“Spirit” is a large up-cycled glass piece that’s in process now. It features the text of a prayer, the fingerprint and central S, and of course the multicolor LEDs, so far.
This is the modified prayer text based on the candle:
Come Holy Spirit and reveal to my soul, body and mind the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach me to love them and all the joys of earth, and grant me the grace, 1 pray, that I might attain to them, and understand them, and hold them hereafter my own forever. Amen.
The Espiritu Santo candle was made by the Compton Continental Candle Company whose motto is “Lights Years ……. Ahead.” I’ve modernized and personalized the original prayer a bit, because I believe we are each on a unique spiritual journey or path — yet with commonality of course. I’m influenced by many spiritual traditions, yet do not subscribe to one religion and include my own perspective, experience and reasoning.
I consider science and spirituality to be connected, science being the study of life, the universe and everything, and spirituality being the reverence of this. This piece is also influenced by light and the electromagnetic spectrum, some of which we can see directly, some of which is perceived indirectly or through other senses, or technology.
The journey of discovery continues as both science and spirituality unveil the invisible and other realms, that of cells, molecules, atoms, quarks, space, dark matter, etc. In a way this can be viewed as understanding of “heavenly things” in relation to earth. That is one way of looking at it — increasingly coming into the light of knowledge, evolving on guided by nature, increasingly self aware and intelligent.
“Spirit” is about God or Universe, the greater organism, life force, the dynamic energy that permeates, and also the electric soul or consciousness that resides within the individual, and celebrates both, the search for knowledge together, the flow between the two, sometimes placid like the slow changing of the LEDs and other times somewhat very active or even chaotic, like the rapids setting of the LEDs, of which are the sound sensitive kind.
Spirit also considers the chakras defined by Hinduism and the Vedic tradition, and the flow of energy between them along the human spinal cord to the extremities and beyond, the bioelectric flow, the mind, body and spirit uniting through this conscious network of electromagnetic energy.
This is my artist’s perspective of course. The meaning of the artwork can go well beyond that with an open invitation of interpretations.
The next steps are adding more paint and refinement to the overall presentation and bringing out the text more. To be continued!