All Storms Now Laid
Strong and Hardy booth banner
Mike and I recently decided we needed a new, big eye-catching banner for our booth but besides our logo, I was struggling to figure out what to put on it. Ultimately, I decided I wanted something that both represented the art we create and us too if possible since this is very much a family affair (and as our little girl gets older, she helps us more and more with this little business). So I made this piece, which was originally only intended to live on the banner. But I was really happy with it, so I decided to turn it into a print, completely unsure of how it would be received. (Honestly, oftentimes the work I create that I love the most is often our least popular art so I never really know what to expect). Anyway, we debuted it at the Columbus expo this weekend and we SOLD OUT. Completely. Thank you, Columbus, for making my little heart happy!
There is a theme to this piece, which are the four elements: fire, air, earth and water.
I referred to Anne Bradstreet’s 17th century poem, The Four Elements, for inspiration in which she personifies these elements and the ultimate discord as they vie for supremacy. “Bradstreet vividly portrays the consequences of unchecked ambition and the potential for reconciliation, ultimately conveying the importance of cooperation and recognizing each element’s unique role.”* In the spirit of peace and resolution, I included symbolism such as the dove and olive branch.
I don’t usually create with specific ideas or themes in mind, instead just letting specific pieces speak to me and creating something from them that feels right to me. So if you ask me, “what is the meaning of this piece?” in most cases, while I can tell you how it makes me feel when I look at it, or how I felt when I was creating it, I can’t usually articulate specific meaning. (And I actually prefer everyone else find their own meaning!) But this piece, All Storms Now Laid, is a definite exception to that.
*Quote above regarding the poem The Four Elements by Norman Sassoli
Historical Sources Utilized:
Portrait of a Married Couple with Child; Members of the Beresteyn Family. Artist unknown. Oil on canvas. 1655
Still life with a skull and a forget-me-not by František Klimkovič. Oil on canvas. 1860
Olive (Olea europaea) from Traité des Arbres et Arbustes que l’on cultive en France en pleine terre by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. 1801
Easter cards with ornamental decoration from The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection published by L. Prang & Co. 1881.
A young woman holding a skull in her hands; representing life and death. Artist unknown. Colour Lithograph. Year Unknown.
Still Life of Three Skulls by Henri Jan Augustyn Leys. Oil on paper. 1869
The Ocean-Going Tug “May McWilliams” by Antonio Jacobsen. 1895
The Four Elements
by Anne Bradstreet
The Fire, Air, Earth and water did contest
Which was the strongest, noblest and the best,
Who was of greatest use and might'est force;
In placide Terms they thought now to discourse,
That in due order each her turn should speak;
But enmity this amity did break
All would be chief, and all scorn'd to be under
Whence issu'd winds & rains, lightning & thunder
The quaking earth did groan, the Sky lookt black
The Fire, the forced Air, in sunder crack;
The sea did threat the heav'ns, the heavn's the earth,
All looked like a Chaos or new birth:
Fire broyled Earth, & scorched Earth it choaked
Both by their darings, water so provoked
That roaring in it came, and with its source
Soon made the Combatants abate their force
The rumbling hissing, puffing was so great
The worlds confusion, it did seem to threat
Till gentle Air, Contention so abated
That betwixt hot and cold, she arbitrated
The others difference, being less did cease
All storms now laid, and they in perfect peace
That Fire should first begin, the rest consent,
The noblest and most active Element.
