During
1997 and 1998 I began to do a series on Mary, deciding to study the
traditional icons of her, her stance, clothing, colors. Up to this time
this was the closest I'd come to letting go of my personal vision and
following the inspirational iconic guide of a tradition. I did however
add some of my own interpretation: each Mary having a rose placed with
the figure, symbolizing her heart chakra or womb chakra or Christ or
compassion and I gave her faces from all over the world. This was very
satisfying and I noticed that when I painted her feet in Mary in
the Garden I felt heat radiate through my body and openness in my
heart area. This reminded me of how much my winds [i.e., inner
energies] were affected when painting the life size Green Tara in correct
proportion in 1991 for a Green Tara children's celebration in San Francisco's
Golden Gate Park.
Painting
these images of Mary set the stage for my leap into using a totally
traditional iconic format when I began to paint Tibetan thankas late
in 1998.
I
exhibited these images of Mary at Grace (Episcopal) Cathedral in San
Francisco and at the annual Marian show in San Juan Bautista (CA). These
were very rewarding experiences and many people told me that they were
"touched" by the images. I was particularly pleased when Charlene
Spretnak chose my Irish Mary: Our Lady for Girls in All Seasons as
one of the images to publish in her book Missing
Mary: The Queen of Heaven and the Re-Emergence in the Modern Church.