Pink and Green Bird Woman
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white earthenware clay
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
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Goddess Archetypes in Clay
This blog post displays another selection of my ceramic amulets.
I have chosen a few of my Bird Woman archetypes, showing a range
of approaches to the theme.
A common unifying feature of traditional Bird Woman sculptures from
ancient eastern Europe, is a largish 'nose' or beak, often rendered in
a rounded, 'lumpish' form.
Many of the ancient depictions of Bird Women were anthropomorphic,
showing human traits, mixed with avian symbolic forms.
Red Crested Bird Woman
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white earthenware clay
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
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Clay Goddess Pendants
by Eric Whollem
Gray Bird Woman Mask
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on terracotta
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
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The Slant Eyed Goddesses of Ancient Europe
The amulet above is an example of my slant eyed Goddess forms. Slanted
eyes are very common in traditional Bird Women sculptures of antiquity.
The meaning of the slanted eyes is not determined with any absolute
certainty. One might speculate on Asiatic influences at work, insofar as
the steppes of Eastern Europe are known for being taversed by nomadic
peoples of Mongolian ancestry.
We have Marija Gimbutas, the famous anthropologist, to thank for her
studies of the Goddess, as her works are a treasure trove of information
on this heretofore neglected subject.
Bird Goddess
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white earthenware clay
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Sculptural Variations on the Theme of Bird Woman
by Eric Whollem
Slant Eyed Bird Woman
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on terracotta
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
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Bird Fetish
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white earthenware clay
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
Red Bird
2006
by Eric Whollem
oxides on white earthenware clay
PHOTO COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
An Artistically Ambiguous Ceramic Sculpture
THE VENUS OF WOLLENDORF THEME
The above amulet in interesting as one can read it in two ways:
as the head of 'Bird' or as a stylized anthropomorphic Goddess,
loosely related formally to the famous Venus of Wollendorf.
In the second reading as delineated above the eyes of 'Bird' can
be read as the breasts of the Great Mother, while Bird's beak
could be read as the tapering legs of the Goddess. One will note
that a set of indentations on the lateral sides of the top of this
figurine can be read as the eyes of the anthropomorphic figure.
(The larger indentation beneath the eyes just mentioned is the
aperture for the cord of the amulet.)
CERAMIC SCULPTURE VIDEO
A video by Eric Whollem, 2011
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Readers interested in my posts on the GODDESS should view this link:
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN
by Eric Whollem
More images of my CERAMIC AMULETS can be accessed here:
My posts that deal with the subject of ARCHETYPES are found on this link:
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MYTHOGRAPHIC ART
Anthropology
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