Pearl

This month's challenge for the PCAGOE is Retro. I love these themes, they leave everything to the imagination. Retro could mean so many different things. For me it is about a time that my life was simpler and all I worried about was where the next party was. Music was a big part of that. My friends were all musicians. People playing guitar and writing up songs was a daily event. They still play music but our lives have gone in different directions.
My inspiration for this piece came from a friend's obsession of posting photos and songs of Janis Joplin. I wanted a piece that showed the hair and the smile and of course the feathers in her hair. I always wonder what she would look like now had she lived. Would she have belted out all those emotions to make her message heard? Would she had gone into the quiet night? She certainly touched quite a few people in her short life. This piece is to honor her and all those women who need someone to hear them.
The funny thing is that I thought I had captured the smile and the hair. My sculpting skills are not that great as to make it look like a photograph. I knew that it wasn't a great likeness. Then I got a good chuckle after catching a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The sun had darkened my glasses and I was laughing at something someone said and I recognized my piece. The face looks more like me than it does like her. So there is truth to the saying that the artist putting herself into her art.
I welcome conversations about what retro means to any of you or if you have had a similar experience on a piece you made. For now, I think I'll go turn on the music.