Spring Yet?

Okay I'm working on imagining Spring is here since Easter is now past. But when I look at the temperature outside and it reads 60 degrees, I'm not so sure! After that last cold snap my beautiful daffodils look a mess.  They are just all brown and dried up. It makes me so sad. I was thinking it was probably a good thing that I didn't buy plants the other day when I was out.

There is some hope though. My miniature lilac bush has some little buds peaking out from it.  I can't wait for it to bloom. It is so pungent that my neighbor can smell it next door. It has tiny flowers but they do their job!


Me and my garden angel are praying hard that spring will come soon. We miss the beautiful flowers and warm weather.

Happy Easter

He Is Risen! May you have a Blessed Easter!

On Holy Saturday, He Opens the Gates of Heaven

The crucifixion is over and Jesus is in the tomb.....as Catholics we believe that on Holy Saturday Christ descended into Hell to open the gates of Heaven to those gone before. Tomorrow he rises from the dead, Hallelujah 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:  

Paragraph 1. Christ Descended into Hell

632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.⁴⁷⁸ This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.⁴⁷⁹

633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.⁴⁸⁰ Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":⁴⁸¹ "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell."⁴⁸² Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.⁴⁸³

634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead."⁴⁸⁴ The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."⁴⁸⁵ Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."⁴⁸⁶ Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."⁴⁸⁷

Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."⁴⁸⁸

IN BRIEF

636 By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Heb 2:14).

637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him.

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476 Eph 4:9-10.

Paint Party Friday

Art Abandonment Project......over 12,000 (including me) are part of the Art Abandonment Project on Facebook.

The idea is to abandon a piece of art somewhere with a note telling the person they just found free art that they can leave, take or pass along to someone else.  Then you get a photo of where you left it and put it up on Art Abandonment Group page on Facebook. There are a number of files in that group and some of them are tags to put with the art. I used one of their files and ran it off on yellow card stock.

My plan is to leave 2 glass pendants, a pair of domino earrings and 2 ACEO's (all alcohol ink items) some place in Italy the end of this month while I am there. The tags have an email address where the finder and send information or comments or whatever.

I cannot wait to do this in Rome. How much fun will it be?

For more information on Art Abandonment visit: Art Abandonment Group on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtAbandonment/

Want to learn more about alcohol ink art join our Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/alcoholinkartists/

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Agnus Dei

Today is Holy Thursday and tonight we Catholics commemorate the Lord's  Last Supper. The celebration of the first Eucharist in that upper room. Mass of the Last Supper is held after sundown.

 The priest washes the feet of 12 as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.

This special Mass commemorates the institution of Holy Communion through Jesus's words "this is my body" and "this is my blood"  & direction to "do this in memory of me". At the end of Mass the hosts (which we believe is the consecrated Body of Christ) is removed from the tabernacle and carried in a procession to the lower church where it is placed in the other tabernacle.

After the procession the altar is stripped bare and bells of the church go silent until the "Gloria" at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.

Mass will not be held on Good Friday. The Communion for that day will come from these already consecrated hosts that were moved from the church on Holy Thursday. That day is reserved for Stations of the Cross at 3 pm, the hour Jesus died and for readings that account the Passion of Christ. It is very solemn.

Easter time is my favorite time of the church year. It's rich with symbolism and tradition. Tradition that my parents, grandparents, great grandparents.....my family all the way back to the early church, shared in. This tradition makes me what and who I am.

Tonight I will be joining my daughter at the Shrine of St. Anthony for the Mass of the Last Supper.

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 Agnus Dei, 

quitollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. 

Agnus Dei, 

quitollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. 

Agnus Dei, 

quitollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.

Translation:

Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us

Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

.

Art Abandonment

So a new movement is underway, Art Abandonment. I don't know how long it's been around. I recently heard about it in my Alcohol Ink Artist Group on Facebook but it seems it must have been around for a while because there is an Art Abandonment Group on Facebook with 12,290 members!
Yikes!

My AI group has an event scheduled to abandon some alcohol ink art. So I'm preparing to abandon some in Italy this month when I go.

