powders & ash on paper

I received ashes from littlecakes’ a friendly welcome doll built from the ashes of kelly’s hen piece. My intention was to create incense art from a combination of the inherited ashes and a blend of aromatic wood, resin and botanical powders. I discovered in handling the materials (their properties & burn rate) and with the limitations I have for burning a fire indoors or out - that I had to adapt my plans. I wanted to honor the sacrifice of the contributing artworks and to transmute them into fragrance and ashes. This image is a still photo of the powders I included. I placed them on watercolor paper with a horizontal orientation but with the photo upright I saw a face. For me it’s a puppy face & I think the puppy spirit is playing with the friendly doll somewhere. These are the powders included in the incense: Sandalwood (Western Australia) Makko (Japan) Benzoin (Sumatra) Palo Santo (Peru) Frankincense (Oman) Vanilla (Madagascar) Dragon's Blood (Indonesia) Doll Ashes (littlecakes & kelly)

ashes2ashes

artist makes a work. documents that work. sets that work on fire. documents that fire. sends ashes to an artist. artist makes a work incorporating ashes. sets that work on fire. repeat. repeat. repeat. forever and ever. till there’s too much time and space between the burning stars and all the lights go out.