Spring Deity | An Artistic Collaboration

Written by Blair Farris, Publisher of Peachy the Magazine

“Spring Deity,” a life-sized ceramic sculpture complemented by a living skirt, held court for two weeks in the beautiful atrium in the center of Laura Vinroot Poole’s Capitol in Charlotte, North Carolina. Perry Poole‘s meticulous architectural design of the store was the perfect showcase for the sculpture. Visible through three sides of windows and set against a beautiful green wall designed by Patrick Blanc, she was stunning.

When my precious friend Pam Stowe, arts collector and advocate, called about a possible collaboration, I was intrigued. Talented Charlotte artist and sculptor Betsy Birkner had designed an exquisite bust with a lace shawl and crystal bedazzled crown. I was charged with designing and creating a living skirt for the sculpture to wear while displayed at Capitol. I was thrilled to be a part of this wonderful collaboration.

After scheming and daydreaming, I came up with the idea of a chicken wire skirt draped in moss and flowers. Since the installation was supposed to be up for a few weeks, I realized that flowers in water tubes would never last. I decided to go with potted flowers. This created a conundrum since they were much heavier and the pots needed to be hidden. I decided to cut a slit in the chicken wire skirt and make a pocket of chicken wire to hold the pots. This worked beautifully. The flowers were placed with a density in the middle like a flower arrangement and then trailed off to the top and the bottom. I chose flowers that I thought would be hardier like orchids and succulents. Scott Newkirk and Sara Plunkett assisted with the installation.

Birkner, an alumnae artist of the McColl Center for Visual Arts, trained as a painter and turned to ceramics in recent years to address social stereotypes of feminine beauty. Her creations are the embodiment of protection and power as evidenced in a series of fantastical coats of armor inspired by deities, royalty and pop culture icons. Birkner’s process for creating larger figures is to first make a 1:1 size drawing. The drawing is then measured to make the correct proportions of the 3-D figure. According to Birkner, “This piece is about impermanence, and the clay will eventually wash away in the weather. Using paper clay made the figure stronger and extended the timing of the disintegration after the drying.” After completing the bust, Birkner used glass crystals, cotton lace, tulle fabric and organic materials to adorn the final installation.