Unbraiding the Divine: The Symbolism of Artemisia

The making of Artemisia

Artemisia is both a dreamscape and a self-portrait—not exactly in its likeness, but in essence. Named intuitively after my own namesake, Artemis, the piece became a deeper revelation when I later discovered the Latin root of Artemisia directly translates to “of Artemis.” That moment felt like quiet confirmation that the painting already knew what it was before I did.

Artemisia is deeply personal. I painted it in a kind of trance, not from reference nor imagination, but from something I felt and knew within me. This piece holds my emotional state of that time, the thoughts that surfaced, and the intangible weight of memory and becoming.

I started with a need to externalize something layered and internal. The canvas became a way to braid thoughts that felt too complex to speak aloud. In the painting, three women appear, each a representation of my selfhood: one grounded, one drifting, and one suspended. They aren’t literal, of course, but they do each carry a distinct role in the emotional and compositional balance of the work and of myself.

Each woman holds a combination of the elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Spirit. The grounded figure represents Earth, Air, and Spirit—her stance is rooted, but she reaches upward, seeking, open to something beyond. She is the bridge between the tangible and the intangible. The woman in the boat is surrounded by flowers—so she carries Earth—but she also moves through Water and is wrapped in Air, with clouds drifting above her. Her gaze lifts toward more, as if in search of something unseen. The celestial woman above contains Fire, Spirit, and Air. The fire is not external but internal—burning in the mind, the memory, the creative force within. To me, fire has always meant more than destruction; it is life, transformation, and the past itself—what shaped us before we could name it. She is high above, but connected to everything below through the long braid that links them.

The braid flows into ocean waves and connects to a stream (perhaps it is the visualization of a 'stream of consciousness'). It moves naturally through the composition, carrying a sense of continuity. It serves as the central thread that links the three women, connecting grounded reality to the internal world of thought, memory, and ancestral presence. Across many cultures, hair is seen as a vessel of memory, especially for women. Hair is believed to hold emotional and genetic history, passed down through the body. Long hair is often associated with wisdom, purity, and beauty. Which is why cutting hair is often tied to vulnerability or transformation; many women cut their hair as a way to release grief and begin anew. Here, the braid isn’t just a design element; it holds the past of all the women before, linking them across time and self, symbolizing continuity and lineage.

Inside the geode-like mind of the celestial figure, I painted three inner pools: one with a deer, one with two small fish, and one lit by green fire. Around that fire sit five women. They represent those who came before me—the ones who have shaped the way I move through life and the sacred relationship between the 5 elements.

The green fire was a conscious colour decision. Since green is rarely used to depict fire, I felt it made the piece feel even more otherworldly and ancient. For me, it carries a sense of calm, deep memory, and emotional endurance. For instance, in some traditions, green fire is used to signal the subconscious mind's readiness to release the past and move forward. That’s what it was for me. It marked a turning point—a quiet but undeniable shift in energy and direction. It is also tied to ancient strength. Historically, in the form of 'Greek fire,' it was used to repel attacks and was famed for being almost impossible to extinguish. That resonance stayed with me. My green fire became a metaphor for my own resilience, for the empire of myself and the women who came before me. Once ignited, it is focused, intense, and persistent. You could try to drown it, and yet it would still burn.

Throughout the composition, I add in elements that guide the viewer’s eye upward: manta rays flying across the sky, lunar moths, glowing jellyfish, drifting clouds, a soft gust of wind in the shape of an ‘S.’ They create a sense of pull, as though everything in the work is rising into the open mind of the celestial being. The head of that figure is rendered like an amethyst cavern. I chose amethyst for its texture and emotional associations—it's a stone I associate with clarity, protection, and reflection. The cavern isn’t just symbolic; it’s meant to feel spacious and inhabited, like a landscape of memory. The five ancestral women, the green fire, the pools—they all live within this mental space.

There’s also playfulness within the piece: a mouse or perhaps rat hidden in a branch, a green and purple caterpillar, manta rays that are purple and fly through the sky, fireflies and glowing berries, and my signature blue ribbon... Everything is moving in a soft upward direction, reinforcing the idea that this is an interior world in motion. The moon, intentionally not quite full, offers a moment of pause. I didn’t want a perfect circle. I wanted a feeling of continuation—a cycle still unfolding.

The palette—amethyst, lilac, mint, lavender, cerulean, Van Dyke brown, soft whites and blacks—was chosen for coherence. I reused shades throughout the work to hold everything together. Even when the piece feels busy, the colour ties it into a single atmosphere.

Artemisia also carries the subtle presence of the Triple Moon Goddess: Maiden, Mother, Crone. In this painting, Artemis—the goddess and the namesake—is expressed in her Maiden form: reaching, wondering, seeking. Making the reaching gesture the emotional center of the piece.

In the end, this painting is not about mythology, although it contains many mythic shapes, nor is it about symbolism, though everything in it has meaning. It’s about emotion translated into form. It’s about reflecting an interior world as honestly as I can.

Artemisia is not imagined. She is remembered.

Artemisia as seen on the walls of https://www.teatamira.nz/ for the Laneway Art Showcase PART 2 (MARCH 29 - MAY 17 2025)

Artemisia

Acrylic on canvas

90cm x 60cm

Price:

Gallery representation price – $5,500 NZD

Direct from the artist – $3,850 NZD

Please contact me directly for personal enquiries or to view the work in person.

With Love,

Artemis