Elizabeth Salvia

Iam in my second year of Creative Strength Training. This year, I have been learning to befriend my Archetypes, to acknowledge and defuse their shadow aspects, and to call upon their positive attributes. I have especially focused on strengthening my self-esteem and my faith in myself, by digging deep into the Prostitute and Victim archetypes. For this show I created a small artwork that celebrates that exploration. I also invited a few more of my archetypes to the party.

I began by inviting my Seeker to choose a symbol. This little Yellow-Rumped Audubon’s Warbler represents hope, renewal, and determined persistence. To create Lovestruck Romeo, I first sketched my own drawing.

I recently took a wonderful class from artist Jill Kerttula, who introduced me to some fascinating techniques involving layering, cutting into, and appliquéing fabrics. After her class, I wanted to try and see if I could use some of those techniques in my own art process.

I called on my Engineer to plan the actual construction. My Engineer figured out the best order in which to build this piece, from layering, through stitching, cutting away, appliqué, trapunto, and embellishment. Sometimes my Engineer wakes me in the night to work on this stuff. Once this was done, I loosed my Hedonist on three crates of fabric scrap I have collected over several decades. I have snippets from clothing my mother made, bits and pieces friends have saved for me, and so many scraps from jobs I’ve held - leftovers from a clothing designer, samples from a fabric warehouse, discards from theatre costume work. Lovely beautiful fabrics - lamé, brocades, jacquards, velvets, cottons, silks, linens, and synthetics. Some pieces are no larger than the palm of my hand. My Hedonist knows them all.

Once the fabrics were chosen, layered and stitched, and I was ready to begin cutting away fabric, I got a surprise. My Seeker stepped up again, eager to excavate, and to discover how the exposed separate layers suddenly began to speak to each other and work together.

Throughout the process of making and finishing this artwork, my Artist archetype was there, orchestrating and conducting.

My archetypes are becoming a personal posse I can call on at all times. In my life, as in my art practice, my archetypes are collaborating to create a unique and wonderful whole.

Lovestruck Romeo 2022 11.5” x 16” Art Quilt 380. beth@elizabethsalvia.com elizabethsalvia.com