Art Healing 2
CHILDHOOD + THE PAST/SIGHT
(mixed media: branches, leaves, rope, twine, metal, fur, feathers, cotton, wood skewers, sage, stone, Tibetan recycled silk cloth thread, chilis 26" x 36")
This is my second in the healing art series for the senses and 5 elements theory. In Chinese medicine the liver is where we store anger and anger is what damages our liver (apart from other toxins).
(sorry for the poor photos--I had to hang it inside again due to rain but lighting is lousy--am working on this! Also hanging a bit crooked due to where I had to hang it so will get better solution soon :))
The eyes flow from the liver and what we see throughout our lives can anger us. If the liver does not filter or we do not let go of our past (which corresponds to our back where we store those memories) then we hurt our whole being and we begin to see life with distorted, damaged, jaded vision.
This piece is to help people who have been through abuse and traumas that have left them with emotional and/pr physical scars that have hurt their bodies and minds. I have included the peaceful symbolic feathers and real dog's fur of the loyal companion animal to symbolize the totem animal for healing and using the source of the pack--your loyal family or friends who help you heal and let go of bad memories in place of good ones.
The hanging overlaying smaller frame is to be burned with its sage to clear the anger and its 4 pieces of hot chili peppers that are symbolic of the what the Chinese call too much heat in the liver and heart. Too much fire that flames and causes anger and abuse to cycle. The peppers and sage are bound to a wooden frame symbolic of the eyesight charts that have you read line by line, row by row when you need to heal the liver to clear the eyes.
Once that layer is burned you see the drawing beneath of a woman's back--now clear but open...framed by the 4 leaves as the 4 directions but turned to protect and be about deciding one's directions--to change and heal or stagnate in the past.
This layer and directions are symbolic of clearing the liver, spleen, kidneys, and heart. On the left side hanging below the feathers and fur is a crystal wrapped and hung from Tibetan recycled silk threads. (sorry this is tough to see).
The Tibetans have a culture which strives for peace and to let go of anger and the suffering caused from it. I wrapped the healing crystal in this gorgeous thread and imagine that so much history and pain has been released by the Tibetans who have been brutalized that if their people can let go of that anger we can surely learn from and heal from them.
The fringe that lines the bottom is symbolic of the many memories we hold onto that are frayed and yet free...we can let go of them, choose to remember the good memories, or find the good/ the lessons in the bad memories as well.
I made a companion necklace out of a stone called petrified wood that is meant to let go of emotional patterns and thoughts passed onto us from our families and ancestors...as well as our own life traumas.
The first bead is made from a rolled tea bag from liver detoxifying tea (milk thistle, dandelion) on which I have written a healing prayer for the liver, the back, and the past traumatic memories. I added 5 beads per side to heal the 5 senses because the liver is a powerful organ that takes the burden of all the others by filtering all the toxins and negatives in our lives.
I also made a small bottle of essential oils that are mixed to help the body clear the anger and relax. It's interesting that in this photo the bottle almost seems to hover over it--weird optical illusion but funny because the oils really seem to help people and seem to offer that extra layer of healing working with all the senses.
