt to change the outcome. One of my favorite places to go as a child was a theme park called Enchanted Forest. It is just outside of Salem, so it was a short day trip for my family. This park featured storybook characters playing out a scene from the story they belonged to. These frozen moments are the inspiration for how I pick the moment that is important in my sculpture. You see here that the child has grown taller than her body size. The body is layered like a caterpillar, and is rising upwards. It is a reference to the wise caterpillar in Alice In Wonderlandwho gives direction and truth to Alice as she makes her way through the forest. The layers also make a reference to tree growth rings; the glaze treatment is very bark-like. The upward movement of the sculpture symbolizes a personal journey. The tree is a metaphor for strength and the vein-like layers of the dripping glaze treatment signifies aliveness.
The top of the sculpture is a caste and altered doll head that is transforming into a cat-like creature. The top is partially glazed with encaustic. In her hands the creature is holding a tarantula-sized black spider. The spider has a shinny black glaze. The eye contact between these two creatures is the strong focal point for the piece.
The piece is meant to confront the viewer because she is placed at eye level, standing about three feet high and placed on a two-foot tall pedestal. She gently holds the spider in her hand, examining it with interest. She is not afraid or running away and holds all the control over the creature.
She has also made a transformation into a cat-like creature. In this, she becomes a predator over the spider. Tension builds because the viewer doesn’t know whether the girl is just examining the creature with interest or if she is ready to pounce and do harm.
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