07/29/2021
What's up gull? I'm the only person that I know that proudly claims the seagull as a spirit animal. Clever, industrious, strong, solo, hilarious, sometimes brutal, sometimes annoying as all hell. Yep. My dad never forgets to call me on my birthday to tell me that when I was born the air over the ocean was filled with seagulls cackling and shrieking. The hospital was right next to the ocean. There's no sound on earth that feels more like home to me. Atlantic City is a lot of things, not all or even most of them good. But there are two things that I very much love about the city where I was born. One is that it sits on an island that is part of a stunning coastal archipelago in South jersey. The area is full of great expanses of marshland and dunes that make it home to a rich fullness of life both in the air and in the water. The other is that at night the casinos (which I loathe for all other reasons) shine these crazy bright lights into the sky. As disk turns to night thousands of gulls gather and fly in great spirals above. The light hitting the white of their feathers looks like fireworks...silent hours long fireworks. I've never seen this anywhere else. Everything about that area calls my name and the seagull call brings it all to me all at once.
I had a hard time making this piece for myself. My personal totem. I'm sure a missed at least a few aspects of myself because damn they're so much harder to see than when looking at a loved one. But what comes through clear are the gull, golden eagle, medic wolf, and wild horse. The ocean, the desert, the moon, and a deep respect for this interconnected web of life that ties us all together. It was a challenge but in the end, I really love it. So much so that I made it into a dress (pic 2&3).