Before Mankind (SOLD)

8” x 10”

I wanted to use only elements of nature in this shrine…no human iconography. To me, it is reflective of the time before humankind, and the time when the first humans looked to nature in their quest for divinity. The gingko leaves and mock orange symbolize the plant world, the agate, fossil, and crystal all represent the earth (the butterfly is carved from rose quartz, and the turtle is carved from tiger eye), the butterfly, beetle wing, and bird represent air, the dolphin and shark represent water, and the antelope skull and porcupine quill represent the animal world specifically. I also tried to spread out the representation between insect, reptile, fish, mammal, bird. The image in the center is from the sea, and the stars represent the heavens.

Private Collection.