In my 20’s and 30’s like many women I suffered from an ‘allergy’ to marriage and motherhood. I believed that so long as I was an independent career woman, I’d do just fine, thank you very much. And I was just that, until life hit my head with a sledge hammer. Death. Serious illness. Financial crisis. Pandemic. My belief system collapsed. Worse still, my belief in belief systems collapsed. Now what? Here I was in my mid 30’s, held prisoner by my younger self’s definition of success. Maybe I wasn’t enough of a die-hard artist?  As I hung our Shimekazari* above our door this past New Year, it made me wonder why our ancestors felt the family’s soul needed protection from evil spirits.  What I actually needed was the same as most people: A stable intimate partner, a family, a home, a career.  And as it turned out, having a family helped me become someone who could better identify my creative capabilities, be more creatively courageous, more able to articulate and put into action my art, and better pursue my ‘noble’ goals. Family life takes serious cultivation, certainly. And we must fight the temptations of our own idiosyncrasies. Perhaps these are the evil spirits Shimekazari defend us from rather than some evil sprits from a mysterious hell?  Flawed as I am as a human being, a wife, a mother - family offers me the possibility of becoming so much more than I am, under Shimekazari*. And though there’s no evidence it will work out - I commit to it.  Wholeheartedly. If you’re ready to turn ‘not the right time’ into the time of your life, please dive into the eternally beautiful ocean of family with me. It’s intense. Crazy fun. And fundamentally human.

Here’s to family.

The eternal beauty.

Noe

Shimekazari* - braided straw rope, daidai (a bitter orange), and fern leaves.

In Japan, rope is used to designate an object or space. When hung above an entrance (usually to a shrine), it marks the border to pure space where gods can descend. Woven rope is stronger then a single rice straw, all the better to keep impurity away from a sacred place - the ‘family home’.

Daidai oranges ripen during harsh winter, and stay on the tree a long time (often over a year). The tree bears multiple generations of fruit together, so is seen as a symbol of family prosperity. Also, the Daidai orange is considered a good omen because if it is written with a different kanji it can be translated as - ‘from generation to generation’.

Ferns are symbols of hope, the desire for a happy family. Their underside is white, and represents honesty. And they always grow in pairs, so we see them as a faithful couple growing old together.

Black stoneware sculpture

W 27 cm H 34 cm D: 9 cm (approximately)