When creating, the artist is on a spiritual journey. While painting "In the Spirit", a liturgical banner for the season of Pentecost, Barbara Hersey and Linda Hunter certainly found this to be true. The following are some of their reflections as they created this work...
We hadn't included the element of water in our original design, but the Spirit will have her way, and a wave appeared curving around to form a womb. Perhaps it represents the womb of God the Mother in which the cosmos is constantly being formed and given birth. The Holy Spirit is connected to water and all things filled with life and hope. The Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism in the form of a dove, the symbol we chose for this artwork. The water of creation and even the water we use everyday should remind us of the water of our own baptism into new life which, like creation, is ongoing.
Other symbols appeared as we continued to paint...a peacock's feathers, symbolic of resurrection, and flames that appear to be hands reaching up in a gesture of worship and adoration.
The disciples must have been both alarmed and exhilarated when the flames came so close to them. They must have felt a rush of emotion, like falling in love or seeing a loved one after a long absence. We should feel such emotion in the presence of the Spirit.
With the Spirit we are connected directly to Pentecost and to that moment in an upper room. We are one with those who were present. The composition of "In the Spirit" plays with time and space because, in this life, we are all in a sense time travelers.
Pentecost is the day in the long year that is about us and when we come into the story. Pentecost is no time to be cautious or go back to old ways. Staying put is not an option. We are called to growth and maturity.
The making of the banners deepened our walk as individuals and as friends. When creating art together, a sense of oneness and community evolves. We hope to share the creative journey with you.
To view both panels of this banner, click on LITURGICAL ART.
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