Lenten signs all around

Image via Wikipedia

I participated in a Monoprint Workshop this past weekend. It was difficult, inspiring, messy work that I both enjoyed and did not! I gained great respect for monoprint artists in the process. It is all about measuring both spaces and ink and application and varying degrees of pressure, etc. In a few words - I probably won't be pursuing monoprinting on a long term basis. However, as I've stated before on this site, I don't believe anything one learns or is exposed to is ever wasted!

Fourteen artists pulling prints in the same room, with ink going EVERYWHERE, can be invigorating. I observed for myself, the difference in the finished pieces by persons I might have expected to produce other than what they did. Case in point - looking at the work and having a one-to-one conversation with one artist, I asked if she had printed these pieces from a religious point of view, or whether or not she was particularly into one faith or another or not? She replied, no, to both questions and then asked me why I had asked.

Her 3 prints that I was noticing in particular consisted of -
1. a light purple print with 11 varied upright shapes across the face of the print
2. the same purple print and figures, this time with bright red, running lines down the print
3. two wide red vertical lines surrounding what seemed to be two x-ray images of broken legs

I explained to her, that I was an Episcopalian and one immersed in the season of Lent, particularly in posting on my website for the last month. This is what was revealed to me in her prints -

1. I saw the color of Lent in the purple and the 11 shapes revealed to me were the 11 disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane - Judas not having arrived yet with the crowd
2. I saw the same print, same figures, but this time with Jesus' blood covering their beings
3. Jesus blood and broken legs upon the cross

She was pretty surprised to hear that "take" on her prints. The next day observing her work, the first one I spied was a clear unmistakeable cross in black.......I commented that I saw she was continuing with her Lenten images.

My point here is not really the prints or the workshops or even the artists, but the fact that immersing oneself in the season of Lent is an act of faith, a journey with unknown side steps or encounters, and one definitely filled with surprise. It was a comfort to discover I was in good company over the weekend in body and in spirit! My Lenten journey continues to open additional and existing creativity in my life. I find while focusing on Lent as I have in my posts this month, that Lent in images and in life are all around me. It’s a blessed journey!

Have you had surprises during your own Lenten journey that you'd like to share? I hope so.