THE SONG OF MY SONORAN GRANDMOTHER
The idea for this piece came to me in several dreams. In one dream, the armadillo was curled around a mask. In another dream, my paternal grandmother was looking for me. She found me in the woods, and then a man gave me some herbs to be used as medicine.
To me the armadillo represents the South in the medicine wheel. The mask was gifted to me by a relative who told me it was from Mexico. When I first held it in my hands I felt as if there was a lot of power in it. I felt as if the mask needed to accept me. I gently and respectfully took it home, and placed it near my bed. A few weeks later I had a dream in which the armadillo wrapped itself around the mask. Upon waking I realized that the mask had accepted me, and I had a vision for my next painting.
During a conversation with my biological father he told me that my grandmother was a mail order bride from Huatabampo, Sonora. The language they speak there is Mayo- the language of the Yoreme tribe. Looking more into the regional culture of Huatabampo I found that the Yoreme have ceremonial dances which they perform with wooden masks much like the one I inherited. Feeling the significance of this connection fueled the completion of this piece.