I envisioned Eve’s Daughters on a walk in the country as taking shape from a constructed crystalline form. I had been working with mica for several years but not using it as a structural element to create volume. In this case the mica is slotted and fit together, and also sewn with silver wire. The planes of mica give the effect of seeing multiple planes at once in ever-changing density and translucency when viewed from different perspectives.

Within the piece are small copper silhouettes of female figures that catch the eye when the light and angle of viewing is right. They are dim predictions of potential. There are also three Swarovski sun prisms in the sculpture, positioned in the pelvis, solar plexus, and head. They are only visible with specific light conditions.

The face is a mask of copper. It’s an element that I often use to obscure identity, allowing the figure to become an everywoman. Masks are totemic and theatrical, and bestow on the wearer the possibility of transformation. A masked figure is one that can both commune with spirits and hide the face of a familiar. Fashioning the mask from copper binds the ethereal figure to earth as the top of the head dissolves in a flight of butterflies.

The butterfly symbol held multiple meanings in ancient times. It was the symbol of the sacrificial double-bladed axe, but also as a butterfly, of the power of transformation. For me that transformative power was updated in modern times in Chaos Theory as stated by Edward Lorenz, that the flap of a butterfly’s wings may be the initial action that starts events on the path to a hurricane. Even small events create a ripple effect over time. In this case, the original mother could not have foreseen the multitude of her daughters.