"Three by Three" by Rachel Gibson
9" x 12" watercolor & embroidery
on 140lb. coldpress paper
(10.5" x 13.5" framed in white)
$180
“When creating the work for SACROSANCT, we wanted to examine the simple, everyday objects that people revere. Those items that represent higher concepts or stronger emotion through simplicity of form. Those things held sacred. Afterall, people easily accept the ecumenical nature of a sunbeam that cuts through a fluffy, cumulus cloud, often assign a metaphysical impact to the flap of a butterfly’s wings, and even see the hand of God in occurrences of irony, karma, or coincidence. So, is it a stretch to see the sacred nature of everyday objects?
“Sesame Street’s Ernie sang the ultimate anthem of friendship, all embodied in a little yellow rubber duck. Secret family recipe books featuring dishes dependent on Duke’s mayonnaise are bestowed upon Southern heirs with the reverence oft reserved for the family Bible. The Rubik’s cube, a 1980s puzzle phenomenon, was actually created to teach students the concepts of 3-dimensional space. And, archeologists have identified “marbles” in the excavation of a settlement in Pakistan that dates all the way back to 2500 BCE.
“Who are WE to deny the sacred nature found in the everyday virtue of friendship, the gift of familial legacy, the pursuit of education, or the unquantifiable value found in the simple acts of play & bonds of socialization? With the work of SACROSANCT, we invite you to consider the sacred nature of everyday objects.” –Rachel Gibson & Jon Ives
R.L. (Rachel) GIBSON works as a mixed media artist with work in galleries from New York to Los Angeles and collections around the world. A happily-married, mother of one, Gibson lives & works in Marion, Virginia in the southeast United States. Her practice currently explores work that overlays watercolor with embroidery. The hand-stitched component of this work lends movement to otherwise still media while paying homage to the band of quilting women she calls family.
