The Mary Magdalene Celebration 2023: Blossoming
This is an invitation to all who love Mary Magdalene. When I say "love Mary Magdalene", I mean all her manifestations, in any way you understand or perceive her, in any way you see and feel her presence in your life.
I feel her as a companion, a guide, an inspiring presence, a thought, a feeling of connection and joyful strength. I imagine she is next to me as I create. She is the symbol of human potential I look up to. In stories about her, she lives the journey of the human soul, from woman to saint, from matter to energy. Her stories propose that we too can aspire to transcendence and blossoming.
This is the theme of this' year's Mary Magdalene Celebration: Blossoming. Today I changed the title of this year's image as I was preparing the file: Mary Magdalene, Our Lady of Eternal Spring.
We face new growth as we encounter a new day. It is painful sometimes, but it is also what carries us forward. With each new lesson, we blossom once again. We are eternal spring if we allow ourselves to admit new challenges, to step into new or further paths.
As we continue to walk through life, we look back and see how difficult it was. We often wonder how we did it, how we lived thought it and survived, how we became the present. And this reflection informs us: what we take from the past is the knowledge that we are capable, that we have done it, that we are skillful. A step into the future is a step in companionship: we are our own companions as we live and grow and step into unknowns.
And in each step, if we remember the Magdalene, her stories, her fully human character, we can let her remind us of this capacity for continued blossoming.
Painting, oil painting, is full of pleasure for those of us who feel an affinity for the luminous qualities of this medium. Painting the face of the Magdalene, I want to give her softness, glow, brightness, harmony. I want her features to be ageless and iconic. I want pleasant transitions and strong contrasts through lines. I want all the reds I can use to paint with passion and power and energy. Mary Magdalene, in this painting, listens to the songs of two newly blossomed flowers: you and I.
Invitation to The Mary Magdalene Celebration
Your loving presence is requested in ❤The Mary Magdalene Celebration❤
Wear red, and bring your love, and a friend.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
at El Barrio Art Space Gallery,
Our eternal gratitude to La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, Inc. for hosting this event.
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Pedimos el honor de tu amorosa presencia en
❤ La Celebración de María Magdalena❤
Vístete de rojo, y trae tu amor, y a un@ amig@.
Sábado, 22 de Julio de 2023,
en la galería de El Barrio Art Space.
Nuestra gratitud eterna a la Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, Inc. por hacer posible esta celebración.
Dear Mary Magdalene, thank you for the idea of blossoming every day. Thank you for this rest in the journey. Thank you for accompanying us as we celebrate the ability to blossom with each faithful step into the unknown.
