2009
Spiorad Taigh Àsùr ~ Spirit House Anew



















A spirit house is a shrine often found in southeast Asia, usually in a place of honor in a corner of the property. Frequently it is modeled as a miniature temple set upon a post or platform and with room for offerings. The spirit house is meant to be a home for spirits that could be bothersome to the occupants of the actual house.

Though usually associated with eastern culutures, more simple versions of spirit houses also found in the west. Still, the purpose remains to house spirits that might otherwise cause problems for the homeowners.

"Spiorad Taigh Àsùr" is Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) for "Spirit House Anew".  Purified by fire this spirit house is born anew, with a dove to draw peaceful energy. Inside one can put offerings or small items to occupy the spirits, or one may choose to tuck small wishes inside to entreat the spirits for help making them come true.

2008
...Because I was 14...






















The title of this piece is paraphrased from a line in my 2005 poem, Buying Jesus.  A crudely built nest, apparently standing in water, holds a broken egg, and a tangled rosary.  The nest sits in the pelvic region of a female torso covered in pure white feathers, Our Lady of Guadalupe resting in the heart.  The poem is about many things, but the passage the phrase is drawn from refers to the way in which a teenage girl knows everything and nothing, easily betrayed by one she trusted.


2007
Hagar





























This piece became the object of a bidding war, and I was extremely flattered because one of the bidders involved was Sara Nightingale, owner of the eponymous gallery.  Though not the victor in the bidding, Ms. Nightingale made arrangements to include Hagar in her gallery's exhibition Chick Flicks, which ran through November 20, 2007.  http://www.saranightingale.com

The opening of the exhibit was timed to coincide with the 2007 Hamptons International Film Festival.  http://www.hamptonsfilmfest.org

Handmaiden to Sarah, Hagar was the concubine (or second wife, depending on source) of Abraham, and the mother of Ishmael.  As Ishmael's mother, Hagar is considered by many to be the foremother of all Muslims.  In recent decades her name has reappeared in Israel, given to newborn Israeli girls as a sign of support for peace with Palestine.

The dove wrapped in plaster bandages is symbolic of the regions many broken attempts at peace in the past.  Its emergence from the heart and spine of Hagar is symbolic of the inner passion and strength necessary to forge a true and lasting peace.  I chose to use an old fiberglass mannequin I was given, and sanded her down to a fine hand - bare patches and nail holes left bare - evidence of her struggles to survive.


2006
Love is a Rose





















Sold in the 2006 auction, Love is a Rose was a fun little multipart piece.  I detached the of the birdhouse, gilding the interior of the house, while painting the interior of the roof a vivid pink.  The exterior was papered with an enlarged photo of an overblown rose from our back yard.  Inside the house stood an 'ice block' with a glass heart, bound with barbed wire, trapped within.  A 'flame' sat atop the ice block, to 'melt' it, causing the piece to glow.


2005
Harsh Winter






















My piece Harsh Winter was sold in the very first SFBHC auction in 2005, and proved to be very popular, if a bit melancholy:

Dan's Papers October 21, 2005
Bidding on Birdhouses to Beat Breast Cancer, by Julie Nasser

Georgia Griffin's "Harsh Winter" was less comedic, depicting a wrecked birdhouse, one worn down and split by cold.  Inside, a nest, egg, and feather are frozen in place.  Right next to this melancholy piece... What one takes in while scanning the creations, from Paton Miller's long-limbed jungle creature in bright, pure pigments to the anemic greens of "Harsh Winter", is that there are so many ways to approach or respond to crisis.


Southampton Press October 20, 2005
Some Exceptional Nests to Feather, by Rebecca Cooper

...Georgia Griffin's "Harsh Winter" portrays a scary scenario: a sculpture that looks like ice, a frozen bird inside, with broken pieces of the actual house strewn about below.