During last ‘FestivalBam’ in La Roche-en-Ardenne, in the province of Luxembourg and my hometown in the French part of Belgium, the etchings, embroidery and dolls in textile exhibited by Anaïd Ferté fascinated me. Especially the sensitive and female character of the works appealed to me… Anyway, I was very pleased to hear that I could meet the artist.
When I entered the temporary gallery especially created on the ground floor of a house that is not occupied, I was surprised to see Anaïd reading the book ‘Women who runs with the wolves’ from Clarissa Pinkola Estés. This book isn’t just another book. Through intercultural myths, fairy tales and stories, Dr. Estés helps women to reconnect with their inner self, to be daring, to be caring and to be women in the true sense. In fact ‘for me’ the book is all about femininity.
“I am re-reading this book,” Anaïd says when asking her. “The origin of the world and the creation arouses in me a great fascination and became the heart of my work.” And then she talks about interiority, processing, creative and productive forces, motherhood, relationship to nature, cycles, animality … related to femininity. “Constantly I am seeking the balance between the true inner side of women and the way how the outside world wants them to be. Before, when I was studying art at the School for Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, I was not satisfied. Only becoming an artist was not what I wanted. It was art that made me conscious to become midwife. Now my profession of midwife and my creations are intrinsically linked. Art comes as a real need to me.”
“In my artistic approach, I favor a process of spontaneous creation in a natural way, using various techniques like etchings, embroidery, textile sculptures.
Sources that nourish my practice are the Venus Figurines of the Paleolithic Era, Kiki Smith, Frida Kahlo, Javier Perez or Singular Art. I wonder about the relationships of female artists to their creations. Do they also have trouble keeping the balance between the inner world and the outside, external world? This duality is some thing that keeps me busy in my creations ….
In ‘my’ opinion, that is also the point that kept Dr. Estés busy while writing her book:
“ Though her soul requires seeing, the culture around her requires sightlessness. Though her soul wishes to speak its truth, she is pressured to be silent.”
Women who run with the Wolves: Myths and stories of the Wild Woman. Archetype.