Studio Blog 2: Joan of Arc Travels Around the World
Since making the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal in 2006, little did I know that a journey of connection was to unfold. My aim was to send medals to as many military women and men as possible.
As the medals received national and international publicity, strands of connection worked their way around the country touching the lives of children, nieces, nephews, neighbors, brothers, sisters, parents, partners, friends and spouses of people serving.
Portrait of the Artist and the Magnitude of Small, 2017, Encaustic, paint, steel rods and Joan of Arc Scroll Medal on sheet metal, 13.25" x 13.25" x 2.75"
The medal veered in unexpected directions, as if Joan was guiding it to people fighting illnesses, or in recovery, or facing huge changes in their lives or having to do something they weren't sure they could handle- or to people who loved Joan.Of the many encounters caused by the medal, one really stands out. For months, I was going to the same postal clerk mailing boxes and envelopes to military bases. One day she smiled and asked: “What are these soldiers buying!” I told her the story of my Joan of Arc Scroll Medal for people serving. As we were talking, I pulled out my key chain and showed her the medal.
She looked at it and said: “Bad news all the time—it’s so nice to see good news for a change!” I told her about my interview with the French News Service and how the reporter told me: “Jeanne D’Arc belongs to France.” A gentle smile swept across her face as she said: “Honey, nobody owns goodness.”
6,300+ medals later I can say that this small, 1.5" piece of metal will be the most meaningful thing I have experienced as it continues its trajectory of connection from one life to another.
