‘These are merely man made works as a result of the human condition, in the same way spiders create webs’

- Patricia Mato Mora

This body of work started with a reflection on the end of university, the end of a long period of education for me. I knew that I would be processing this as I was making, so including it in the subject felt only natural. The idea of new beginnings coming as this chapter ends really excited me as it is such a universal experience. We have many little beginnings, journeys and endings on a day to day basis and in the grander scheme of our life.

I was listening to the podcast ‘Know Thyself’ and there was an interview with Dr. Mindy Pelz where she was discussing the power of the post menopausal woman. This process functions to keep the woman alive longer, as the matriarch so that she can share her wisdom and knowledge with the tribe.

I began to reflect on my mother, her stages of life as she has been through them all. How it parallels to where I am at now and the process of making.

When we begin to make, we are like a maiden. Bountiful with possibilities. Then we make a choice, we hone in and become pregnant with an idea. Nurturing it into fruition. Then we step back, it is done and we reflect on where we are at. Here we make informed decisions to move forward. We can now share our knowledge of the process, concept and study we have accomplished.

This happens with so much in our lives. We are pregnant with grief, ecstasy, fear. We live and grow through these cycles of change and renewal. This is what this project is about. See how the form swells up the pieces as the ideas, feelings and processes move through us. All pouring out.

This body of work asks the viewer to question:

What is ending in my life?

What new beginnings is this making way for?