On the easel (Patreon)

This is the third and last of my Magdalene footage videos! 

I was recently asked about my motivation for creating/painting this imagery and the Magdalene connection. 

While I've already expanded on some of the aspects that intrigued me initially in the past two posts, there's more. 

I wondered how a woman that may or may not have lived some 2000 years ago could have remained alive in folklore and legend. Her stories highlight how a mere woman was marginalized, and overlooked. Take for example the variety of attributes that potentially define her character. Whore, devotee, disciple, friend of a figure that challenged the accepted religion of a time. There are remains of what would have been her testimony. But of course they didn't make the cut when the official scriptures were defined (the Council of Nicea, 325 A.D.). 

What truly stands out to me, is how relatable her story is. Overcome by grief, betrayed by friends, persecuted and ostracized. That's what gives her story staying power! Stories are told again and again when they show the human condition. 

I was grieving myself when I began the paintings. I felt betrayed, forsaken, persecuted, misunderstood, and exiled from my home land. It was easy to relate to a woman so overwhelmed by it all that she wandered in the desert, naked and vulnerable. I could see myself in her story.

The art has been therapeutic through the creation of costumes, photos, paintings, and videos. Self portraiture allows me to take emotion out of myself and create something else with it! The process with these works was transformative! It makes me so happy to share this process and evolution with an appreciative audience! Thank you so much for being here!