mixed media art – Tru Original

Articles Tagged with: mixed media art

St. Faustina

Apostle of Mercy

As you know by now, before i prepare to paint a Saint, I pray with them and ask, “how would you like to be portrayed?” The only thing that Faustina wanted was to be on her knees under His merciful Rays. She wanted to have a look of peace on her face, submitting herself to these rays, this shower of mercy.

I painted St. Faustina rather quickly but she was quite particular about the depths and importance of the Rays, because of this, the Rays took me over 2 1/2 weeks to finish. They are layer upon layer of color and medium. Finally, Faustina was pleased and the icon was completed. (side note… watching the movie Love and Mercy, i was shocked to see how Faustina instructed artist Eugene Kazimierowski, in the same manner she hounded, i mean inspired me! i cried like a baby in the theater at the confirmation of her guidance. ) In my frustration I complained, “why have you been so hard?!” Her reply was “do you think mercy is easy?” I knew interiorly that she was asking me to be merciful with myself. And I thought of the crucifix.

Jesus died for me in His mercy. Being merciful with myself is really embracing His merciful love in humility.

It takes humility to be forgiving, a lot of humility. When we can forgive ourselves, we are acknowledging that we are a sinner and nothing more, and that we need God.

Someone asked me once the difference between mercy and grace…the crucifix, that is mercy! I finished this icon of St. Faustina on Our Lady of Mercy feast day, Sept. 24… I just can’t make this stuff up! It’s just too good!

He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart – St. Faustina

This picture was sent to me by a sweet young lady who took my Saint Faustina icon to The National Shrine of Divine Mercy to be blessed! Wow, oh wow! Felt like i was with her in spirit, and was so happy she shared this with me. xo

February’s Saint of the Month

Saint Bakhita!

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan, Africa, in 1869 and lived a humble and happy life with her family until at age 7 when she was kidnapped and sold as a slave. Poor Bakhita suffered very harsh treatment as a slave and for the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She spent so much time in captivity that she forgot her original name. The name “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate,” was given to her in sarcasm by the people who kidnapped her.

As a slave, her experiences varied from fair treatment to cruel. One of her masters left 114 scars on her body and another master beat her so badly for breaking a vase, she almost died. Finally in 1883, Bakhita was sold to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan and was treated with more kindness. Although she was not free, she was still a slave. Two years later, Callisto took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend and was made a babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. As a little girl, she would look up at the moon and stars and knew that someone had created them and that she wanted to know this master. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine. Josephine was finally happy to address God as “Master” and carry out everything that she believed to be God’s will for her. When the Michieli’s returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. The Michieli’s didn’t want to give up Bakhita so they took her to court to try and force her back to being their slave . During the court case, the Canossian Sisters and the Church intervened on Josephine’s behalf and the judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885. For the first time in her life, Josephine was free and could choose what to do with her life. She chose to remain with the Canossian Sisters.

At the age of forty-one, Josephine felt God calling her to become one of the sisters. The Canossian Sisters accepted her into their community. For twenty-five years, Sister Josephine carried out humble services in the convent. She cooked, sewed, took care of the chapel and answered the door. Her health had suffered because of all the tortures she had endured as a slave, so she was given the role as porteress ( just like St Martin de Porres and Blessed Solanus Casey!). She had a lot to do with all the local children who named her “la nostra madre moretta” which means “Our little brown mother.” During World War I, Sister Josephine helped to care for the wounded. She became known for her kindness and goodness. She was a source of comfort and encouragement to everyone who came to her in need. A young student once asked Bakhita: “What would you do, if you were to meet your captors?” Without hesitation she responded: “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today”

In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair. But she always remained cheerful. If anyone asked her how she was, she would reply, “As the master desires.” On the evening of February 8, 1947, Josephine spoke her last words, “Our Lady, Our Lady!” She then died. Her body lay on display for three days afterwards. She was canonized on October 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II and St. Bakhita’s body lays incorrupt today. Bakhita’s story is fascinating particularly because of the story of her slavery and how God was with her every step of the way, writing something beautiful from the sad chapters of her early years as a child. Unfortunately, there is still childhood slavery in the world today. St Bakhita is venerated as a modern day African Saint and is the Patron Saint of Human Trafficking and the country of Sudan.

Beautiful Saint Bakhita…pray for us!

Running with the Scissors

Sunshine MW quote with website

This week, I came across this poem from Marianne Williamson and every bit of my heart yelled out “TRUTH”. I read this poem some years ago, but the word TRUTH didn’t come to mind. Maybe the word was bullshit, or lie, or what a load of crap. Regardless, I was not in a place in my life when I could recognize that I had a light and what it would mean if I let it shine.

Even now, when I know that all of us are born with gifts, talents, and “lights”, I sometimes hold back. Why? I could point to many reasons why I hold back…fear that my gifts won’t measure up (to whom I’m not sure), fear that someone will demand something of my gifts and I will be obligated (commitment phob), fear that I will become stifled and unable to produce ( bored and trapped)…ugh! It really doesn’t matter what the fear is telling me because the job of this fear is simply to put out my light. To extinguish the excitement, the courage, the joy, the trust and hold me in a place of stagnation. This fear is the lie that holds us all captive and redirects us from the “Glory of God that is within us”.

