Pulsating Portal- etching

Pulsating Portal, 5in x 7in, etching and aquatint, 2013, ed. 20.

My fourth etching in the Community Supported Art project, Love Letters to the Ocean, is called Pulstaing Portal. In the deep sea, creatures must go to great lengths to attract mates and food. The flashes, blips, and patterns of light created in these environments are both spectacular and mysterious as in a ballet. The movements often seem carefully choreographed and complex. Ocean creatures often get their names from objects in our human range, such as the organ pipe, mushroom, and brain coral. The bell form on “Pulsating Portal” is inspired by the Deep-Sea Coronate Medusa, which has characteristics of both a ballet tutu and a space helmet. Their long tentacles are often held upwards and they can erupt bioluminescent fluid to distract predators. When it’s time for the performance to begin, the curtain rises to reveal a spinning symphonic performance that pulsates into another dimension in space or the deep sea.