The Seed 
   Project

 
It was through my interest in the environment and articles about rescuing native seeds from extinction that the Seed Project series started in my studio.  Global Organizations are collecting their particular native seeds, sealing them in glass jars and storing them in vaults, or seed banks.  The more I researched the subject the more I realized that I was connected in a very personal way.  It was my roots, my life growing up on an Iowa farm. 

'My grandmothers garden was magic for a child: the velvety texture and brilliant color of a pansy, the wonder of a forget-me-not, the delightful herby flavor of crinkly parsley, all coming from seeds, planted in the earth. Dirt itself was alive in her garden: it had texture, smell , earthworms, moisture, and the power to awaken seeds.'
Swami Atmarupananda "The Sacred Seed"

                         Sculpted Pods
         sculpted wax pods sealed in glass jars,
                            seeds, gold wire
                          15 jars   8” x 2 1/2”
I poured encaustic into cookie sheets  ¼” thick and cut, then sculpted the pods.
I sealed them with fiber and wax like my mother’s canned jellies. I used hot metal number stamps to label each jar and added a ‘made up’ Latin name, such as, Toreniz Sillgua, meaning Wishbone Pod, #11.  
Each pod was wrapped with gold wire representing alchemy;  someday the stored native seeds will be worth their weight in gold.

                 "Whatever happens to seed
                     affects  the Web of Life."
                                Vandana Shiva