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| Merino wool, rusty barbed wire, pyrography, wood. 17"x24" |
Solve et Coagula is the Latin alchemical phrase associated with turning base metals into gold. "Solve" means solution, or something broken down to its component parts. "Coagula" or coagulation, is the assembly of those components into a greater whole. In this piece that idea is being explored through wool, with the individual locks representing Solve, and the felted piece on the right, having undergone transmutation through heat and friction, representing Coagula.
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| "Coagula" |
While the idea of turning lead into gold holds no literal merit, the concept is generally considered a metaphor for the great work of elevating human consciousness from a base to illuminated state.
From a fiber art/aesthetic perspective, I enjoy the simplicity of the wool itself, and this was a fun way to display a before/after view of the locks as they were, and what they become when felted.
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| Close up, raw merino locks. "Solve." |
