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Each sapling root is unique, rhythmic and beautiful. It took me decades to notice them.
Then there is serendipity. A chance meeting, a very odd carrot, a good question from a friend, wonderful music, and a studio overlooking gardens and endless trees...a mix leading to curiosity about what we don't always get to see below the surface.
I look at the roots for weeks, even months. I listen to music. Without warning, a song melds with the root and the root comes to life. The music is the starting point. Sometimes it feels completely out of my control... I just let them happen. The pieces do not illustrate the songs; the music evokes emotions that take over.
The sculptures are made with polymer clay baked onto sapling roots and finished with acrylic paints, shoe polish, hair, wire, dried iris leaves, roots of hydroponic lettuce, weeds, corn silk, wheat straw, peacock feathers and other natural materials. The proportions all accommodate themselves to the roots and each figure is flawed. It has to be.
It is all about the roots and the music.
There is no charge for this event. It is open to anyone over the age of 14 although priority will be given to Williamsburg residents. Pre-registration is required by February 14. For more information, call 634-0066 or email at paula@paulagottlieb.com or see www.paulagottlieb.com.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Cummington Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
