| Description: | The Fern Woman is a hand painted, hand quilted wall hanging panel. It evolved while Deborah was studying photos of the limestone formations of the Burren in County Clare. The stone is fissured by weathering wind and water. In the small intersections of the rocks, small amounts of soil had accumulated and tiny plants had taken hold, thriving in very austere and inclement conditions.
As Deborah played with sketches of this unique environment, the negative space of the fissured areas turned into the shape of a woman's body, with the strong, vigorous growth of the ferns filling in the space. To the artist, this symbolised the strength of female energy and was a reflection on how many women live their lives in darkness or relative obscurity. Yet from this darkness, great growth - psychological and spiritual as well as physical - can appear.
Through the will to survive, even in political and social adversity, women mature, grow, and create. |
