The Messenger/11:11

The Messenger/11:11 is one of my most favorite sculptures I've ever made and the letter below I'd written to my brother Josh and Lisa, explains the meaning behind it. I just wanted to share it with everyone and give you a glimpse of how I create and why I create. Art can be a personal journey. For me, it usually begins with love, along with the natural world, the unknown, but above all else, always love. I hope you can see this in each piece I create, and now you'll know the reason behind the Messenger.

June 21st, 2021

Dear Josh and Lisa,

Congratulations on your wedding!!! We’re sorry it’s taken so long to send y’all a wedding gift.  I think it must be a Donner thing, but that’s really no excuse, lol.  When asking Grace, a few months ago, of what y’all might like for a present, she suggested something I would make.  I’m not sure why, lol, but we took her word for it, and so, I decided to make y’all the barn owl.  I wanted to make y’all something for all your new memories and love that y’all will bring to this world and also, a combination of the lives and memories you will bring together.  I named her The Messenger / 11:11.  Sarah gave it the Messenger name, and I thought it was a really fitting.  When creating this piece, I created her with lots of love and meaning, and maybe Sarah is right in that it is the messenger, coming to bring what’s meant to be.  The 11:11 comes from my experience with seeing 11:11 unconsciously on the clocks and such, my whole life and I finally googled it.  I’m kind of spiritual, and there’s a lot of connections between this number and our surroundings, especially with new beginnings and true love.  I think with the Donner’s bond with owls, from Tulagene, and the creation of something out of the clays from this earth, maybe there’s a connection of love that’s channeled, something that all of us have, and the messenger opens our eyes and hearts and souls to this, an awakening.  The sphere symbolizes perfection, unity, wholeness, and completion.  The earth, the moon, the sun, the stars, and everything in between, from atoms to great universes, are made up of spheres, all connected. The owl, a guardian upon this perfection, stands tall and alert upon that which is most valuable.  She’s a bit old, travels of far and wide, with so much experienced life, yet timeless.  She’s made of the clays of the earth, stoneware, iron oxides, and underglazes, all material all living beings share and embody and are connected with.  She’s also fragile, only one, just as life, and can be broken, but she can never be replaced.

Enough of me rambling!  It also looks great as a center piece on a table, without any silly meanings, lol!  Anyways, we are so happy for y’all and wish we could have been there to share your happy moment!  We love y’all so much!

Matt

Care of The Messenger:

I don’t use any cleaners or household chemicals on the ceramic sculptures I make.   Just a light dusting is really all it takes (the less Donner’s have to do, right??).  You can touch her and such, with no worries, unless you have muddy paws or something, but, it’s a sculpture, and I like to make things that can be touched.  Anyways,, that’s about it, so enjoy!