SEASON OF THE WITCH
To Increase Fertility, 2013 apple, apple blossoms, basil, cucumber, ginger, hazel, moss, jasmine, lemon, lime, myrtle, orange, pomegranate, poppy, red clover, raspberry, strawberry Archival Pigment Print, 31.5" x 56"
clamp lights galore
Invisibility, 2013 almonds, dill, fern, myrrh, marjoram, poppy, slippery elm Archival Pigment Print, 16" x 24"
prepping the material from the morning flower market haul
To See Spirits, 2013 pepper, saffron, vervain Archival Pigment Print, 24" x 24"
the materials for For a Woman to Attract a Man She Desires
For a Woman to Attract a Man She Desires, 2013 apple blossoms, geranium, jasmine, rose, rosemary,vanilla pods, vervain Archival Pigment Print, 28" x 42"
For a Man to Attract a Woman He Desires, 2013 bay berry, bay leaves, black snakeroot, cinnamon, geranium, ginger, rose, vervain Archival Pigment Print, 32" x 32"
fern options for Invisibility
For Confidence in Social Situations, 2013 cedar, lavender, nutmeg Archival Pigment Print, 16" x 24"
Elizabeth working on the arrangement for For a Woman to Attract a Man She Desires
For Protection from Evil, 2013 acacia, apple blossom, marigold, pennyroyal, rue, sage, thyme, violet Archival Pigment Print, 32" x 48"
props waiting on the sidelines
To Break a Spell You've Cast, 2013 angelica, rosemary, white candles, pearls Archival Pigment Print, 30" x 40”
testing a lighting option for Invisibility
For Safety in Travel, 2013 apple, cedar, cinnamon, holly, garlic Archival Pigment Print, 20.25" x 36"
a mask in the image file for To See Spirits
To Draw Money, 2013 acorns, bayberry, cinnamon, cinquefoil, coins (old or foreign), a horseshoe, lavender, parsley, skullcap, shamrock, thyme, tulip Archival Pigment Print, 30" x 40"
The Making of Book of Shadows, a collaboration between Amelia Bauer and Elizabeth Parks Kibbey.
The word Pagan comes from the Latin word Paganus, meaning of or pertaining to the countryside, rural, rustic.
The 17th century saw the innovation and popularization of the floral still life painting in Europe and its colonies. By the end of the same century, the Salem Witch trials were occurring in America. Witchcraft, a belief system that focused on the cycles of the natural world, included among its rituals the use of botanicals dried and kept in bottles or carried in pouches, bathed in or brewed as tea.
Plants were used both symbolically and medicinally in these rituals, and many of the ingredients can be found in present-day herbal remedies. The names of wildflowers, such as cattail and foxglove, and less familiarly, crow’s foot, donkey’s eyes, and snake’s tongue, lead to visions of cauldrons with real animal parts stewing inside.
Women held greater power in the practices of Witchcraft, and were accused and killed in far greater numbers than men during the Salem witch trials.
The still lifes in this series are composed of the ingredients in various botanical spells. The ingredients are used here in their most floral state: poppies instead of poppy seeds, a saffron bulb instead of dried stigmas, and so on. The arrangements turn these spells towards the domestic, and present a less threatening, more palatable femininity.
The series was shot over 3 weeks in a studio Los Angeles, CA. The elements in the photographs were sourced from the flower market, nurseries, grocery stores, and the gardens of friends.