Summer Blake

Alchemy, epitomized by the example of converting lead into gold, is also an allegory for the process of inner transformation, often fomented by personal challenge. Change is never easy, yet this piece represents a very simple idea: that change is always worth the journey.

Symbolizing the sacred tradition of knowledge-keeping through untold generations, whether through ancestral lineages or by means of mystery schools, “Gatekeeper” speaks volumes in no language we can fully comprehend.

As our mother, Earth asks for so little, and yet gives so much. She is everywhere, ever flowing, ever creating, ever destroying. There is divine mystery within her deep oceans, her vast mountains, her wealth of earth. What is her greatest gift? Such is the most profound realization of all.

Summer began work on this piece around the time that COVID-19 was beginning to be recognized as a global pandemic. Able to cross borders, cultures, and continents, the pandemic has impacted the lives of countless human beings and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The artist sought to create a work that embodied the idea that ultimately there is nothing separating us as humans except the belief that we are different. Within the shared experience of this pandemic lies the opportunity for us see beyond the illusion of our separateness and begin to work with one another, rather than against one another.

Often in life we may find ourselves overstressed, overstimulated, and overwhelmed. “Find Your Center” reminds us that even amidst great chaos, we can find peace within. In resisting change, we break against the rocks and shatter; in surrendering to the flow of life, we open ourselves to opportunity and magic.