I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Betty Vandervest ‘s reflection Flowing with the Holy Spirit.
I believe the act of creating artwork is tapping into the Divine. The Holy Spirit is with me as I move into the flow of color and image. Time stands still. Whether I’m painting a flower or an abstraction, it’s all God’s creation that I’m focusing on, paying attention to, and contemplating. I’m a convert to Catholicism, and I’ve always been fascinated by Catholic images. I’m also a feminist, so I do have problems with the patriarchy and the way the church has feared sexuality and women. My art has helped me work through my relationship to the church.
Although trained as a graphic artist, I had been away from art for a while when I found some tattered Catholic artwork at a garage sale. One was an image of the Assumption of Mary, showing her floating up to Heaven. There was actually a ragged hole in the image. I cleaned up the hole and placed her over a NASA photo of a nebula. Space is an image of God/Heaven that I find powerful. In this collage God/space shines through Mary in the area of her womb. She is crowned with seven stars in her role of Queen of the Universe. I put a lot of space snakes under her. Mary is often shown with her foot on a snake, a reference to the Garden of Eden. My version of Mary doesn’t step on a snake, but rises up to Heaven with lots of beautiful snakes!
A few years later, I made “Conversion”, a mixed media representation of my conversion. I used a photo of my daughter, a mirror, bits of glass and glitter. This portrays the feeling of falling but being supported. I let go of my doubts and cynicism and float on a pool of infinite love. The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, is with me.
Not too long ago, I finished the watercolor, “Spirit of Sea and Sky.” This reflects my current spirituality, woman and nature centered. When I started imaging/imagining a feminine God, it was amazing! I was moved to tears, thinking of my mother and my own mothering experiences. Although I know God had no gender, male images and words are everywhere in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The patriarchy establishes rules, while my imagined matriarchy nurtures and heals. Jesus was all about healing, clearly open to his feminine side. Perhaps today he would be considered gender neutral!
As an elder I feel blessed to have the time and energy to play with art materials and dance with the Holy Spirit!
Betty Vandervest is a Catholic artist working in collage, fiber, acrylic and watercolor. You can see more at Vanderzest on Facebook.
