I USE MY PERSONAL FASCINATION WITH THE SOMETIMES ELUSIVE AND MYSTERIOUS SENSE OF SMELL AND MY APPRECIATION FOR NATURAL MATERIALS TO CREATE PRODUCTS & OLFACTORY ART THAT REACH THE CORE OF WHO WE ARE. IN A WORLD THAT IS FILLED WITH DISTRACTIONS AND VISUAL STIMULI I INVITE YOU TO CLOSE YOUR EYES, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, SMELL AND OBSERVE YOUR INNER LANDSCAPE. COME HOME TO YOURSELF
What is Olfactory Art
As an olfactory artist I use scent as a medium to express a concept or idea. Olfactory art can include perfumes and other applications of scent and fragrance.
Incredible
Creature I – “Through the Fire I Walk.
From the Ashes I Rise.”
Inspiration
& Creation
Inspiration
The fragrance
“Incredible Creature I” was inspired by Nyack Gallery 95 ½ Main’s Katie Elevich
call for artists under the topic “Incredible Creature – Inside/Out”. It is a meditation on the fleetingness of the
human experience and fluidity of self that is ever changing &
transforming. An experience riddled with
mystery and governed by our biology.
The scent
itself was inspired by the alchemical fire of transformation that we all walk
through at different stages of our lives.
The fire that burns away the ego and allows us to let go of what we are
not. The fragrance captures that time
after a fire has died down. You can
still feel its heat on your cheeks, there is a richness left hanging in the air
with a slight “ashiness” and a hint of something sweet, maybe the scent of warm
skin or tree resin. The intensity has
passed and what is left are ashes and a few glowing ambers.
The
fleetingness of the fragrance reminds us to be in the moment and pay attention
as it is here now and gone a few moments later.
It reminds us to take in the richness the scent offers, the stories that
it tells before it becomes a warm memory of something that has transpired,
something that once was.
My intention
is that as I share a personal piece of my own transformational process for the
scent to hold a space for you to step into,
a space for you to be your own Incredible Creature Inside/Out, one of a
kind, beautiful & fierce - -
fleeting, yet eternal.
Only a small
batch of scent was created specifically for this group show.
Creation
In order to
add a transformational aspect into the olfactory piece my husband and I sat
down individually, dug deep to uncover feelings of anger, frustration &
resentment. We poured our feelings onto
several pages and burned the papers with sacred palo santo wood. Then we collected the ashes and I created a
tincture which became the base of the fragrance. In addition precious essential oils were
added such as vetiver, myrrh and frankincense.
Essential oils are the souls of plants whispering into our ears (or
noses), inspiring us and reminding us of who we truly are. Each plant has its own mission and while
frankincense aids us in our spiritual liberation, myrrh helps us to build a
bridge between heaven & earth. Altogether
these fragrances tell a story.
The Sense of Smell
The sense of
smell is the first of all our senses to develop. Even before we are born, our
sense of smell is fully formed. Scents
bring back more emotional and evocative memories than words, sounds, looks,
touches or music. Smells trigger our most emotionally potent memories.
The sense of
smell is strongly tied to our limbic system, the seat of our emotions.
The olfactory
bulb is one of the structures of the limbic system and a very ancient part of
the brain. The information captured by the sense of smell goes from the
olfactory bulb to other structures of the limbic system.
The Limbic
System is a network of connected structures that lies roughly along the border
between the cerebral cortex and deeper structures. These regions, linked within
the central nervous system, work together to affect a wide range of behaviors
including emotions, motivation, and memory. If a smell, formed by chemicals in
the air, dissolves in this mucus, the hairs absorb it and excite your olfactory
receptors. ... When your olfactory receptors are stimulated, they transmit
impulses to your brain. This pathway is directly connected to your limbic
system, the part of your brain that deals with emotions. BBC.uk
What is Olfactory Art
As an
olfactory artist I use scent as a medium.
Olfactory art can include perfumes and other applications of scent and
fragrance.
By Esther
Dederichs
www.sudasana.com
Limited Edition Fragrance (11) editions) is available at 95 ½ Main, NY -- only (3) left --
10 ml - $87 www.95halfmain.com – Contact Katie Elevich at: 95halfmain@gmail.com
$10 per item sold will be donated to community programs at 95 1/2 Main
Solstice – “Oak
Moon to Blue Moon. A Journey to Peace.”
By
Esther Dederichs/ Sudasana Enterprises Inc
Inspiration
The fragrance
“Solstice” was inspired by Nyack Gallery 95 ½ Main’s Katie Elevich call for
artists under the topic “Quiet & Noise: Peace in Painful Times”. It is a meditation on what it takes to obtain
peace in times of adversity. It takes
the willingness to surrender and let go of something to create the space for
peace to move in. This act takes courage
& faith.
Creation
The scent
itself was inspired by all the artists that participated in the show “Quiet
& Noise” and tells the incredible story of perseverance and the return of
the light as well as standing together in community.
I chose an
essential oil to represent each artist and to support the symbolic significance
of the fragrance such as frankincense ruled by the sun and myrrh ruled by the
moon. Sweet marjoram is said to help
find strength within you did not know you had.
Spikenard essential oil was traditionally used to anoint people of high
honor.
Some of the
artists participated in the creation of a “peace tincture”. Each artist provided a small symbolic token
of something they were willing to surrender and I placed the item in grain
alcohol to create a “peace tincture”. In
addition the fragrance participated in 95 ½ Main’s Solstice celebration. During the celebration participants wrote on
a piece of paper what they were willing to let go of and I burned those papers
to use the ashes for the fragrance creation.
The fragrance
sat out under the stars many times during significant celestial events. Many layers went into the creation, ingredients
were added at selected times and the fragrance was tended to on a regular base. At the beginning of the process I had the
strong feeling that the fragrance already existed in the aethers and that I was
simply asked to be the steward and aid in the manifestation process.
This scent is
a celebration of and for the community, the many that participated knowingly
and unknowingly and first and foremost a celebration of the return of the light
that will always prevail.
I invite you
to take a breath, surrender, let go and create that space for peace to move in
no matter what your current circumstances are.
For one thing is certain, it will get dark again and the light will always
prevail.
Only a small
batch of fragrance was created specifically for 95 ½ Main “Quiet & Noise”.
Limited Edition Fragrance (22 editions)
is available at www.sudasana.com
5 ml - $47
$7 per item sold will be donated to community programs at 95 1/2 Main
