Bronze Tree Woman and Magical Snake Coin Pendant

This piece was inspired by tales of tree women and was carved to symbolize the dynamic between the feminine and the forest. I remember reading a myth about a beautiful girl transformed into a tree to escape Apollo. I added that story to the one about a tree fairy that lived in a crepe myrtle. As a kid, ladies always seemed to be turning into trees. My grandma used to tell us that the huge burl on the old oak near the house held a little tree baby and that we needed to be quiet so that it could grow and be born. I asked her about it years later, wondering if she made it up to keep us kids from getting too rowdy and she said she remembered hearing stories like that from her grandma. The idea has tumbled around in my imagination, so that various incarnations have surfaced in my work throughout my life. In this carving, there’s a magic snake that looks after the tree spirit, that’s beginning to flower watchful blooms. The scene is surrounded by lichen, mushrooms and a tiny forget me not under a waning moon.

This substantial pendant is made of pure bronze, from a hand carved mold. The pendant features hallmarks of a handmade item: fingerprints impressed into the back, little cracks and crevaces - not defects, but marks left to replicate ancient coins.

Listing is for one piece.

Measurements are approximate as each is made by hand. Thanks for looking!