I just got back yesterday from a three day trip to my beloved stomping grounds in Washington State. My Deception Pass canvas had been displayed at the Schack Art Center for their 22nd Biennial Exhibition. I visited on the last day of the exhibition to see it in situ and then went back the next day to pick it up. I must say, the thrill of seeing your art in the wild never gets old.
I also took a purposeful trip to see the Maiden of Deception Pass. I became aware of this statue at Rosario Beach on Fidalgo Island a few months ago, long before getting accepted into the art show at Schack. It felt important to me to seek her out and so I made a visit early on Sunday morning.
I didn’t know the story of The Maiden before visiting but I am always interested in the stories and myths of women across cultures.
The statue is a beautiful piece of art in the most amazing setting. Perhaps it was the gift of early morning solitude when the noisy and indifferent crowds have yet to arrive but reading her story and seeing her as a guardian to the land all around her made me tear up. The statue depicts her two forms and her water form is carved with shells and fish and her lower body has a sense of a fish or a mermaid. She has given her mortal existence to protect those that she loves and eventually she learns that this sacrifice means she can never return to them.
