Celebration Circle is my spiritual home -- not a church, but church like, we are a group of seekers and path-finders who come from a diverse group of religious and spiritual backgrounds. This little piece is for the group's annual altar silent auction at the Bijou Theater at Crossroads shopping center in San Antonio. It's on a frame provided by Celebration that is the shared format for all the artists who participate. We donate our work, with the option of keeping a portion of the bid price received by Celebration Circle. I consider this gift part of my tithe to the community. Since moving to the country, we don't make the hour trek into the city often on Sunday mornings, but in my heart I know that all my friends there would be at my side if I needed them and I honor my connection to the group and to all my friends who are part of it.
This piece uses a little sample drawing/painting I made in one of the classes I taught last year -- it is mixed media, including craft dimensional paints, Shiva oil sticks, oil pastel, stitching and machine quilting. The outside strips are pieced from a scarf that didn't quite work out -- beautiful silk charmeuse with textile paint screen printed with my pomegranates. The title is "Lush," and it is an altar/offering and celebration of the lush abundance of the universe, as juicy as a ripe pear, as full of jewels as a ripe pomegranate. Gratitude sounds like such a mushy topic, but I find it the key to equilibrium and preserverence. (Dispite my last whining post.)
The auction and reception will run Tuesday, Oct. 4 through the month, and you can bid during any of those days. The closing reception, plus a special screening of a film will be Sunday, N0vember 4. You can see examples of last year's altars on the CC website and when the show opens, this year's altars will be featured. (I'll be sending a reminder and details of the event out on this blog, but couldn't resist showing "Lush" in this little preview, since I worked on it yesterday after the FASA meeting.)