Virginia Woolf

When I was commissioned to make Virginia Woolf, I confess I knew little about her. I knew that every woman should have a room of one's own and a little money in order to write fiction. I also found the Bloomsbury group to be a bit tedious with all their affairs and their intellectual snobbery. But I discovered that I had been unduly influenced by popular propaganda, and that I was afraid of the big bad Woolf. Ironically, when I discuss the women of the bible, I warn against being influenced by paintings, movies, and images. Then I realized I was guilty of responding not to Virginia Woolf, the woman, but to Virginia Woolf, the icon.

Now, I hold the writings of Virginia Woolf in high esteem. I am grateful for the commission. The inside text is from her novel The Waves:  "We are only lightly covered with buttoned cloth; and beneath these pavements are shells, bones and silence."

The exterior of the vessel is wavy, symbolic of Woolf's emotional personality and a reference to the novel's title. There is a tiny button at her neck that hints at what the text might be. She is tall and elegant, long-necked with arms akimbo to capture her determined stance.

As I attempt to sort out the poetic language and try to understand what makes the person or the character, I realize that there is certainly a rich source of wisdom and spiritual insight in her writings. But there is also still some mystery. And therein lies the beauty.