Invasion of the Ovoid (Egg Shape)

Thea Clark, Trousseau Necklace, 2010- enamel on copper, nickel silver, plastic, silver, glass beads

So what is going on in the subconscious when a shape persistently invades your creations? Is it a crutch, the easy answer that you fall back on? Or is it appearing unbidden to stake its claim in your conscious mind? And why?

As I finished my big project, a necklace inspired by a historical piece of jewelry, I see the pattern emerging in this piece as well as three other separate works. At first I thought it was the tear drop, or a pear shape like the gemstone. Now I realize it is an ovoid, an egg shape. While some of my recent work is drawn from domestic reference points, others are more like diary entries that reflect my take on the world and my surroundings. Regardless of the impulse for a work this shape speaks to fertility and creation itself. Now that I am conscious of this lietmotif I will probably push against it, to see if it gives, and yields up some other substance.

The cut out images on the ovoid elements are pitchers broken to varying degrees. The broken pitcher represented lost innocence in european art. This work looks at changed notions of innocence, the public vs. the private, flexible vs. rigid.