Today is my Wedding Anniversary and I'm spending it alone. My dear husband died and I’ve been left stranded on this earthly plane - trying to make sense of the shattered world I now inhabit.
In the eight months since Manfred died, clay has been a source of solace. It has weight, substance - a tangible connection to my husband's life here on Earth. I dug and wore a piece of clay on our wedding day, then for Manfred's funeral I created a clay heart embedded with plants from our garden. Whenever I feel desperate and at a loss, I turn to the clay and what has emerged is a series of oddly formed figures. These tiny ‘grief dolls’ fit in the palm of the hand and offer a means of physical and emotional
companionship.
My work is usually transitory - the clay left raw and unfired, but death changes everything. In the emptiness of grief I feel compelled to create something more fixed and permanent. So today - on what would've been our 4th anniversary - I'm committing this first little figure to the fire.
Copyright Lu La Buzz 2022