The latest addition to my Mary collection...

I have a soft spot for Mary...

...and a great fondness for statues of Mary.

It started with this 1960's ceramic Mary that belonged to my mom, that now hangs in my home.

I then found the most incredible vintage, chippy cement Mary statue for our garden.

There is also my ever-growing collection of vintage Madonna busts and planters.

So needless to say, when I came across this very old, chippy chalkware statue of Mary in a thrift store, I was absolutely smitten.

I'd never seen a piece quite like this before. In addition to Mary, there was an old, chippy chalkware statue of Jesus...

...both of them standing on a base with a Holy Water font, votive candleholder...

...and sweet chippy cherub between them.

It's just the most beautiful old statue and I am so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to have found it.

And you just know that Miss Social Butterfly was overseeing every photo I took of this statue,...

... peering at me from behind the divider windows!

She never misses a trick,...

... always keeping an eye on what's going on, and this afternoon was no exception!

I'll be posting this over at Cindy's (My Romantic Home) Show & Tell Friday this week. Be sure to pop over and check out what everone else is sharing! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

(NOTE: I have NO clue what is going on with the layout here! It was fine when I typed it, and it's gone crazy. No matter how many times I edit it, it reverts back to this hodge podge! Hope you can make sens of this post! haha)

Donna

Sweet Serenity ... my growing collection

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

(click any photos to enlarge)

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