TAMARA WERTH
Tamara Werth is a sculptor and psychologist in private practice who resides in Lawrence, KS. She began carving in stone ten years ago and immediately, with chisel and hammer in hand, sensed that she was among the ancients. Her intuitive understanding of stone and how to communicate with it made learning and instruction of minimal necessity. Carving in stone is a reflection of the psychological process and how a person begins to discover the beauty and potential that is stored within and the magnificent transformation that begins to unfold when that inner nature is released – a phenomenon similar to observing the beauty that is revealed as the stone is chiseled away.
SoulTender
(Sculpture in White Persian Onyx,
1'9" High X 3'9" Wide X 1'1" Deep)
Michaelangelo, the revered sculptor of David, employed the practice of non finito - not finished - in his work. In the Slave series, each slave remains trapped inside the marble with only vestiges of actual form to reflect the idea that we are ever evolving, perpetually moving toward wholeness. Yet, no matter the distance traversed, the mountains climbed, the struggles overcome, the movement toward wholeness remains a movement, not a completion. Non finito.
SoulTender, a life-size day-old foal, was inspired by a confluence of two interests. A group of horses sired by Simpatico* and soul work in psychotherapy. Psyche is soul. Ology is the study of, and psychology is the study of soul.
The process of psychotherapy is the quintessential process for moving toward wholeness. To work as a sculptor is similar to the work of being a therapist. Beginning with something unformed or ill-formed, by the vagaries of time and weather over millennia for the stone, or by the vicissitudes of life for the human being, therein lies the opportunity to create and shape something "new", something already embedded though not yet revealed or realized.
Working in 3D art is gestalt - significantly more multifaceted and complex than working in three dimensions. Sculptors striving to uncover the object within, in this case, a foal, must respect the integrity and characteristics of the stone. They must believe in the artistic process and be able to imagine the creative result. The sculptor must possess the courage to hit the stone with the chisel while holding in remembrance all features of the emerging object. The sculptor moves slowly, carefully, and with skilled precision. Hitting too hard or slightly off angle risks redirection or the entire design.
So it is with the therapy process. The therapist must respect the dignity and characteristics of the individual patient. They must believe in the therapy process and be able to visualize the emergence of the patient's healthier self. They must possess the courage to confront or chisel away at invisible walls of resistance and determine which areas to focus on, when, and with what intensity and strength. The therapist moves with exquisite attention to detail and timing and simultaneous remembrance of all aspects of the person while maintaining an inner equilibrium and calm. A lack of attunement could lead to a significant harm or a rupture in the patient's psyche. Like sculpture, psychotherapy is a delicate balance of movement, tending gently to a human soul - SoulTender
*In the pedigree line of Simpatico, the yearlings' names must begin with the first letter of the sire. Shaman, Savannah, Sterling...SoulTender.