Ancestors, Mothers, Muses

I found my mother’s wedding dress. As I looked closer at its shape and texture I imagined my mother’s life, her experience, the commitments she made, her vows and promises. I gathered pieces of poems, placed objects in a gold bag stitched to the hip, found the image of curved lines brushed into sandstone. A pattern was made and became the form used for the eight dresses that followed. My lineage traced.

gathering, stitching, creating beauty, mending, taking care

Each figure is a world of story, memory, landscape and dream. Images, objects, and words are embedded in the dresses to evoke facets of women’s lives. Environments are designed to invite viewers to walk in and around the figures. This body of work includes poetry, photography, sound and artwork. My wish is to invite people to remember, to reflect on their own experience. Ask, what are my stories?

Walk through an installation of Ancestors, Mothers, Muses

Oliver Prezant filmed and edited this video. As an artist (composer and conductor, lecturer and educator) he created this beautiful tour of one installation as well as a glimpse into the process of making.

Conversations & Installations

We come from a long line of ancestors who offer strength through their stories. We are nurtured by mothers, our own and others in our world. We gather inspiration from muses, women who guide us through our lives. The tradition of women and handwork reflects these relationships.

I created Ancestors, Mothers, Muses to celebrate the power of women’s voices, experiences and stories; and I discovered that this body of work stimulates conversations bringing forth wisdom from the women who experienced it. It is exciting!

All photos, images and poems © Piper Leigh (unless otherwise noted)