Crow Mother
The carrion crow, the psychopomp, frequents the bloody battlefield where it waits to carry the souls of the dead to the Otherworld. I have always felt a connection to this bird, for though I have never led a soul across, I have been visited, on occasion, by the dead not quite gone over, who have come to give me messages or simply to say hello. At one point in my life I raised a crow from a mere featherless babe and so I know their habits better than some and know that they are ever ready to lend their assistance to our spiritual endeavors. The minute I found these bones I saw within them the shape of a crow, but it took some time for me to put them all together. From the long and pointed beak to the dark, leathery claw, she came together almost like a song called out in homage to the bird that lived with me. The wood has been stained a deep Bombay mahogany and the bones have been laid on stone in which whorls of color accentuate their curves. The entire piece is highly varnished to protect the elements of the work. It measures 3.5 inches long by 5 inches wide, has been signed and dated by the artist and includes the vignette Crow Mother on the back. She perches on the gatepost, as black as the spaces between the stars, preening as we make our slow approach. With a voice that echoes in the halls of time, she calls us down the path of age. When at last our souls give answer, she'll shelter us beneath her night-wide wing, and carry us across the sea that lies between the here and now and home. Private Collection
