Survivor
Baja Onyx (Mexico)
16"
El Mármol Onyx Quarry was discovered in the 1890s by Cataviña (about 3000 miles south of San Diego) and grew to be the largest onyx quarry on earth. Although the original quarry is now abandoned, the surrounding hills still contain abundant onyx deposits.
This is pose of a woman, on her back, arching yearningly. Onyx is notoriously un-predictable. As a result, carving it is an active conversation between the artist's desire and the stone's reality. In this particular case, although the stone fractured along a fault line during production, the vision survived. Since displaying it for the public, the piece has aroused strong personal stories of trial and survival, be it childbirth, assault, illness. Life is not easy; those who thrive have learned to survive it's challenges; what personal survival stories does she evoke in you?