Sacred Space: A Studio Visit

Introduction

Welcome to guest writer Gay Pogue!

Gay and I have been trading thoughts about studio space, and she's agreed to share some of her own musings on the subject. And because an artist's words are always much enriched by visuals, here's a piece from her "Seven Sins" series. (To see more of this series, visit Gay's web site, then click on "Gallery Portal" and then "Seven Sins.")

Pride
© Gay Pogue. All Rights Reserved.

Gay says this about her "Seven Sins" series: "The primitive iconic style of these images invites observers to enter the painting and examine their own souls. These snakes hail from the Garden of Eden -- cheerfully tempting us, without forcing the issue."

And now, on to our studio visit.

Sacred Space by Gay Pogue

Right now my studio is in a corner of the back guest bedroom. In the past it has been an unused dining room, a sleeping porch, even a closet. When I travel, it is a box full of books and supplies for drawing and painting that I can haul into the motel room if there is time to work.

Is it really necessary to have a studio? Yes. When I did not take even so much as a corner of my apartment and designate it “my studio,” I did not create anything, and I suffered.

Numerous articles and books tout the benefits of a home altar or sacred space. Recently I realized that my studio fulfills that function, operating like something between a chapel and workshop. The right music and a little incense enhance the meditative feeling of the place. The computer is banned from the premises.

Being in that sacred space signals that it is time to engage in the creative visual work that God has assigned me. No matter what I may need to give up, I will never again be without a studio of some sort.

Would you like to share some thoughts and images about your own studio, for possible publication in this space? If so, please e-mail them to me, Brie Dodson.

Introduction and closing comment by Brie Dodson.
Image and Words by Gay Pogue

Trinity Sunday

Earlier this month, on the Sunday following Pentecost, we celebrated Trinity Sunday, one of the high feasts of the church year. It sometimes seems as though Trinity Sunday tends to get lost due to the post-Easter/ Pentecost fatigue of the faithful, but let us remember that this is the feast that wraps up the whole teaching of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost that has been enfolding since Advent. A glorious conclusion, if you will, of the story we have been living and telling over time to celebrate our belief spoken in the Creed, "I believe in God the Father...I believe in His Son Jesus Christ...I believe in the Holy Ghost" which leads us into a season to study the practical aspects of the realization of this belief as it appears in Christian lives.

Trinity Sunday did not appear in the church calendar until the 10th Century, and according to Gervase of Canterbury, Thomas Becket came up with the idea. To whomever we owe the feast, it is a blessed time to examine the mysterious nature of the Trinity, how we relate to each manifestation of God and how it changes our lives.

Images of the Trinity have historically been overlapping circles or the three fish or the three logos joined in some manner. My symbol of the Trinity, above, was inspired by the ever evolving ghinko in my side yard. The leaves are lime green in the Spring, darker green in the Summer and gold in the Fall. The leaves appear and evolve in different forms, but they are the same leaves...all the same yet all very different. This image is available for download at the ECUSA Image Shop.

How do you see the Trinity? Send your images to jboydneal@charter.net to post here.