"For me, the art of dance is not literal. I love to take in the experience through all my senses, and feel the emotion on another level. Dance can pick you up and sweep you away... it can be sometimes uplifting, sometimes poignant; but it always strives to speak the truth. The clarity and poetic purpose of movement in dance choreography is what inspired the gestures of this piece. I covered the surfaces with intricately carved symbols and icons. I like that the painted effect gives the illusion of sheer lace. The wings are more ethereal than other Willow Tree; they’re minimal, more free-form, almost disappearing… The carvings on Dance of Life are suggestive of fruitfulness and fecundity... pomegranates and birds, intertwined with vines and berries, refer to the richness and renewal of life. I hope that these pieces can be enjoyed singly or together, with the Nativity or on their own.” —Susan Lordi