MYTHOLOGY
Awakening the Spirit of Osiris
During my career in psychology, I found that mythology was a powerful tool for understanding the human psyche. Unlike mainstream behavioral psychology, which attempts to describe human behavior in a scientific, often deductive manner, mythology tells stories with the complexity and paradoxical nature we all experience. “Awakening the Spirit of Osiris” was my way of giving “image” the psychology of anger.
The paintings, “Osiris” and “Ouroboros,” were visual imaginings inspired by my writings and workshops during that period.
Book Cover
OSIRIS oil on canvas 4 ft by 5 ft
OROBOROS Oil on Canvas, 1999, 4 ft. by 5 ft.
Ouroboros
A Journey Within Wood
Many of my sculptures are influenced by mythology. They begin with the beauty I find in nature, from which I create images that transform the abstract and concrete into something mystifying. In my sculpture, “Ouroborus,” I use mythological symbols to explore the struggle of consciousness. Throughout history and across cultures, the serpent has been a symbol that addresses themes of duality, good and evil, transformation, rebirth, and our relationship to nature, spirit, and the underworld.
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My hands work to reveal elements concealed beneath the surface: rippling flesh-like textures just under the bark, marble-smooth surfaces exposing the dense maple heartwood, flowing forms that emerge from the trunk's natural shape. These discoveries guide my imagination forward.
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![Wooden Carved Snake]()
The medium speaks before I begin. Each tree trunk possesses its own inherent beauty and form—a life story written in grain patterns, hidden textures, and natural contours. As a sculptor, my process starts with discovery. I seek to honor the wood's intrinsic character while simultaneously imagining what lies dormant within.
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As I carved deeper, multiple narratives began to emerge. From one perspective, a masculine form materialized, locked in struggle with a serpent—humanity attempting to control nature.
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Viewed from another angle, feminine forms appeared, dancing with or perhaps mesmerized by the same serpent. The duality became evident: two fundamentally different relationships with the natural world existing within the same piece.
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What began as exploration transformed into a meditation on mankind's complex relationship with our environment, both historical and contemporary. The masculine and feminine principles represent contrasting approaches to our existence within nature—domination versus harmony, struggle versus dance.
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As the sculpture approached completion, the name "Ouroboros" revealed itself as the perfect embodiment of this work—the ancient symbol of a serpent consuming its own tail, representing the eternal cycle of creation and destruction, the circular nature of consciousness, and our ongoing struggle to find balance with the world that created us.
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As the sculpture approached completion, the name "Ouroboros" revealed itself as the perfect embodiment of this work—the ancient symbol of a serpent consuming its own tail, representing the eternal cycle of creation and destruction, the circular nature of consciousness, and our ongoing struggle to find balance with the world that created us.
