Quatrefoil

Who among us has not sat in a patch of clover searching for that special four-leafed one?

According to Wikipedia, "the four-leaf clover is an uncommon variation of the common, three-leaved clover. According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally. According to legend, each leaf represents something: the first is for hope, the second is for faith, the third is for love, and the fourth is for luck.^"

This power-packed little symbol has been with us for thousands of years...

• In Celtic culture, the quatrefoil symbolizes "the wheel of being".
• In Christianity, it is seen as a variation upon the Christian cross, and some claim that each of the leaves of the quatrefoil symbolizes the four evangelists of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
• In Native American culture, the four leaves of the quatrefoil are believed to symbolize the four ends of the earth. This represents Native American prayers to the North, South, East, and West.
• Since it is easy to divide a quatrefoil into equal portions or into other shapes, it has also come to symbolize harmony, symmetry, and proportion.

Symbolic Language

I am going to begin to write a little about my experience with symbols. I have been creating and  working (consciously) with them for over 25 years. Sometimes I use familiar symbols, sometimes I combine symbols or join them together to see what the effect is and  and sometime I invent my own. I am always aware that simple lines are one key element to a symbol that works.  When I get it right there is an "aha" moment. I have found that symbols/shapes appear in different cultures and ages that are precisely the same. For example: square, circle, triangle, spiral, star, oval ,cross. After many years of working with symbols I was delighted to discover the work of Angeles Arrien. She has researched familiar shapes and symbols and I find her work  informative to me as I try to understand my own work.

Finding a symbol that resonates with you can have the effect of striking a tuning fork. The vibrations realign (or jar) your emotional body. Upon viewing a symbol that uses sacred geometry to establish its lines along with intention you may feel an emotional response pleasant or unpleasant. A symbol that works it is much like music and harmony. When a musical instrument is in tune it is pleasant to listen to and it can move molecules (or the listener) in an organized or (emotional) way.  When a symbol is just right for you it resonates with you and can move you. Different symbols can reach you or move you at different times in your life journey.

I have noticed that sometimes people cry when they look at some of my work. That is because I think the symbols are working on that level I just spoke of (kind of like music). It is fascinating to me as I sometime cry also when I get it just right.

The Magical Sea Turtle Kauila

(wax carving~copyright 2010 Melissa Luce)

(wax carving~copyright 2010 Melissa Luce)

Living in a freshwater spring,  Kauila always kept a watchful eye on the children (keiki.) She loved the keiki so much that sometimes she transformed herself into a little girl  so she could play.

I started working with K back in April, and have been enjoying polishing silver and fixing blemishes on her beautiful silver sculptures. Working with K has been very inspiring and I had/have many ideas about designs. One day, while looking through a magazine, I saw a photo of a baby leatherback sea turtle heading towards the ocean. It looked so vulnerable and brave, and the shape was beautiful to me. I started by drawing different designs and learning more about the turtles--both biologically and storywise. When I heard the Hawaiian myth of Kauila, the magical sea turtle, I knew I wanted to create a sea turtle pendant. 

Then the Gulf Oil Disaster happened, and every day I was getting emails about the difficulties these turtles were facing--all 7 species on the endangered list--now being covered in oil and their nesting grounds at risk. And again calls the story of Kauila, who lived in a freshwater spring and watched over the children. My interest in creating the pendant increased as this magical turtle seemed a beacon for our times. The importance of clean water is becoming more and more apparent as we continue to pollute. We need to nurture the sources of clean water, for our sake and for our children as well as the animals who depend on it.

So I started carving, with advice and tools borrowed from K. I had never carved anything before, and I would practice on spare pieces of wax until I became competent at some aspect of technique. I decided I liked one of my practice pieces, and so took that to near completion (as a leatherback turtle.) But then the design seemed too complicated and I found out that Kauila was a Green sea turtle--a hardshell not a leatherback, and so I began again on the original piece, this time turning it into a green turtle with the characteristic hexagonal pattern. This whole process took several months as life would distract me or I would feel intimidated by the process (and the prospect of ruining what I had started.) And all the time, the sea turtles were suffering for lack of clean water and sand. It felt important to get the turtle finished. 

Well I just found out, the first rehabilitated oiled sea turtles were released into the Gulf today. And I just finished one more pass over all the lines on my little sculpture tonight. We will send the wax to the caster this week who will turn the wax into silver. As soon as it's ready, I will be contacting sea turtle conservation and protection groups to see if they are interested in partnering with us to help raise money for sea turtle protection and research. I'm aware of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, SeaTurtle.org, and Save the Sea Turtles International, but if anyone knows or has personal experience with any Sea Turtle groups, I would be interested in hearing about them.

Thank you and look for Kauila at K Robins Designs very soon,

Melissa