The Rainclouds
These forms are created from cyanotyped images taken from my Pigeon Cake Project, in which I baked a "real" heart shaped cake with pink text adorning, reading "FEED THE BIRDS" paired with a suet cake topped with almonds and dried berries, and used them interchangeably in documentation. My friends and I took turns wearing a paper maché pigeon head mask as we baked, decorated, and ultimately offered our treat to the birds. It was hearty and nutritious, with lots of lard to keep the birds healthy and nourished through the relatively mild Pennsylvania winter. I cyanotyped onto various fabrics, though mostly repurposed muslin, and freeform sewed my clouds, creating lumps and valleys where it felt right. There are gold beads sparkling throughout, and wandering trails of gold thread, exploring the expanses, almost suggesting electrical currents of lightning forming. There is hand beaded rainfall cascading from both clouds, and subtle lines of corresponding text are hidden within the lines. One cloud ponders "Is this how it is?" and the other responds in question, "Is this how its always been?" There are small brass bells, and silver windchimes hung through the rainfall, expressing gentle rings if enough wind or motion passes through them. Separately, I've enjoyed installing them with some number of ceramic worms underneath, as if they've come up to breathe as the rain falls onto their earthy homes. This, to me, speaks to the cyclical movements of the natural world, and the balance that prevails. The worms come up to breathe, and might be eaten by the birds depicted within the clouds. The birds will be nourished, converting the worms back into energy, and eventually the birds too will die and their bodies will provide nourishment directly back into the ground, to the worms. It is also illustrated through the rainfall and cloud formations themselves, taking their roles within the precipitation cycle.
