Released: January 23, 2025
SFCC Visual Arts Gallery hosts reception for Amy Parrish and her “Palladium 1000” exhibition from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday March 13 on campus, 6401 Richards Avenue
Exhibition and workshops invite the public to explore the concept of women’s intuition
Amy Parrish’s work part of, “Sybil on Holiday Series,” which is included in the “Palladium 1000” exhibition at SFCC.
Santa Fe Community College’s Visual Arts Gallery will host a reception for “Palladium 1000,” from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13 in the Visual Arts Gallery, 6401 Richards Avenue. The multi-media exhibition will showcase artist Amy Parrish’s figurative sculptures (dolls), writings and additional artwork that embody the artist’s years-long exploration of the concept of women’s intuition. Refreshments will be served at the free public reception.
The “Palladium 1000” exhibition runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday March 6 through April 11. Viewers will be asked to share their own reflections in response to the work. In conjunction with the exhibition, Parrish will offer two free workshops for women to create their own soft-sculpture dolls and explore their own still inner voice. The workshops will be offered in the Visual Arts Gallery from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 and Saturday, March 22. Participants will need to bring a sack lunch and pre-register at palladium1000.com.
Director of Art on Campus Linda Cassel said, “SFCC is excited to host this innovative, creative and deeply moving exhibition by artist and longtime SFCC art student Amy Parrish. We’re looking forward to the community interacting with her art.”
Parrish said the exhibition, titled “Palladium 1000,” draws inspiration from the Greek word “Pallas,” associated with Pallas Athena, the protector of the city of Troy. “Pallas” means “Little Maiden Protector,” a fitting symbol for the small yet powerful intuitive voice within each of us. “Through this collection of my art, I invite viewers to visualize and connect with this inner guidance,” Parrish added.
Parrish has studied and been inspired by the Russian fairy tale and myth of Vasalisa for more than 20 years. In the tale, Vasalisa’s dying mother gives her a little doll and instructs her to feed it a little every day and listen to it, promising it will protect her. Vasalisa faces numerous trials, with the doll guiding her through each one, ultimately returning home resilient and deeply connected to her inner wisdom. Parrish’s sculptures are her artistic dolls. All of them are made with various materials and feature hand-stitched elements.
Parrish explains that the doll has long been a powerful symbol woven into our cultural and historical fabric. While modern society often associates dolls with childhood play—such as the iconic Barbie phenomenon that captured the imagination of millions—ancient cultures imbued dolls with deeper, spiritual significance. In Greek tradition, women would consecrate their dolls to goddesses upon marriage, marking a profound rite of passage. Archaeological discoveries reveal small, portable goddess figures from Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures, designed to be carried close to the body as sources of spiritual connection. Dolls have also served sacred purposes, symbolizing those who have passed or acting as vessels of energy and meaning.
Parrish asks, “If you were to make a little doll of our own, what would she look like? What would she say to you?” This is the invitation extended to all through “Palladium 1000.”
She is leading the two workshops in March to foster community engagement. She invites women to join her in creating their own dolls – symbols of their intuition, which can be showcased in the exhibition. Parrish said, “This collaborative effort aims to give image and voice to the inner knowing that guides and protects.” The free workshops are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on either Saturday, March 8 or Saturday, March 22, in the Visual Arts Gallery. Read more about the workshops and pre-register at palladium1000.com.
“Working with this material for so many years has been such a gift to me,” Parrish shared. “Giving a physical form to that part of myself that I hide from myself or am taught to not trust gives me greater awareness about what I really want and need and who I am at a deeper level. My hope is that we will honor all the grandmothers before us who passed on their wisdom, in any voice they could muster. We will find a way to make the lineage stronger, reweave the breaks in the thread, and go forward intact and more connected to our intuition.”
She added, “As women, we need reminders of this deep dimension of ourselves. In a world that is shouting at us, how do we find space to hear that soft, quiet knowing voice?”
The SFCC Visual Arts Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except when the college is closed. For more information about the SFCC Visual Arts Gallery, contact Director of Art on Campus Linda Cassel via email at linda.cassel@sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1501.
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