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Today is the saints day for the Virgin of Guadalupe and skyrockets and church bells have been going off since 6 A.M. It seems fitting that I show the Virgin and her floral offerings as well as a display of fresh kalanchoe blossoms in honor of Our Lady of the Roses. They are as close to roses as I can get in my garden.
For Cee’s FOTD
Santa Cecilia is the patron saint of poets and musicians. This retablo evolved before I did any research on her at all. I had bought this wonderful oil painting in Peru and just let my mind go in building a retablo for her. I had no idea who she was–thought she was just another madonna. When I had finished, an artist friend, Eduardo Xilonsochitl, was at my house painting and building a sculpture for me by the pool and he saw her and said, “Ah, Santa Cecilia.” I then Googled Saint Cecilia and discovered that all of the symbolism of the retablo did in fact tell the story of her life. Some things just want to belong together and so it was with her portrait .
16″ X 16: Santa Cecilia: Mixed Media Retablo, Wood, Metal, paper, dried flowers and leaves, Gold Leaf, Feather, Bone, Abelone, Antique Toy Rocking Chair, Oil Painting on Canvas, Acrylic paint. 16″ X 16. Click on picture to see details.
The rain falls
fresh as cucumbers
on cobblestones and tiles,
the dust of summer
washed from crevasses
and curves of stone and clay.
The air is cleansed
of the scent of primavera,
jacaranda
and flamboyant trees
and the whole world
breathes easily again.
Clouds dried up
by sunlight,
the silent birds
are flushed
from their covering leaves
and open in chorus
to the booming crack
of cohetes, splitting the air
in celebration
of Saint John the Baptist
who has baptized all
this day.
The Prompt: Seasonal Scents—S’mores, salty ocean breezes, veggie burgers on the grill, sweaty people on the bus — what’s the smell you associate the most with summer?
Another day, another challenge. This time I’ve used the WordPress prompt from
“The Daily Post” which was: “In 300 years, if you were to be named the patron saint
of X, what would you like X to be?”
June 2 sunset in Missouri.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 