Symbols

Newly hanging in my studio from my Assisi Thin Places body of work...

Symbols

Mount Subasio, in Assisi, Italy, is said to be a sacred mountain.  On Mount Subasio there is a cave where St. Francis would go to pray and contemplate.  It is called Eremo delle Carceri (Hermitage of St. Francis). 

The whole area near the cave is rich with symbols, from the frescos in the oratory leading to the cave, to sculptures in the hillside, to a variety of crosses, including humble, rough hewn crosses embedded in nature.

I like the mystery of symbols and visual metaphors.  I was especially drawn to the more natural, subtle symbols. I phototransfered two images onto a wood panel.  One image is of an outdoor chapel just down the trail from the cave.  It had an old tree stump with a small cross carved into it and a twig that also looked like a cross.  I fused that image with one of the door that opens to the oratory and cave.  Together they seemed to portray a beauty in subtlety.

Size: (h x w) 24" x 16:
Media: Phototransfer on wood panel (maple)
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Iona Imagery Kickstarter Partners

My sincere gratitude goes out to the following people who are partnering with me on my Iona Imagery project.  Their support will help enable me to create a new body of work inspired by my experiences of thin places in Iona, Scotland.  

Special thanks to:

Barbara J.

Pamela Daum, in honor of her mother, Betty Joan White Zucker Milner

Lexi

Tom and Joyce Waalkes
Sharon and Jim Charmley
Fredlee Votaw
Brett and Brenda Woudenberg
Emil Alecusan
Jeff Dreyer
Su Nimon
Robb Hankins
Heidi Beke Harrigan
Marcia Everett
Barb Walker
Paul & Gail Wetherell-Sack

To find out more about my Iona Imagery project and how you can back my project please click here to visit my Kickstarter page!

The piece pictured above is part of my Thin Places body of work that was inspired by my thin place experiences in Assisi, Italy.  It is entitled Shelter, and is a combination of two images.  One is a photo of sheep grazing on a peaceful hillside outside of town.  The other is of the Eremo delle Carceri, which is the cave in Mount Subasio where St. Francis used to retreat for prayer and contemplation.  Perhaps it was because the cave was integrated in the quietness of nature, but I found it to feel even more sacred, or thin, than the St. Francis Basilica with all of it's frescoed splendor.

Size (h x w) 12" x 9"
Media: Phototransfer on wood panel
SOLD

Salvation

St. Francis used to withdraw from others to pray and contemplate in a cave on Mount Subasio, in Assisi, Italy. The cave is now incorporated into a hermitage called the Eremo delle Carceri.  

When I went to visit St. Francis’ cave, which is the main attraction, I was surprised to be so moved by the Oratory of St. Bernadine.  This intimate space set aside for prayer is located on the way to St. Francis' cave.  It was constructed in the 15th century and one of my guidebooks only briefly noted that it had one of “a few worn frescoes.”  Yet this oratory, with its beautiful "worn fresco", was a very thin place for me. 

(A thin place being a place where it feels like the divide between the Divine and human is mysteriously thinner).

I combined the image of the oratory fresco of the crucifixion with an image of a double door that lead into a small mausoleum in the cemetery in Assisi.  In the middle of the doors two halves of a crown of thorns come together.  A brown string held the doors together and yet there was still a small gap in between, offering a sense of accessibility.  

This piece is part of the Thin Places body of work that I created after an artist residency in Assisi, Italy last year. 

Size: (h x w) 16" x 16"

Media: Original digital photography on aluminum

SOLD

Eremo delle Carceri

Perhaps my favorite place yet is the area around St. Francis' hermitage, the Eremo Della Carceri. On Mt. Subascio there is a cave or grotto where St. Francis would withdraw to pray and contemplate. (Carceri means "to withdraw"). To get there, you go through a tiny 15th century oratory connected to a small chapel area, the Cappella Della Madonna. There is one fresco in each area, which you can stand very near to and focus on. These intimate spaces provided a deeply thin place for me. I am still pondering the oratory and chapel, as to why it felt so different. Perhaps because of its close proximity with nature, intimate spaces, fewer crowds, the history surrounding it, or a mixture of them all. I know there is no formula for thin places, but I am still left with a sense of wonder.