So, the image I kept getting in my head all week as I meditated on this poem was a little girl running with scissors. The little girl doesn’t know how dangerous it is to run with scissors, she’s innocent, and she’s not even thinking about the scissors…she’s running ahead to the next paper doll, or snow flake, ready to do what she does…shine.

If you follow me on Facebook or you’re part of my Art and Soul Prompts group, you know that it’s been all about courage and slaying the fear monster this month. You may recognize the above image as our April Soul prompt. if you don’t, be part of the group. I would love to support you along the way.

One last thing, I want to give you a little gift, the above image titled Own Your Light graphic . Print it off and hang it in a place that you will see it first thing in the morning…the mirror, the coffeemaker, the shower door. But don’t just look at it, read the words and believe in Your Light.

Own your light, it’s who you are, a child of God.

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

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Today is the feast day of Martyrs Sts. Perpetua and Felicity! These two Saints were persecuted and died because of their faith and love of Jesus. And last month, I had the honor of painting a mixed media painting for The Happy Catholic Box.

As you may have already read on my website, I have had a long, and often times, stubborn dialog with Jesus when it comes to painting The Saints. I feel like my artwork has always had a faith based tone to it, but I was never all in with my art…meaning that I didn’t really surrender this part of myself to God. Honestly, I kept it for myself because I really didn’t think I was good enough or worthy of painting a Saint. I guess I felt like God didn’t want that part of me. Truth is, I’m not worthy or good enough and this is a good thing, He has to do the work for me! So, needless to say, this has been a long process of surrender and allowing God’s love to ” convince” me he can handle it. Oh how He pursues us! Thank you Jesus!

Admittedly, I knew very little about St. Perpetua and Felicity when I began the process of the painting. I rarely know which Saint will come through in my paintings until the end, so setting out to paint a particular Saint is rare for me. Getting to know these two Saints before and during the painting was exciting because this intimacy always comes after I have completed a painting and God has revealed which Saint was brought out through the painting.

First thing that I uncovered in my research was that they were from Africa, therefore, they had dark skin…and although many artists portray them as white, they are black. “Ok God, I’ve never painted a black person…how do you think I will do that?” May seem simple to many, but to me, this is unchartered territory. If you are an artist, you know that skin tones have a lot of colors in them and if you don’t add the right colors or enough colors, you can get flat, one dimensional results. Once again, He keeps me needing Him.

Next thing I learned about these beautiful women was that they were imprisoned together, along with 3 others, for refusing to renounce their Christian faith. St. Perpetua had to leave her baby for a period of time until she was finally granted permission to have her infant stay with her in the prison. In her diary, she writes…“What a day of horror! Terrible heat, owing to the crowds! Rough treatment by the soldiers! To crown all, I was tormented with anxiety for my baby…. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, but I obtained leave for my baby to remain in the prison with me, and being relieved of my trouble and anxiety for him, I at once recovered my health, and my prison became a palace to me and I would rather have been there than anywhere else.”

St. Felicity was 8 months pregnant and set to be executed along side St Perpetua, but at the time, it was illegal to shed the innocent blood of an unborn baby. St. Felicity prayed that she would give birth before the set date of the execution so that she could die alongside Perpetua, rather than dying alone. It is written “The guards made fun of her, insulting her by saying, “If you think you suffer now, how will you stand it when you face the wild beasts?” Felicity answered them calmly, “Now I’m the one who is suffering, but in the arena Another will be in me suffering for me because I will be suffering for him.” Two days before the execution, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl who was adopted by a Christian woman.

So parents, imagine for a moment, that you had to choose between God and your faith or your innocent child. Both these Saints knew and trusted God enough to leave their children and die for Him. This is suffering from the deepest place, this is how The Blessed Mother suffered when she watched Jesus die on the cross. I started to feel the unworthiness set in again…”God, these women were fearless in their love for you, how do I paint fearless love?” His answer, “you can’t, but I can.”

A story about St. Perpetua that really touched my heart was her response to her pagan father when he tried to get her to renounce her Christianity. Pointing to a water jug, she asked her father, “See that pot lying there? Can you call it by any other name than what it is? “Her father answered, “Of course not.” Perpetua responded, “Neither can I call myself by any other name than what I am a Christian.” I love this Holy Spirit confidence! She knows what she is up against and she calls it like it is, very simply, I am a Christian. This is why, in the painting, I had to paint that water jug, which also symbolizes that she was newly baptized. You can learn more about these Saints here.

I was spending some time in prayer about a week after I completed the painting and felt God’s voice tell me to be still. I sat and my eyes settled upon the painting of these Saints and I notice for the first time their halos, and how they intertwined. Why had I painted that, I asked. God’s response, and I’m so not kidding, ” Google it.” Going to my computer I discover that this symbol was called Vesica Pisces or Jesus fish and in present time is used to promote Christianity but in the original meaning it was used to depict the womb of Mary and the coming together of heaven and earth though Jesus. As I am reading this, tears fill my eyes. How amazing it feels to be used by God! The richness of His love is unchanging and it moves people to love fearlessly.

I have Holy Cards available of St. Perpetua and Felicity and on the back of the card, a prayer I wrote:

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Here are some photos that show how my painting process happens.

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