Auspice Maria

"Auspice Maria" Under the Protection of Mary.

Working on a grid for the painting "Woven" was a begining of collecting images and compiling them in a new design form. All of my photos of Mary from various venues throughout the world were in a stack in a drawer. I thought I might try a painting in the same manner as "Woven". But it seemed Mary didn't want to make it that easy for me.!!! My photos weren't exactly right. So the collection started new and this time my friends donated images of their special Mary's and the painting became all of ours instead of just mine. The painting is finished in the month of May.

Woven

Guatemala bombards the senses, visually and emotionally. Last winter, after returning home from a third trip teaching art in that intriguing country, I sat with a pile of photos from my students and fellow travelers. The color and patterns and faces of the women called to be recorded and so I squared off some watercolor paper and got started, not having any concept of the finished product. The process of sorting the photos and choosing the face that belonged next to another became a joyful game. The cloth, faces, baskets, flowers, and background color became woven all together. The painting was finished in November.