21 - Nanci Hersh
The Art
“Chrysalis 2” ©NanciHersh
Etching, aquatint with gold embossed rubber stamp
image size: 6” x 4”, paper size” 15” x 11”;
website
Nanci Hersh writes..
A Chrysalis is the stage of a butterfly between larvae and the winged adult. It is a period of enclosure…of going within…of transformation. I began this small piece as a demonstration for my Printmaking Class at Monmouth University in Long Branch, NJ. What began as an exercise in etching and aquatint became a very personal visceral response following surgery and reconstruction for breast cancer
The lines of the Chrysalis and those wrapping around her were a metaphor for the physicality of surgery and reconstruction. They also suggest fluidity, an unraveling that comes with knowing that these feelings, and this situation, are temporal. Like a caterpillar, that weaves a cocoon around herself and emerges, with time, adorned with wings as a butterfly.
Project 52.
The Artists
1 - Kathryn Portelli
2 - Helen Hiebert
3 - Petrus Spronk
4 - Ann Lewis
6 - Cornelius Cardew
7 - Bronle Crosby
10 - Casey Klahn
11 - Maggie Ruley
12 - Jim Carpenter
13 - Gerda Tobler
14 - Pete Goodlet
15 - Kathleen O’Brien
16 - Cynthia Morris
17 - Mark Payne
18 - Juli Cady Ryan
19 - Shakespeare
20 - Jack Fisher
21 -Nanci Hersh
22 - Padraig McCaul
23 - Laurie LeBreton
24 - Sophia Khan
25 - Linnet Hunter
26 - Lisa Call
27 - Brenda York
28 - Holly Wilson
29 - Dariusz Klimczak
30 - India Flint
31 - Chris Maynard
32 - Mauricio Paz Viola
33 -
35 - Patty Sgrecci
My Music
This artwork jumped out at me – it seemed to have so much to say. I was intrigued by the circular lines around the figure, protecting her, as with the golden marks. In our communication, Nanci’s described her intuitive process in making this piece. I was particularly impressed by her conviction and inner knowing of the temporal nature of her chrysalis experience. I wanted to evoke the courage of her conviction.
I titled my music “Khrusallis” , the Greek word for chrysalis, stemming from the Greek “khrusos” for ‘gold’. I was trying to wrap the her in the etching, in a musical cucoon of protection, whilst she was transitioning through that temporal phase.