Marlene Kawalez`s Personal statement
“The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. What- ever he does to the web, he does to himself.” CHIEF SEATTLE The inspiration for my work comes from this wise statement made one hundred and sixty seven years ago. The notion of history and the contemporary existence channels the spirit of these words and are carried into my work with the use of clay and other organic materials such as wood, rock, moss and glass. It is within the lines of a petrified piece of wood or the crevice in a centuries old rock that a story is waiting to be recalled. My practice is based in the moment of invention - which seeks to locate the story of the material to give form. These “energies” recreate my perception of their tale. Currently, I am working to incorporate cast and blown glass with clay. The two materials at first seem to contradict each other - being that one is solid and unrevealing and the other transparent and exposed. They both share a process of solid liquid and solid in the evolution. Similar to the moment and
act of creation. As mentioned this is where the “spirit” resides. As well with this union there exists the fourth dimension where the very act of perception (consciousness) or feeling (sensation) has a life of its own.