Earth Day, Earth Sculptures to Remind Us

Gaia: the divine goddess, the Earth Mother … she sleeps so peacefully, waiting to wake up, dreaming her dreams of the seasons, of growth and transformation, of life and light. She rests in the dark cool shadows of winter and early spring, rejuvenating internally and she will awaken with the sunlight, bird song and the gradual warming of her body.

As I researched Earth Mother/ Gaia for my Earth Day post, I came across many living earth sculptures made of mud over an armature with plants growing all over them. I loved the original Mud Maid at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, commissioned by Sue and Pete Hill a brother/sister artist duo. This sculpture along with the Giant’s Head at the same gardens, seems to have inspired a host of other mud sculptures in both public and private gardens.

We are her children:

The Mud Maid was built as a hollow framework of timber and windbreak netting, then completely covered with sticky mud. Her hands and face are a mixture of mud, sand, and cement which were first coated with yogurt so lichens would grow. On her head, Woodsedge and Montbretia were planted while Ivy was trained to grow as her clothing. — Angel (Environmental Graffiti)

Here is a goddess sculpture at the 2006 Chelsea Garden show, “Dreaming Girl,” also by Sue and Pete Hill.

PHOTO CREDITS AND LINKS:

• Quote about the Mud Maid
• Mud Maid and Child © Copyright Chris Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
• Mud Maid in Summer
• The Dreaming Girl at Chelsea Gardens Show
• The Dreaming Girl detail
• Eve