Sweet Serenity ... my growing collection

My collection of Madonna statues began with a wall hanging of Mary that belonged to my mother.

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It hangs in my studio office along with this beautiful cross swag that I purchased from the lovely Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage a few years ago.


Over the years my Madonna collection has grown to include planters and statues found at second-hand stores. The one thing they all have in common is the sweet facial expressions... a sense of calm, of knowledge, of wisdom. I love how each artist or sculptor uses their own distinctive style to capture that sweet serenity...


My most recent thrift store find...



There are chips on baby Jesus' hand and on Mary's nose... Neither detract from the beauty of this statue.

Amanda saw this planter in a consignment store last year and bought it for me, knowing I would cherish it. I do.

The gold is worn along the edges of her veil in one area... I wonder if someone rubbed a finger along it while saying a daily prayer.

Chips on the halo add to the character and charm of this statue, found in a New Hampshire second hand store a couple of years ago.

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Under the Tuscan Sun," starring Diane Lane as Frances Mayes. At one point, after moving to Italy, Frances talks about her relationship with Mary. I love that piece of dialogue:

"Signor Martini wants me to have faith. Something I've never been good at, and now I'm even worse at. Not that I don't want faith. I'm jealous of the believers. But as a fallen-away Methodist, I do not expect to emerge from all of this a Catholic, although I admit some interior juggling is going on. To my surprise, I have become friendly with Mary. It started the night she stood by me through the storm, knowing full well I'm not a Catholic. Yet, somehow, she seems more like Mary, my favorite aunt, than Santa Maria. Aunt Mary is everywhere here, her calm presence assuring us that all things will go on as they have before."

Mmmm... a calm presence... That's how I feel about my little collection of "Mary's, Aunt Mary's, Santa Maria's, Madonna's" ... they are, indeed, a calm presence.

Happy Monday, everyone! And thank you ALL for the wonderful birthday wishes for Courtney!!!

Donna

My embellished Mary print - a vintage treasure...

Last year, during my search for the elusive Staffordshire dogs, I stumbled upon this vintage framed Mary print at a junktique shop.... I have a great fondness and love for all things Mary. Some day I'll share my small collection of Mary statues and art...

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This was so different from anything I'd ever seen before. Some very creative soul had hand-painted a delicate floral border around a black and white print of Mary and then glued robin's egg blue crinkled paper around the print and painted border, giving it a lovely dimensional effect.


I love everything about this image - the serene expression on Mary's face, the delicate position of her hand, the flowers in the background, the overall simplicity of the design...


More than likely the person who handpainted the border is the same person who hand lettered "The Power of the Agnus Dei... To help efface sin... To guard against a sudden or unprovided death. To turn away the thunderbolt" below the artwork.



The frame itself is old and the back is quite primitive, with small nails holding everything intact.

Mary hangs among family photos in a corner of my office. (I know I have way too many things hanging on the wall, but in my office I tend to let my packrat mentality take over)... And in case anyone is wondering... yes, that is a framed photo of Colin Firth but no, he's not family. It was a gag gift from someone who knew that Darcy (of both Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary) makes my heart go pitter-patter!

I'd love it if you shared some of your favorite actors since I'm the odd duck among my friends, who are all huge Johnny Depp fans... I can't possibly be the only one who prefers a clean cut image to a bad boy image... can I???

And don't you just love Trish from Clean House?? Oh my gosh, she's such a hoot! I love that show, and everyone on it... (although I don't think Mark would care too much for the look of this cluttered corner!)

Be sure to head over to Smiling Sally's blog to see her Blue Monday listing and to find a list of all the other blue-loving bloggers! Have a great week, everyone!

Donna