Xi Wang Mu: Wisdom of the EarthLoom Series
Xi Wang Mu, “Queen Mother of the West”, symbolizes the unity of life in nature and the personification of all that is sacred. Flying on her swan, she weaves masks in her lap, helping humanity to transcend mortality. In her ancient form, she was said to live on Wu Mountain, and American historian Max Dashu shows that she wore a "loom part" on her head. It appears to be what we know as a niddy-noddy, or skein winder. She holds a sheng, or loom, in her lap, which symbolizes Xi Wang Mu as a cosmic weaver who creates and maintains the universe. The Queen Mother of the West is identified as the founder of the Dao by Juangzi in the 4th century BCE, but her mythology began in the far distant past. She is bold and colorful, and humbly wields her powers for the good of all. The swan's wings are raised for a powerful downbeat.
This complex sculpture's face is handwoven in Merrill's Zati method with linen warp and handwoven handspun indigo-dyed Maine island wool. The curving stripes beside nose and mouth are in varied shades of wild indigo. The cheek is emblazoned with a vivid madder-red patch, as if painted below the eyes. The face is capped by a multi-colored banded crocheted headband of handspun island wool dyed with wild indigo, goldenrod, weld leaves, and madder root. Backed by a wet-felted merino banner dyed with madder, and deliberately sun-faded to a variegated hue, the ends of the bottom indigo-dyed rows of the crocheted headband are elongated into cords of different lengths. Two cords terminate in a crocheted globe filled with whole cloves. Others terminate in a budding flower shape of indigo blue and blue-green with orange beads.
The facial assembly is felted onto a wet-felted white merino headpiece for wearing as a theatrical or ceremonial mask. The neck is outlined in Bolivian-style round-weave of black and white, giving it a rhythmic grained pattern. The headpiece is expanded by a spreading headdress of white wet-felted merino wool overlaid by a black wet-felted layer with an articulated edge with curling black tendrils. The headdress is surrounded by a luxuriant ruff of lustrous natural white island sheep's wool locks, creating a rich cloud-like border from which the swan is about to launch. Above the face is Xi Wang Mu's white merino wet-felted swan, its wings sustained with a copper wire armature embedded in the felted shapes. Its has black needle-felted eyes and black base for the yellow bill. Xi Wang Mu's figure is felted over an armature, and clothed in handwoven trousers and a fluffy wool indigo-dyed coat and fringing blue and green indigo dyed wool and linen epaulets. Her face is needle-felted with a white island wool cowl. In her hands is a miniature wooden loom, fastened with sterling pins and threaded with cotton warp.