Paint the Inside

A few Sundays ago, I dove in and painted the inside of the Sacred Altar, thus eliminating all the other ideas I originally had for this project.

This is the cool thing about working in 3-D instead of a flat canvas or piece of paper--you have those great side panels, the bottom, and the cathedral-like top. Also, the outside.

At this point, I really liked the plain white gesso on the outside. It complimented the beach scene. But, change was in the air.

Past Altars and Shrines

As I create a Sacred Altar for the 2013 Celebration Circle's exhibit in September, here is a look back at other shrines I have made.

This is an oldie but a goodie, a Tree Shrine I made for my Mom. It has mini baby blocks, a leaf, a pine cone, acorns, and a tree tag from a piece of jewelry I tried to use as a stamp.

Tree Shrine, exterior





Tree Shrine, interior



Next is the Kennedys shrine I've wriiten about before.




The Hero Brothers (RFK and JFK)

Something different here. Three Lake Michigan Mornings is a wooden cube, inspired by the Carl Sandburg poem "Lake Michigan Morning" with my 2007 Chicago photographs printed on canvas. It holds transparent cubes of shells, rocks, and sand.







Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 1




Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 2






Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 3



Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 4


These are three different shrines made of (from left to right): wood, watercolor paper, and paper. These include photo tributes to ancestors and a friend who have passed on. (The brightly colored skulls and autumn leaves were temporary.)



Three different Day of the Dead shrines

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These last two are wooden boat shapes I particulaly love. "Portal" has an early book I made from watercolor covers with 2006 photographs from my Ireland trip. The entire book is cut in an arch shape to fit the inside niche, with copper wires to turn the pages.








Portal



Another wooden boat, Tangible Treasures, contains glass vial momentos from my 2010 Irish trip--sand, sacred well water, ocean water--with a piece of seaweed from my Innishcrone seaweed bath.



Tangible Treasures





Add a Few Coats of Gesso

After adding two coats of white gesso, I started playing with designs.

I cut some wood trim to fit the edges and began laying out possibilities. Often, I have an abundance of ideas. The hard thing is to pick just one, narrowing down the varibles. Art is choosing!

Take a Raw Wood Altar

Last month, I was honored to be chosen as one of fifty artists to create a Sacred Altar for the Celebration Circle's annual exhibit and silent auction.

These are the "before" photos, showing the plain altar. It is 20" tall, 10" wide, and almost 4" deep.

A fine blank container to begin any number of creative ideas.