Four Women, No Calling Birds

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

four calling birds. . . .

Today, in lieu of introducing you to the expected four calling birds, I offer a few words about four rather extraordinary women.

Ellen Fullman ~ Fullman created the "Long String instrument", which consists of dozens of wires, 50 feet or more in length, "bowed" with rosin-coated fingers. The wires when "bowed" produce "organ-like overtones". The recipient of many awards, Fullman has worked or performed in venues in Europe, Japan, and the Americas. Her work, Fullman says in her Artist Statement, "resides between the fields of sound art and music." Watch this video to better understand what the Long String is and how it is used. I think Fullman's work is fascinating.



Novie Trump ~ Northern Virginia sculptor Novie Trump is the founder and director of Flux Studios, Mt. Rainer, Md., where six professional artists work in clay, glass, and mixed media. Drawing on her background in classical archaeology, Trump creates small pieces as well as monumental forms of "layered surfaces" and "weathered patinas". According to her Artist Statement, Trump uses "archetypal symbols taken from ancient myths and tales" to convey "such universal human experiences as love, loss, death, birth, courage, and transformation." Her work has been exhibited widely and is in public and private collections in the United States and Europe.

Trump writes a newsy, meaty, and always interesting blog; read it here. Click on Gallery here to see the range of Trump's wonderful work, including her installations, haunting reliquaries, and houses based on ruins of stone churches. Trump is creating a new sculptural form that will be incorporated into choreography by Jane Franklin Dance; called "Of Bones and Bridges", the dance will premiere at Washington's Source Theatre on February 27 and 28.


Meri Wells ~ Wells is an award-winning sculptor who lives in a remote area in Wales. She holds an honors degree in visual arts and drama, with a concentration in ceramics and theatre design, and often collaborates on art projects. She creates life-size, mythological ceramic figures of locally sourced slips and ash glazes derived from, for example, blackberry and braken. Made of coiled "grogged" clay* and soda and fired in a wood kiln to stoneware temperatures, the figures, Wells says on her Website, are "a result of disillusionment with how we repeatedly fail to sustain a functional society." They are based on "forms which inhabit a parallel universe and often they are self-portraits." A CultureColony video of Wells is here.

Joyce Wycoff ~ Peaceful Legacies ~ Joyce, who resides in Lafayette, Colorado, is a long-time teacher of creativity who is now plumbing the depths of her own creative spirit through her art and her blog, "Peaceful Legacies". Her art encompasses photography and digital collage — some of her work can be seen here (be sure to look at her "Miksang" work) — and fine writing, including poetry, about her spiritual journey. She writes sensitively and wisely and intelligently about issues that matter — to others and to her ; she's well-read; and she is quick to give praise and encouragement, as well as engage deeply with those who share her interests.
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* Clay to which "grog" is added. Grog is a ceramic raw material that is used to produce a gritty, even rustic texture ("tooth"). It reduces shrinkage, aids drying, and can add to structural strength.

At High Calling Blogs, we're celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with 12 Days of Community by highlighting the blog(s) or Website(s) of people other than ourselves. As our friend Glynn says, this is something we should be doing anyway, all the other 353 days of the year. This is the fourth piece to appear under the 12 Days of Community badge. The others are: "She Looks for Joy in Now" (Day 1), "Landscape Become Image" (Day 2), and "She Listens Multidimensionally" (Day 3).