Woman Warrior Mask

The Black Crawler is a woman warrior – patient, but decisive. Her web is her weapon. While the male warrior might fight to gain ground, the woman warrior battles to protect her own. Her web is the cord that holds the community together.

Although I’ve heard of a spider woman character in other cultures – Maori and Ashanti, that I know of off-hand – I’d never known of one in my own culture, until my aunt, Martina Pierre, told me about a vision she had in a sweathouse some years back. A song came to her from the distant past. The medicine man named it for her -- Black Crawler. Martina recognized Black Crawler as the woman warrior in herself. My aunt is a protector of our culture and a warrior for our people.

Martina inspired me to make her vision real. It took Martina, the medicine man and me to salvage this shard from my people’s past. I feel privileged to give Black Crawler form. I only hope I’ve done her justice.

Click Image To Go Back To Sculpture