{"product_id":"axis-mundi-without-bowl-18-75-x-11-x-10-5","title":"Axis Mundi | 18.75\" x 11\" x 10.5\"","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDescription of the Axis Mundi Sculpture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy JEAN MACFARLAND ALTSHULER\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAxis Mundi is a sculpture about transcendence. Its very creation underwent an evolution beginning with a deep friendship to celebrating the universal creative force in the dance of the masculine and the feminine. It originated as a commission to me by a life-long friend, Heidi Sparkes Guber, to express in form the journeys and symbols of their lives and friendship. The process took three years. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAround the base, fourteen spirit-animals intermingle and weave without relative scale to one another. Each on has relevance in story to the artist and her collaborator friend. Turtle, whale, hawk, raven, horse, frog, lion, wolf, hummingbird, moth, polar bear, deer, elephant, with rattlesnake encircling throughout as the ouroburos. Fourteen, the number on the Sacred Twenty Count, is Sweet Medicine, collective consciousness of all animals. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe man and woman, rising from the roots of their animal nature, evolve into the two DNA strands, magnetically connected by the tension of their reflection upon each other. The man’s gaze is upon the woman, seeking direction; the woman’s eyes are focused upward, seeking union with the higher self. They also represent The Twins, Mother \/ Father Life, Creator \/ Creatress. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWahKahn\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSsKwan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAxis Mundi represents dimensions of consciousness moving through the earthly animal kingdom into the heavenly kingdom, through the conduit of the human dimension in the dance of the equality of the masculine and feminine. Energy flows freely through the dancers forming strands of DNA, intertwining into the symbol Vesica Piscis, portal of birth and transcendence, and beyond into wing-arms receiving and giving blessing. The sculpture is a tribute to the beauty and the symbiosis of Life. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAxis Mundi in Service to a Unifying Vision\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe commission's concept was to commemorate the shared milestones in the lives of two women—our awakenings, marriages, families, and their recent commitment to building and living within a community. Reflecting the spirit of our friendship, I conceived the sculpture as two separate parts that could be joined or stand alone. The second piece is a large flat bowl held by the wing-arms, symbolizing the inexhaustible Draupadi’s Bowl from the ancient Mahabharata legend.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring its creation, the project transcended our lives as we began to appreciate the power of sacred places. The bowl's meaning expanded to also represent the Valles Caldera in Northern New Mexico—the only known zodiac region in North America. This volcanic geographic “bowl” honors the eight directional locations around the Caldera. From 2008 to 2016, a dedicated local group, guided by renowned British geomancer Peter Dawkins and Norma Tarango, visited these eight locations annually during auspicious seasonal times, completing an eight-year Venus cycle.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere is only to be one casting of the bowl, which, when placed atop the Axis Mundi, transforms it into the Axis Mundi of the Venus Gate. The Axis Mundi sculpture itself has a capacity for eight castings in total.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jean Altshuler","offers":[{"title":"Without the Bowl","offer_id":52354833809698,"sku":null,"price":11000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"With Bowl","offer_id":52354833776930,"sku":null,"price":16000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/6850\/2562\/files\/Axismundi15M.jpg?v=1744049003","url":"https:\/\/www.wifordgallery.com\/products\/axis-mundi-without-bowl-18-75-x-11-x-10-5","provider":"Wiford Gallery - Canyon Road","version":"1.0","type":"link"}