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About the Piece From my art diary of July 7th 2004: I woke up this morning with a vision of Pope Joan of the Wind in my minds eye. A wind is blowing her robes out, the winds of change, the winds of the holy spirits (not exclusively in the Christian tradition, but in a universal tradition). These are the wild sweet winds that come right before a storm when the air is crackling with excitement and the sky is a heavy steel blue. One feels so powerful, so alive. Yes, I remember that feeling as a child, right before a storm, standing out in our back yard, my arms stretched out to embrace the mystical. This piece finds its inspiration in many things including Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Her jaw is slack. Her robes are beautiful large billowing robes. This piece is about humility before power. She is choosing to step into the life force and embrace her place in the wide current of the powerful jet streams. She is not saying “I am powerful.” She is saying: “I step outside of my house, into these wild winds to join my strength and purpose to theirs. They will infuse me with their mystery, magic and power, with the Beyond, with what is greater, The All. It is a cleansing wind you can’t control.” This piece is about none other than the fabric, the fabric needs to say most of what I want to say. I want it to be billowing out, and with the wind sweeping up under her dress and is almost going to expand her dress like a big balloon, and sweep her away. The piece will also be about the expression on her face: letting go, open slack jaw, she is melting into the power of the wind. Her hands can each say a different thing. She needs to be shown as infused with the power and energized, yet yielding and swept away by it. The tension between her energy and her surrender.
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