My current work for my Student Thesis show was born from a couple of sketches I drew for my story I have been working most of my life. The world I have created is called Astel. If you have seen my hobby blog, it is named Astelian Studio. Yep, same world. These sketches are from a different part of Astel named Ast. The Utopian/ sanctuary that most of these Deities I have created reside.Think of Astel like Earth and Ast is Heaven, a different plane of existence from the "real world" of Astel.
This is the first vision I drew for the Kingdom of Ast. Like a regular world there is a sun and a moon. These orbs of power are held by the Deities which they are named for. The Sun God near the front is melting while holding the sun in his horns. I found it strangely ironic that these all powerful beings would inevitably end from the task given them.
The sun god wasn't fitting what I had originally planned. He seemed rather weak compared to the other strong and daring gods I have learned in true religion. Thus, the new god was born from the old. I assumed in this universe that his joints would melt and break under the pressure and heat of the sun. He gained a mask like feature to fit in with my Depression Mask Watercolor Series from earlier.
The Moon Goddess got a face lift as well. Before she was clothed and now she is taller and older looking, to match the sun god. I modeled her body from one of my Ball Jointed Dolls. I entertained the idea that the only organic feature about her would be her ever melting hair. She doesn't have a mask feature like the sun god has, but she does have a wonderful head dress that represents and holds the moon behind her head.
Most stories and images of "Heaven" Come with their own Angels. This is my version and in my clay studies, I created a plethora of melted angel wings that seem to have been frozen in time. This is what the Angel would have looked like. They serve as sentries and report back the the duo of higher Deities that are the Sun and the Moon. Mostly represented as female to imitate the Moon Goddess, these Angels see all from their perches.
In the Utopia of Ast, there must be balance. Angels can not exist without Demons. These male figures report solely to the Sun god and keep the Angels in check. Some of the Angels have been known to go rouge and try to overthrow the existing deities to take their place. I think of these Demons as knights or soldiers.
For my student show and a project for my Ceramic Studio class, I must create 3 installation pieces. Toward the end of the semester I will get to use the "Hot Boxes" which are display cases of upcoming artists work for my show. I thought and sketched different ideas and my favorite so far is to create Installation Alters for the two main Deities of the Sun and the Moon and then the third to represent the Angels and Demons.
My designs are modeled after closet alters I have seen used in other cultures. Due to lack of room for churches, some families will make an unused closet into an Alter space for a lost family member or for the Deity of their choice. With my upcoming woodworking pieces in my Advanced Sculpture class, I can create tables and shelves to place different offerings that would be seen in Astel for the Gods of Ast, bringing my world into this one and creating a finished art piece out of the instalation.
I can't wait to get started and show you all the progress!
