Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Shrine for St. Peregrine


On December 26-28 (2009), I argued that what we need is a "new artisanal turn"...and suggested that we may in fact be witnessing that in various artistic sub-fields.

My inspiration for the artisanal comes from many sources, but above all from someone very close at hand: my wife and collaborator, the artist Deborah A. Mills.

Deborah just finished a major project for a Catholic church, St. Roch's on Staten Island. The image above is from the shrine for St. Peregrine that she designed and co-created (with woodworker Kenny Creed and finisher Mary Kuzma).

To see more images and read about the project, click here.

As all artisans do, Deborah spends countless hours selecting and understanding the materials and the tools as well as the setting and the needs of those who will use the art. She visualizes, designs, prepares; she makes. Deborah fecit.

In the end, as she puts it, she "coaxes numens from the wood."

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