Virgin of Guadalupe

In Media Blend there are moments when the participating artists feel that the playing field is too wide open. In our first three weeks we explore many ideas, concepts, materials and techniques. The next three studio sessions are reserved for creating a finished quality piece. Each week we dialogue and continually consider the ways in which the artist learns to focus and make increasingly intuitive choices.

Here the topic comes first: Early childhood memories of little Catholic girlfriends having all the fun with ritual and ceremony (including the marrying of Jesus in First Communion) draws our artist's imagination in and helps her to decide to explore some of the traditional Catholic iconography eventually settling in on the Virgin Mother.

There are embroidered and beaded details stitched through the piece (which is fabric assemblage). She has employed techniques and materials that are new to her. This has led to a pioneering experience ultimately allowing her to have an AHA moment which will, from the sound of her artist statement read aloud at our last studio, lead to more 'Virgin' discovery in the near future.