I never know where my mind will end up when I first have an idea. As I pondered how I would represent Mother Nature it seemed fitting to make her a young pregnant woman. Usually, we see Mother Nature as a more mature woman. My Mother Nature has a bird perched on one finger and her ponytail blows in the wind. At the back of her round tummy is a small inlaid stone with the continents. She is pregnant with all life on Earth.

On the front bottom half of her there is a wide variety of environmental representations. There are hills and mountains at the very bottom, and plants and birds represented in simple detail. Waves rise and crash toward the back of the piece on one side of her. The other side has clouds that drift in a sun filled sky. They float over the other side and onto the back of the piece.

At the very bottom of the back there is a small open space that was designed to hold a very special Healing Rock that is covered with pictures drawn by hand. I outline faces I see in the rock with a fine permanent marker until it is totally covered. As the eye travels up the back of the piece from the bottom … you can see dots of spiraling air that represent wind. Above the round inlaid Earth is a flame. Waves crash on one side. Clouds roll over the other side from the front and spill on to the back. That gives the back of the piece symbols for air, fire, water, earth, and metals.

To give the piece color and depth I used a hot and a cold patina to enhance the detail. I also added multiple layers of cold patinas in muted greens, blues and white to give the piece added interest. I muted the colors on purpose so the shape would be noticed first rather than the patina.

Of course my daughter loved it! She graduated with an environmental degree!