Dig the goddess

12 women artists at the Worcester Center for Crafts

by Leon Nigrosh

INVOKING THE SOURCE: THE ANCIENT FEMININE
at the Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road, through March 31.

It was with great trepidation that this writer prepared to visit "Invoking the Source: The Ancient Feminine," the current exhibition at the Worcester Center for Crafts. Because the pre-

view information and artists' statements were filled with buzzwords like "Sacred Female," "Mother Goddess," and "Great Goddess," I feared a showcase of everything from radical feminist rhetoric to the canonization of Lorena Bobbitt. (Are thoughts like these examples of a man's feverish mind in overdrive?)

Imagine my surprise when I entered the gallery and witnessed instead an array of elegant, sophisticated, and -- dare I say -- beautiful works of art. Guest curator Donna Hamil Talman (who has three photographic works on display) has assembled the artwork of a dozen women artists from throughout the United States who are not only actively creating in a variety of media, but are using female images from antiquity as their sources of inspiration.

For 30 years Connecticut artist Joy Brown has been making figures in bronze or clay, which have gradually evolved into gracefully simplified forms like Big Stander with Arms at Side. This 42-inch tall stoneware image is androgynous, neither male nor female, but simply -- and warmly -- human. Her Recliner, a small bronze, may be reminiscent of an Ingres (1780-1867) Odalisque, but with all the smoldering sensuality pared away it becomes a charming object of pure form. Infused with an air of peace and contentment, Brown's stoneware and wood sculpture Sitting with Legs on Side suggests that contemplation may have greater internal value than all the frenetic bustle of present day society.

It is this spirituality that is also the driving force behind Massachusetts artist Jill Solomon's claywork. Inspired by Neolithic goddess images, she too has pared away the details, leaving only elemental organic forms to suggest her subjects. Her three variations on River Goddess are made of earthenware burnished to a sheen similar to water-polished stones, and then smoke-fired to a toasty coloration. Each form has a stately posture that at once suggests both strength and tenderness, yet with an obvious implication of fecundity. Her series of wall-mounted objects are executed with the same care and technique, but have a definite knife-like appearance, which she humanizes by the addition of small shell necklaces.

New York City sculptor Claudia DeMonte injects a subtle note of humor into her wall-mounted artifacts. Referring to the age-old societal role of women as caregivers and servers, her cast bronze, sinuous Female Implements at first appear to have a joyful appeal, with corkscrew and spoon "handles" shaped in the female form. But upon closer examination, some of these tools might be less fun than others, if or when put to their imagined use.

Lucartha Kohler, a glass artist from Pennsylvania, presents us with a half-dozen translucent cast glass images of women as perceived through the ages. Mounted on a colonnade of "Doric" pedestals, the timeless fertility figure Venus of Willendorf, with her pendulous breasts, shares the limelight with a more shapely, but armless, Venus de Milo, the powerful Greek Winged Victory, and lastly, today's Modern Woman. Through these images, Kohler hopes to honor the "strength, power, and creative spirit of all women."

Painter Janet McKenzie achieves this goal through her large, monochromatic images of women of color. Now living in Vermont, this former New York City artist gained international fame for her powerful images when Sister Wendy, the PBS art maven, chose her work from over 1700 entrants in a recent religious art competition. Her Magna Mater, or "Great Mother" is an excellent example of how McKenzie can take a narrow palette of colors and create an image of dignity, grace, and strength in the form of a pregnant woman posing proudly. The figure goes beyond that of the single subject and is transformed into a spiritual icon representing all childbearing women.

The artists represented in this exhibition bring a freshness to their work whether in metals, clay, glass, wood, prints, oils, or holography, as they interpret the rhythms of nature, the ancient matriarchal traditions, and the growing need for greater spirituality in today's society.

The Krikorian Gallery of the Worcester Center for Crafts is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 508-753-8183.