Beings of light and clay...

Speaking of light (as I was a couple of days ago), I absolutely adore the beautiful and deeply philosophical sculpture above: Expansion by Paige Bradley.

"From the moment we are born," says Bradley, "the world tends to have a container already built for us to fit inside: A social security number, a gender, a race, a profession or an I.Q. I ponder if we are more defined by the container we are in, rather than what we are inside. Would we recognize ourselves if we could expand beyond our bodies? Would we still be able to exist if we were authentically 'un-contained'?"

A related piece, Alapadma, is below. "I want to advocate healing and empowerment for people around the world," says the artist. "I want my art to be a forceful voice to help those who suffer from illness, repression or exploitation. My sculptures express a depth and variety of the physical, emotional and spiritual that we search for as a human race. Simultaneously, I want to provoke us to feel painful truths we keep bottled up inside. I want us to remember we are all the same. And, it is this understanding that can heal us all."

Bradley was born in Carmel, California; studied at Pepperdine University and the Pennsylvania Academy of Arts; and now lives and works in London. "My recent work has become a symbol of struggle -- both being contained and liberating ourselves from self-inflicted boundaries. Fears of ostracism, avoiding distinction and hiding from greatness are all thoughts that come to mind.These fears create sculptures
wrapped in extraordinary tension. The figures struggle to unveil themselves in order to become understood and known. These bound figures give me a sense of unrest as if too much life is jammed into too restrictive of space. I feel as if I am trying to live my truth free and unveiled in a society that would
rather keep us contained."

Please visit Paige Bradley's website to see more of her exquisite work.