Description
‘Genesis’ by Marisa Aragón Ware
Artist: Marisa Aragón Ware
Title: ‘Genesis’
Medium: Paper Sculpture
Dimensions: 13″ x 10.5″
Framing: Unframed (Framing Option Available)
Year of Creation: 2019
About the Artwork:
“Created entirely from pieces of delicately hand cut paper, ‘Genesis’ juxtaposes the ephemeral with the timeless.
A fox skull rests on a bower of fern fronds, underneath which twines an intricate system of roots. Plants sprout from the fox’s remains, with a single flower reaching towards the sunlight symbolizing renewal and the fact that on this Earth, death feeds new life. The corpse of the fox fertilizes and nourishes the plants, and hidden in the leaves, a tiny spider crawls over the landscape of decay and bloom.
Behind these layers representing the material realm, the background layers express the world of the intangible and immeasurable. An ineffable pattern flows forth from the skull, radiating with the energy of the once living being. The pattern swirls off of the frame in a spiral, suggesting the cyclical dance of life becoming death becoming life. The tendril stretching out from the skull is reminiscent of veins or nerves, while also mimicking the shape of the plant roots. It reminds the viewer that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. For awhile, that energy dons the ephemeral clothes of an embodied being, until death releases it to take new shape and form. In this way, endings and beginnings are intertwined through the infinite corridors of eternity.
‘Genesis’ is a paper sculpture made from archival Strathmore paper. It is three dimensional on one side, extending out from the canvas approximately 3/4 of an inch. It can be purchased without a frame or with a custom built shadowbox frame upon request, for an extra fee.” – Marisa Aragón Ware
About the Artist:
Marisa Aragón Ware is an author, illustrator, and fine artist. Born and raised in Colorado, she garnered her deep appreciation of nature from a childhood spent enveloped in the forests of the Rocky Mountains. Those formative experiences heavily influence her work, and she strives to depict the beauty of the natural world to help others connect with its abundant primordial magic. Marisa’s art explores the ephemeral and impermanent nature of life as well as the cyclical nature of death and rebirth. She most often creates with pen and ink, paper sculpture, and digital mediums, but also works as a tattoo artist as well as writing and illustrating children’s books.