Sacred Commissions

It's a blue gray afternoon here near the lake--a perfect day to be tucked away in the studio with a "kick-in-the-pants" cup of coffee catching up on commission work. I've been doodling and googling all afternoon working on gathering notes and getting down initial blocks of color for a special custom altar piece. I always feel incredibly honored when someone asks me to create work for their sacred spaces! Such a treat!
Though most times it is an invigorating experience, sometimes being asked to make an intensely personal piece can be a little overwhelming. For example, this past summer I had a client ask me to create a Day of The Dead inspired memorial piece for her mother and auntie who passed away a few months prior. They died together in a tragic auto accident in the spring and she wanted a work that illustrated their friendship as sisters and impact as mothers.

Woah.

That is Heavy...

"El Dia des Los Muertos" by Molly Roberts 2008

As we discussed the details of the work it was obvious that her hurt was still very fresh. I scratched down notes trying my best to keep up as she recited memories and lists of her mothers favorite things: "violets, butterflies, lilies-of-the-valley..." As much as you try to relax and be creative while working on a piece like that there is a pressure that is present. You want the work to be perfect--it has to be perfect. It's not only a decorative artwork that needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional within the living space. You know what you are making is part of the family's grieving process. You're not just drawing and gluing--You are an active part, you are helping in the healing. Every bit of foil, every spot of ink counts. Needless to say, it can be intimidating.


Fortunately, this current piece is being created for a more joyous occasion and magickal purpose! And after a fruitful visit to the natural museum yesterday afternoon with my Muffin, my brain is full of scaly wings, star fish spikes and primal cave paintings--a festoon of new patterns and visual rhythms just waiting to spill out onto canvas! Back to work!

What sort of objects or images do you have in your private,meditative or sacred sanctuary space?

*~Many Blissings & Merry Making, Friends!~*