Blanche Desjean-Perrotta

Queen Child KingServant Joker Victim Vampire Gambler Mother Saboteur Guide

Prostitute Judge Blanche Desjean-Perrotta

Tucson AZ

Ihave been drawn to creating with my hands since I learned sewing and quilting at my grandmother’s knee. As an adult, my love of working with textiles led me to fabric surface design classes at the Southwest School of Art, in San Antonio, TX. I learned how to use paints and dyes to create my own fabric designs. I use my hand-dyed fabrics as a basis for clothing, wall hangings, art quilts, multi-media creations, as well as in doll making.

I enjoy learning new art mediums that are also organic in nature, and have dabbled in painting, collage and assemblage, paper marbling, and most recently, in paper quilling, an ancient art using thin paper strips to create art works that oftentimes resemble paintings. Working with organic art materials is a spiritual experience for me, keeping me connected to the natural world.

Much of my creative work has been supported by the light side of some of my personal archetypes, especially the Artist, Teacher, Coach, and Midwife. Even though I have not had the privilege of being a biological mother myself, the Midwife archetype has been an especially powerful energy in my life. I have always had a strong desire to aid in “birthing” the possibilities in people with whom I work either as a professional teacher, a life coach, or spiritual guide and mentor. So, for this catalog’s theme, I chose to do a self-portrait as the Midwife archetype, using paper and paint in a collage. This collage depicts metaphorically how I envision helping to support an individual to take flight, armed with the tools necessary to live a successful life. The birthing can take many forms, such as in the birth of creativity, new ideas, new knowledge, new career, new relationships, new spirituality, etc.

Each of the pieces is a metaphor for the birthing process. The bird represents the many individuals I have assisted in this process of taking flight throughout my life. The dream catcher at the bottom of the golden path holds the promises and dreams of the individual. The wolves watching represent the totems of protection and strength needed for the journey. The owl on my shoulder is my own wisdom keeper, and the moon represents the divine feminine energy that I use in my work. The light from my heart (which resembles a sunrise) along with my hands is given in support of the individual’s birthing as the individual takes flight.

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The Midwife 2021 20" x 16" Mixed Media/Collage NFS joliblanch@aol.com