The meaning of motifs: Emma Homfray
They are utterly charming and (just a little) bewitching – and we can't get enough of them. Artist Emma Homfray's new bronze sculptures, Cross, Snake, Sun, Mask, Flower, Heart, Tree have a fascinating story behind them – as Emma tells us here.
"These new pieces are small sculptures in bronze. I moulded them out of wax and then cast them in bronze, sometimes as a whole piece and some are pieces welded together. I love bronze but decided to gold leaf these objects. I gold leaf by hand and love the process.
"The gold leaf brings out the detail and warmth memory of the wax that the bronze is cast from. I love the intensity of the pure gold – the warmth of it – it's like the sun to me. I set some black onyx into some of the sculptures. I love the black with the gold.
"I've done a lot of paintings of the black sun and chants about it, too. It's still the sun but like an underworld sun under the influence of Pluto. The underworld is a place of darkness but a good, healing darkness where seeds germinate before sprouting, where souls go for redemption and where hidden resources wait for us to discover them – that is why I used black onyx.
"Cross, Snake Sun, Mask, Flower, Heart, Tree are motifs that I seem to always return to in my painting, drawing, sculptures and chants. I always seem to have a few home altars in my house – presently I have one in my bedroom, one in my studio and one in my kitchen.
"A home altar to me is any arrangement of objects of beauty or meaning that are arranged with intention. It has a candle or a light, some type of offering and or some incense. There are different altars for different intentions. It may have a photo of a loved one or a deity we want to connect with or seek protection or help from.
"It's a place where we can sit or kneel or stand and contemplate for a moment or some time. It's purpose is to create a focus of attention for the purposes of contemplation or creation. It's not necessary to but it helps to enter more easily into a feeling of alignment with source energy or god creation or nature spirits; whichever mask of god you resonate with.
"Pretty soon after finishing these small sculptures I realised they are objects for a home altar. In many ways buying art is an offering to Venus."
