Dormant Seed and the Underdog

Obverse Reverse

Over the following days I would like to make a few posts which show off some of my Art Medals.

I have explained previously what a medal consists of (see previous postings on the 3rd and 5th of June) so by this time you will be able to follow quite easily when i explain the meaning of this medal.

It is called Dormant Seed and on the Obverse - or front - of the medal you can see the the face of the little seed sleeping gently as it waits patiently for germination. When you turn it over in your hand you see the soles of its little feet waiting to push down into the ground to form the roots for the plant as it starts to grow.

I like this medal very much because I think it is very peaceful and I like the face of the sleeping seed. i really enjoyed making it. Another thing that really appeals to me is feet - so I really enjoyed making the little feet or footprints on the reverse of the medal.

I have always liked feet. I have exceptionally good feet, that is they are not perhaps the most beautiful of feet but they are such good, strong feet. I get the odd bit of dry skin from time to time that is true and when I get new shoes I often get a blister or two but on the whole my feet have never let me down and they have carried my very successfully for all these years without great pain. In my teens I did experiment with high heels and strappy uncomfortable shoes, (and please do not forget that it was the 1970s so there were also huge platforms!) which really cut the feet, but I very soon found that as long as my feet were happy then so was I. I do sometimes regret not being able to wear really sparkly and spangly shoes when I am dressed up for some occasion but when I have done in the past I usually find that I have jettisoned the uncomfortable shoes as soon as the dancing starts. Now, I love being barefoot more than wearing any shoes, but at a wedding or birthday party, after drink has flowed freely for several hours, it is highly risky to go barefoot. Not all my dancing partners have been as fleet of foot as Fred Astaire!

But I think I might have gone off the point a little bit there. I was talking about feet in general, not necessarily mine. I love feet, they are one of my favourite body parts (well two of my favourite body parts actually) I like Hands too - they are also really cool. They are similar in many ways (I am sure I do not have to explain) but they have a completely different agenda. Hands are so very versatile and feet so supportive and humble. i think part of my fondness for feet lies in the fact that they are so unloved by the general public. But they carry on with their work, quiet and unassuming. The underdog of the body world.

this medal was made in 2007 and is cast in bronze.

It measures approximately 8cm in diameter