Spirit of The Great Salt Lake | Past Side Canvas Print 9x12

This print is of the Past Side of my permanent installation piece, Spirit of the Great Salt Lake. It is physically located in the heart of Salt Lake City as a permanent street installation. 

Each Print is handmade, signed, and embellished with acrylic and varnish.

9"x12" Canvas Print

 
Art Statement:
My piece, titled Spirit of the Great Salt Lake Future and Past, honors the ancient waters of Lake Bonneville and Utah's layered history of life, resilience, and adaptation. The design integrates a painted representation of the Great Salt Lake, past and present, utilizing the path of the Bear River, forming a flowing figure in the sky, symbolizing water's life-giving force. Encased within the water drop frame, I will incorporate visual elements inspired by the Cambrian trilobite, Elrathia kingii, known to the Pahvant Utes as Timpe khanitza pachavee, or "little water bug in stone." These fossils were treasured as protective amulets, symbolizing endurance and healing,
and were crafted with clay beads and horsehair by the Ute people as shields against illness and harm. Additionally, I plan to incorporate my Mexican/Mesoamerican roots through shield-stepped pattern work to connect to a sentiment of protecting our waterways and layering
sunlight/weather stable fiber yarn, oil paint, and metal leaf elements representing Salt Lake's ecological evolution, creating a narrative of the land's ancient hydrological past and ongoing flow. Through its materials and symbolic layers, this piece invites viewers to reconnect with Salt
Lake City's profound ties to water, resilience, and cultural continuity, bridging a sense of stewardship from ancient roots to the present day.