moon nicho

Moon Nicho An Altar Inspired Mixed Media Sculpture

This piece was created for my sculpture class and grew from my interest in Mexican nichos which are small layered dioramas traditionally placed on altars. Nichos have historical roots in early Renaissance altar sculpture, and while my personal practice is spiritual rather than religious, I was drawn to the form for its intimacy, symbolism, and ability to hold meaning.

I keep a personal altar at home as a way of staying connected to nature and its cycles, and Moon Nicho emerged from that space of reflection. This work explores the coexistence of yin and yang, light and dark, structure and chaos, held together within a single contained form. It reflects where my art practice currently lives, intuitive, material driven, and guided by feeling rather than doctrine.

Three words shaped this project from beginning to end: organic, fluid, and ethereal. These ideas informed both the visual language of the piece and the way materials were selected and layered.

Moon Nicho was constructed using clay, mixed media paper, India ink, pen, watercolor, nylon, beads, glitter, various textiles, seashells, rocks, cotton flower, dried lily of the Incas flowers, and dried roses with their seeds. Many of these materials were chosen for their textures, fragility, and connection to natural cycles of growth and decay.

This piece stands as a personal interpretation of the nicho form, rooted in contemporary practice, spiritual inquiry, and a reverence for nature rather than religious tradition.