Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” He may have suggested an array of meanings leaving it up to the observer to decide. An artist from Victoria, Canada, Debra Bernier has carved some imaginative co-creations. She has taken nature’s lively form into her own hands. She carefully observes pieces of driftwood, takes their shape into consideration, and as she begins to carve she dances with its form.
“When I work with driftwood, I never start with a blank canvas. Each piece of driftwood is already a sculpture, created by the caresses of the waves and wind. The wood tells a story and I try to think of its journey as I hold it in my hand. I extend or shorten the curves and contours that already exist into familiar shapes of animals or peoples’ faces.”
“The finished pieces are a reflection of not only my life, my family, and children, but of an eternal, sacred connection we all share with nature.” Bernier’s art goes beyond driftwood. She also uses other items such as shells to capture different elemental energies.
“Each piece of driftwood is a work of art already, created through the hands of Mother Nature. The earth, the ocean, even the moon and its effects on the tides, play a part in the unique shaping of driftwood.”
This is limited to driftwood and it can also extend to the artistic forms of all life from the trees to the clouds and the stars to the ground. We need to continue to see the life in all things and the potential we have on influencing their form as Bernier’s creations pay tribute to the mysteries of life.
sources used – educateinspirechange.org