December 14, 2019
Theme: With
Lutheran Church of Hope
West Des Moines, IA
I created this piece around the theme for the Woman’s Christmas Brunch which was “With”. I prayed about it and kept seeing a lotus flower blooming with many women rising out of it. Some on their knees holding hands of some standing. Below the lotus flower are two circles that intersect which I learned is called Vesica Pisces. I was inspired to find out more whe I saw a show about the mystery of birth and I saw the geometric symbol. The almond shape that two circles create is called a mandorla in Italian. Many early artists used a mandorla around Christ to represent the divine coming through to this world.
I used acrylic paints, paper towels, string and some cedar seeds on a 17” x 17” canvas.
A lotus begins its life in the murky mud at the bottom of a pond and rises to the surface to blossom. It symbolizes the passage from darkness to light. The passage from ignorance to wisdom, it represents enlightenment.
It was cool to watch this painting come to life as it was being created. As soon as I got all the women on the lotus I felt that it needed Mary holding Jesus right in the middle. Not part of my original concept. You can see I changed it after that idea came to me. I’m always surprised how they turn out. Very happy with how it came together.
I prayed while I painted this piece for all the woman who would be attending this event. I also prayed for those who are lost and could’ve benefited from hearing the speakers. Very moving feeling the Holy Spirit thick up in a room full of woman supporting each other. Everyone is going through something. Thank you again to Pastor Amanda Neppl, Suzy Lowe and Amanda Mahannah for this opportunity to create a piece for this event. It was just cool to be apart of this!
It was neat to be able to design this together. Having the women hold hands was a great addition to the piece. Gives it more of a feeling of “With”, being with God, being with one another. This was the last sketch on my iPad before I started the painting.