This silver orb arrived in my galaxy on 17th of February. I was so excited to wear it the next day. It was a big day indeed and it would see sadness, community, strength in numbers as a bit of magic. The 18th of February was our Terrapin Day (this is our mascot), a day when Tampa Preparatory School heads out into Tampa to serve the community. Each HS level is given a task. I work on the 11th grade team and this silver sphere and I were going to Feeding Tampa Bay. While we were there we sorted 4,403 pounds of food in under two hours that would create 3,679 meals for the Tampa community. It was amazing to be part of the fight against hunger for our citizens who need help feeding themselves and their family.
On Saturday the silver piece would accompany my partner and I to fight cancer at the Cattle Baron's Ball in down town Tampa. We would eat some amazing food, listen to a talented band and bid on a Harley for a two day road trip, which we won. I'm guessing because of the magic woven in that silver.
The following week I took the opportunity to introduce Mima's filigree to my Upper School classes. I wore the piece with a work I had of Mima's. In proximity to her work the filigree resembled and egg. I currently teach Ceramics II, Sculpture II and Crafts II, IV. The bauble's visit prompted in depth conversations about the culture of collecting, the act of possession and heirlooms. My students listened to Mima's video and read her web page to better grasp her concept. They examined the realm of this tiny object with a loop and watched a video on how filigree work is created. They were amazing and captivated by the attention to detail and the high level of craftsmanship.
On the twenty sixth of February the spherical ball would walk with me and my Sculpture II students, a few blocks from our school to see Jaume Plensa's Human Landscape exhibit at the Tampa Museum of Art. Sadly she never saw the work we set out to see. When I asked one of my students to photograph me in front of a sculpture I reached for the orb only to find the jump ring attached to the chain. My heart dropped. My students having talked and studied this work understood the gravity of it being gone. The search was on...I with generous student and faculty retraced my steps several times to no avail. Having to tell Mima that I had lost her piece was so very difficult.
When Mima and I were in grad school together, I did my thesis on Loss. It is a topic I spent hundred of hours researching and formulating a collection around. The irony of me being the person to have lost this family heirloom is not lost on me. I still look for it as I have gone back to the museum a few times in hopes that this prized possession will glint in the Florida sun and reveal its self. **
Mima, my heart is till heavy...I have attached some pictures the piece is hard to see in them.
Before this even happened I wanted to do this and now it seems it may be viable as a solution. This beautiful antique form was a button and this new format would be a different kind of button. I was planning on taking the image from the web site and making 1' buttons (about 20 or so) that would be sent to the next person to host the work. I would have kept a button and the next person would be able to keep one as well and so on...this way each person will still have a "piece" of the work and a viable/wearable reminder of what they hosted.
**Because I have the heaviness of loss and so does Mima I have created buttons to travel the world as the representative for the heirloom. Each host will wear and keep a memento of the piece and send the buttons on to the next host. These new buttons will create a footprint in a new way to keep the work alive...
Earnestly,
Elle
also known as Miss A
Tampa, Florida
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