Suzanne Forbes, a New Yorker thriving in Berlin. Crowdfunded documentary art made possible by the generous support of her Patrons. https://www.patreon.com/SuzanneForbes.
The Rod or Staff of Asclepius is a symbol of medicine and healing.
A snake twines around a wooden staff, borne by Asclepius. The Greek god Asclepius was sacred to physicians; his daughters include Hygieia, Panacea, Aceso and Iaso, all associated with healing and recuperation.
In Germany, you see the Rod of Asclepius everywhere on medical facilities. Our doctor has a logo that uses the Berliner Fernsehturm (TV tower) as the rod!
The Caduceus, with two snakes, is often used instead, mistakenly.
This is the first snake embroidery I‘ve ever made!
Sewn with love and attention and hope for healing onto deaths-head moth and roses velvet fabric from a Killstar dress I bought to cut up and make creepy things from 🙂
There is of course a great tradition of figurative artists making accessories for favorite performers.
Alphonse Mucha designed jewelry for Sarah Bernhardt! So when someone inspires me with their style like Ixa Psyborg does, I find it quite reasonable to create something completely unique for them. And the timing worked out great with this piece!
Like the one I made for GodXXX Noirphiles, It is based on a transparent blue acrylic mask. The “horns” are made of Angelina Fantasy Film, custom cast UV resin crystals and butterflies, mermaid pearls, Swarovski crystals, jelly crystals, microbeads, glass beads and UV drips and drops, which are cured on the fly in the sun.
It is fairly light, and robustly constructed, so it can be worn on stage, flung around, packed in a costume suitcase, etc.
I drilled holes through the mask at the earpieces and wired the “horns” of Angelina Film on to make it structurally sound.
It takes a long time to make one of these!
Curing the UV resin is a very slow process, and getting the two sides balanced compositionally is really hard!
After each dendritic cluster of drips is formed, I add pearls, crystals, and microbeads, secured with glue.
Then I go back and secure everything with resin. Then more drips, curled colored craft wire, more microbeads (these have to be attached with glue because the surface tension of the resin is too high to hold their light weight) and more pearls.
It’s very satisfying and meditative!
As I have said before, I also see these pieces as psychonaut companions, a safe place to put your consciousness if a situation or psychedelic experience is challenging. You can drift off into their infinite detail quite peacefully!
Here is the drawing I made of Ixa performing at twilight last year, with the colors that inspired the headpiece.
The Rod or Staff of Asclepius is a symbol of medicine and healing.
A snake twines around a wooden staff, borne by Asclepius. The Greek god Asclepius was sacred to physicians; his daughters include Hygieia, Panacea, Aceso and Iaso, all associated with healing and recuperation.
This is the first snake embroidery I‘ve ever made!
