Our Ancestral Inner Landscape

My Valley of Curvilinear Forms

The Cascades That Surround Us

I have always had a preference for curvilinear shapes and lines.  My favorite shape is the circle followed by the spiral and  these curvilinear lines can be seen in most of my work.  I even round the corners of my squares and triangles. My lines are soft and irregular.

Listening to the profoundly beautiful and inspirational essays of the philosopher/poet, John O”Donohue on my walk this morning, I came to understand this instinctual preference for non-linear shapes is baked into my Celtic Cultural DNA.  He described his birthplace in Ireland as a valley that created a private sky where all around you is horizon. He described how the curvature of that landscape may have influenced and formed the inner curvature of the Celtic mind, where the circle, the oldest symbol in the world, is the most powerful one in the Celtic world.  

Listening to him illuminate the Celtic  understanding of the “sacred and secret world of the soul”, I reached the promontory that overlooks my own valley landscape.  I saw my own lifelong quest for beauty and soul, my love of the curvilinear forms, the embrace of the invisibles, the secret worlds as a thread from me back to the Celtic Cultural influences of my ancestors. 

What are the symbols and shapes that resonate with you? How do they connect with those that are associated with your cultural ancestry? What we find beautiful is a story that has evolved in us over time.

One of the reasons I love making jewelry is that it is a container full of symbolism, evocative shapes and colors. When we wear a piece of jewelry that is beautiful and meaningful to us, it is a way of telling our story, of showing a bit of who we are. It connects us with a greater story. Maybe that’s why jewelry energizes us. We feel the buzz of that greater story in us. If we listen to what comes to mind when we are wearing our meaningful jewelry, maybe we will learn something about our secret, sacred inner landscape.

If you want to experience the profoundly beautiful words of John O”Donohue for yourself I highly recommend: https://www.soundstrue.com/products/longing-and-belonging

Among his several books, my favorite is: https://www.powells.com/book/beauty-the-invisible-embrace-9780060957261