quickening, wax and string drawings The word quickening, has multiple meanings. It is found many times throughout the King James Bile and means “revive” , “bring to life”, “to give spiritual energy” or “spark a resurrection”. Quickening is also a medical term that refers to when a pregnant woman first feels her fetus move as well as the moment-believed by some cultures-as to when the soul enters the fetus. Mainly to me, the word references how fleeting life is. All these things were in my mind while making these drawings. It was 4 months after my father died, and I was in Italy, trying to tie a thread to my father and Italian ancestors.

For the wax drawings, I rested on the floor and placed translucent, thin Hosho paper over my torso then poured hot wax over my navel, staying still until the wax dried. I placed the wax print over the same size of white Reeves paper, and made little drawings underneath. For the string drawings, I placed another piece of Hosho paper over the dry wax prints and then sewed a light blue ring of blue thread. I was thinking of halos, or ripples of circles like when a stone is thrown in the water. My sewn string shapes became an echo or halo of my navel.