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July/August 2007 Living Now
Sea Change

by Sara Swink

Dream by Sara Swink

A sea change is a profound transformation.

Not only does a sea change refer to sweeping social and political transformation, but also to individual, personal change. We are - and I am - in the midst of a sea change.

On a global level: climate upheaval, a controversial war, increasingly complex problems, widespread corruption and greed. On a personal level: the mid-life passage. Time is staring me in the face and there's no time to mess around anymore.

I made this body of work perched at the threshold of conscious and unconscious forces. I invited, as I always do, unconscious images and impulses to have their say in the creative process. The swimmer, which has been a theme I have visited repeatedly, insisted on being explored in more depth and breadth.

The swimmer is most often a corpulent female, usually preoccupied with something of a psychological nature. She swims in the cosmic soup, or perhaps the primordial sea. She often feels in over her head. She lives half in a dream world, but not in a pejorative sense. Clues to the mystery can be found in dreams. She cultivates a symbolic understanding of this overwhelming life.

Sara Swink, a ceramic artist, offers classes and workshops on ceramic sculpture and creative process at Clay Circle Studio in West Linn and through PCC in SE Portland. Visit www.claycircle.com.