Completion of Spiritual Meditation Space,
The 24th of November 2008 saw the dedication ceremony of the Spiritual Meditation Space, at the Our Lady of Victories Chapel,
The design work commenced in March 2008 an the final touches were put in place early November.
Here are some of the finished pieces
The 3 Central Archway Pieces
The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
The First Mystery of Light
The brief from the pastoral department was to produce a series of images depicting the new Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary introduced by the late pope John Paul II in 2002. From an artistic view point a degree of ecumenism entered the story here as the painting style chosen combined elements of Greek Orthodox and Maronite Christian Iconography.
Inspiration
‘The Gift of the Holy Spirit’
This is the central piece of the meditation space. The relief carving of the Dove surrounded by the flame, is a variation on the symbolic theme that represents the Spiritan Community in Ireland and throughout the World.
It is also representative of everyone’s search for inspiration and guidance within their studies; their work or their lives in general. The introduction of the Garden/Water Feature is an attempt to bring elements of the tranquillity of nature into the space.
The Transfiguration
The Fourth Mystery of Light
In terms of painting styles this piece carries the most diverse elements. Traditional Icon painting; Primitive or Early Western style; along with certain aspects of my own figurative style. The Transfigured Jesus; Moses and Elijah belong firmly in the Primitive camp.
While the apostles Peter; James and John have human frailty etched on their features at the sheer panic of been presented with the power of God up close and personal.
Chapelle St. Thérèse de Lisieux
(Un Jardin pour un peu de fleur)
A Garden for a Little Flower
The basis of this chapelle was this carved wooden statue of St. Thérèse.
We wished to develop of a suitable setting for her display, and provide an intimate space for individual reflection and prayer. After a long time of staring at her image, reading about her life and teachings, and contemplating the space in which she was to be placed. I visualised her just walking in from a Garden and stepping forward into the space.
The Blue vaulted ceiling features hand cast plaster and gilded stars, this is an attempt to replicate a traditional gothic chapel style. Similar ceilings are found in Notre Dame Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The original ceiling in the Sistine Chapel was decorated in this fashion.
Rose Skylight Window
The circular stained glass sky light featured at the centre of the vaulted ceiling in the Chapelle St.Thérèse de Lisieux, incorporates a rose design which I based on similar design by French-Canadian artist Chantal Paré. This piece was fabricated by Michael Deans to the drawings I provided.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
The Third Mystery of Light
Each piece was firstly sketched at a reduced scale and colour schemes were worked out using Tempura or Gouache on Paper. Then the wooden panels were cut to size in relation to their site specificness.
Then full scale Cartoon Drawings were worked on to encompass the details of Positioning; Anatomy; Physical Features; and Attire. These were then transfered to the Gesso primed boards using traditional Fresco methods.
The colours were then applied using combination of traditional and modern techniques and media.
A modern ‘Diamond Coat’ varnish was then applied in order to make the pieces durable and washable.
Each piece is mounted in such a way as to make maintenance access a priority.
The Institution of the Eucharist
The Fifth Mystery of Light
(Also Known as ‘The Last Supper’)
Again based on a Greek image the setting of this piece above the main doorway, and the new lighting effects on the vaulted ceiling, lent itself to the use of a traditional Byzantine Mosaic to depict this mystery.
Unfortunately as time was tight we had to settle on a Trompe l’oeil version of the image and thus this is in fact an Acrylic on Canvas painted sketch of how the eventual mosaic piece would look.
