Modern Madonna

This piece is part of a series of Madonna images I created with the perspective that the beauty of the Sacred Feminine does not need to be in one type of image, i.e. the typical demure Madonna with downward-cast eyes. I loved the idea of this Madonna looking right at the camera. I loved her tattoos and piercings and spiked hair…all of those things that I had heard people around me comment on in teens and young women as bad or disgraceful. Part of me agreed…but only the very smallest part that was a bit afraid of it all. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to witness the boldness of others when you yourself want to blend in and not be seen. I wrote some quotes on the back of the frame that I felt were these smaller parts of all of us that aren’t willing to throw our fears to the wind and see what true sacred beauty can be.

“She used to be such a good little girl. What happened?”

“Kids these days!!”

“Where did we go wrong?”

“It could be worse…it could be your daughter.”

“She could be such a pretty girl. What a shame.”

The bigger part of me relished the idea of being as bold as this Modern Madonna in order to make a statement that spoke out to people every single time they looked at me. How brave and honest. I wanted to show that honest beauty and make it sacred. To recognize this larger part, I wrote on the back of the frame:

She knows she has the power to make the stares smile and the words shift, but that means she lives in their world and takes on the legacy of fear and shame. She risks abandonment to gain freedom; she bears isolation to discover her inner wings. Oh my child. Surrender to your depth and soften your interior, your heart. You are the pioneer of self, of soul, of love for humanity.

I honor the sacred beauty and strength in all women.

Oil painting - oil on canvas, 24x30"

Collage - mixed-media including Tyvek papercut, acrylic, Solarplate print, paper, beading and found objects on upcycled cupboard door.

Lady Magdalene

The blending of the two images – Lady Liberty and Mary Magdalene – came to me when I envisioned Mary holding her alabaster jar and chalice in the same way that the Statue of Liberty holds her book and torch. Possibly an odd pairing upon first glance, but for me, the essence of the union of these two feminine figures is about being seen.

More importantly, it’s about choosing to be seen without regard for outcome.

The actual Statue of Liberty was created with the intent of being a universal, visible image that depicted, and was embraced as, the symbol of opportunity and of new life. Placed upon a pedestal on her own island along the path of entry, she is the epitome of being seen. And she is understood, revered, and visited in droves.

Mary Magdalene was a sacred feminine being who was very real and was willing to be seen. She followed her heart and her soul and never abandoned her wild nature. And for that, she was misunderstood and rejected. She was all but erased from common history save for her depiction as a sinner who was forgiven by Jesus, that is, until recently when truths about her have been rediscovered. To place her upon Lady Liberty’s pedestal as I did in the original oil painting, hugging her alabaster jar and raising her chalice high above her head, is to offer her some of the visage and reverence she deserves…perhaps to make up for a little lost time.

The blending of these two entities, one a portal of welcome and one a sacred woman of faith, depicts the varied responses one often receives when choosing to be seen. In their cases, this difference in outcome could be explained as a simple reflection of historical timing and intent, but frankly, it doesn’t matter. Here’s the truth…

To choose to be seen is brave and necessary. It is the intent with which we were created.

Although it is awesome to be deemed acceptable from day one when seen, it is also a wonderful gift to be rediscovered, rewritten, and seen anew no matter when it occurs. But it is most critical, yet the most difficult, to embrace the fact that one may never be understood, accepted, or deemed worthy after bravely choosing to be seen. To continue living openly and honestly knowing that the outcome may always be rejection…this is the sacred essence of being alive.

Oil painting - oil on canvas, 24x48"

Collage - Mixed-media collage including Tyvek papercut, copper tinting, acrylic, paper, and found objects on upcycled cupboard door.

The New Eve of Guadalupe

This red-headed goddess is currently The New Eve of Guadalupe, but she started life in June 2007 as Madonna Finds Her Voice. At that time, I was opening to the idea that the demure, blue-cloaked Mary needed perhaps to speak up a bit and tell us her story. So I envisioned a Madonna image looking straight at the camera with her throat bursting open with color. And then I painted her. She was indeed looking straight at the camera, but she was much more vibrant than I initially planned…all parts of her came alive with the henna tattoos and bright orange hair. And I realized that all parts of me were opening and coming alive and trying to be sorted out into this my forth decade, so she became Midlife Madonna. (Oddly enough, at this time I hadn’t yet painted the tattoos on her throat…everywhere else, but not her throat.)

And then came the gold and yellow background and I thought, “Aha! The Virgin de Guadalupe has entered the picture!” This really excited me because, having been raised Catholic and being a lover of Mexican art, the Virgin de Guadalupe makes my heart open with just one look. So…could this beauty have another name? Midlife Virgin became her new tag, both because its double entendre cracked me up and because I truly did feel like a newcomer to this midlife adventure.

Then a few months later the snake came into being and thus, the Eve aspect of the image. I realized then that this wasn’t one goddess, one image, or one aspect of my midlife development. Rather, it was the Sacred Feminine that has been carried through all ages and images and forms even when silenced like the Madonna, or reinvented like the Virgin de Guadalupe, or shamed like Eve. And since we, the image and me, were trying to unfold the multitude of forces at work within me and embrace the colorful, vibrant, empowered Sacred Feminine, she became The New Eve of Guadalupe.

With that wonderful awareness now part of me, I hung her on the wall and considered her complete for the time being and went onto other things. And in March of 2010 (yes, two and a half years later) I looked at her and thought, “Why in heaven’s name does she have tattoos everywhere on her EXCEPT for her throat?” So I pulled her off the wall and painted the tattoos on her throat. FINALLY the initial bursting open of Madonna Finds Her Voice manifested. Add to that the rewriting of the story of Adam and Eve, the shedding of shame and the embracing of love, and Midlife Madonna is on her way leaving Midlife Virgin behind. Eve is left to speak and act and shift history and the Virgin de Guadalupe stands firm as the loving force and sacred portal to hold the space for her. I can feel it all in the image and writing, this evolution of the Sacred Feminine and of my journey!

Oil painting - 24x48", oil on canvas.

Collage - Mixed-media including acrylic, acid-free print, paper, beading, and cut glass on upcycled cupboard door.