I am created in the image of God the Mother.
I am created in the image of God the Mother.
Everything I've been working on lately has been a self portrait. It's not intentional but looking back I can see it. The rabbits? Self portraits. The deer? Self portraits. The hand motifs? Self portraits. The self portraits? Well, those were obvious from the start but you get my point.
When I recognized this theme it was not surprising that my exploration of Heavenly Mother had also turned into a series of self-portraits.
As I've intuitively worked on these three pieces and allowed them to come to life organically, I've noticed symbols inserting and integrating themselves without my conscious intent. These symbols have deepened the meaning of these pieces far past what I originally intended.
In Genesis it says that we are created in the image of God. This was not something that I was originally considering as I sketched out these three pictures. I had my list of attributes that I wanted to depict and I figured that the rest would come as the pieces talk to me while I worked on them.
After posting previews of the value studies I did, @emiwy_smif message me about my depiction of Heavenly Mother and remarked about how similar the figures looked to me. This was due to the lack of model I had available at the time. I posed for my own reference photos and sketched the initial composition drawings with the plan of making the difference figures look unique once I had an overall feel for the final drawing. Emily pointed out how it could be beneficial to keep the resemblance as well as the different symbols that spoke to her from these pieces. I hadn't considered her perspective and as she shared with me her insight I realized that it was not only biblically important to include this aspect to the pieces but this change also shifted the meaning of each piece and and way I approached them.
We talk of God as a loving parent but sometimes it is hard for me to relate. These pieces have completely shifted and opened up that perspective a little bit more. I look forward to seeing what speaks to all of you when I can share more of them.