I will take photos of where they are abandoned to share with both of my groups.

for more information on art abandonment join the Art Abandonment group on Facebook and for info on alcohol ink art join Alcohol Ink Artists group also on Facebook.

Bury the Dead

 So today was the spring clean up for the Friends of St. Vincent Cemetery of which I am a member.  It is an abandoned cemetery that was filled with horrible desecrations to the point where the City of Baltimore asked the pastor to bulldoze the tombstones and cover them with 25 feet of fill dirt. Which he did. That was in the 70's and it's been left to grow over until we, the decedents and family of those who are interred there got wind of it and banded together for the benefit of the dead.

One third of the church records of who was buried there was lost. We split up and researched burial records for the surrounding churches and found over 3,000 people. I was lucky my father's brothers Angelo and Giovanni were already in the remaining church records. I say lucky because Angelo had a death certificate (he died at 6 weeks of age from influenza) but Giovanni either was still born or died immediately after birth and I have not been able to find his death records.

Some of the stones remain scattered about and I with the help of others cataloged (and translated the ones in Italian) to create a database of transcriptions and photographs.  

This year we were lucky to have the help of Patrick Nolan who chose our cemetery as his Eagle Scout project.Much of the invasive trees were removed by him, his father and other scouts. Today we piled the remains for mulching by a contractor.

Today was the first time we have had a prayer service. Odd isn't it. It's been years. It is a Catholic cemetery. Every time I go there I pray for the dead. It's become habit for me. But never have we had a formal service.

A local priest found us. His name is Fr. Dyer from St. Patrick & James Church in Baltimore.. He told the story about how one of his parishioners died without a grave and he was looking online to find some place to lay a person who had served the poor and given much of what he owned away. In that search he found us. He joined our Yahoo group and jumped in to work. He also lead a prayer service. He talked about the 7th Corporal Work Of Mercy, Bury the Dead and that if we don't care for the dead we will soon begin not to care for the living.

I have thought that many many times and the state of this cemetery were my baby uncles lay has bothered me which is the reason I am active and passionate about this group.

While removing the trees and dragging them into these huge piles, I saw some daffodils blooming in spots. I have never noticed them before and I've been there many times. It was if God or the dead were saying thank you for our efforts. It is a new day, a new season, a rejuvenation of this sacred space.

Rest in peace Giovanni and Angelo Iori....oh and Grandmom, I heard you talking to me and I know you are pleased. I feel you smiling down from Heaven. Yes, I am taking care of your babies. Were those flowers from you???? Just wondering.

"Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication:

If You, O Lord, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness,
that You may be revered.

I trust in the Lord;
my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.

More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.
For with the Lord is kindness,
and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities."
Psalm 130

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Paint Party Friday!

This week's Party Friday I am sharing a watercolor ACEO. I love this one. My grandson is an apple eater.....There has always got to be apples around for him. He's like his Dad, a green apple kind of guy but I prefer the juicy red ones like these! 


For more of my alcohol ink art visit Http://inkcentricart.etsy.com

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

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This ACEO is available on Etsy...here is the link: 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/66690526/watercolor-aceo-original-apples-sfa?ref=shop_home_active_11

Throw Back Thursday

Wonder what I was thinking?

I really didn't like the bowtie

My cousin and I.

Apple of My Eye

small format art on Etsy....search SFA to find awesome small art (under 14 inches) ...

Paint Party Friday!

My first how to video.Sealing Alcohol Ink Art with UV Protecant. Pa Everyone in the Alcohol Ink Artists Group on Facebook always wonders how I seal the inks with Liquitex brush on varnish. They have problems with the inks running and have to use a spray first. I don't have that problem. So I thought I'd demonstrate how to do it. I use this on yupo paper, tile, porcelain, dominos any surface.

Remember these important points:
1) make sure the ink is dry.
2) use a soft brush with no residue of hard varnish or alcohol ink or alcohol.
3) use a very thin coat
4) brush one time and that is it
5) let it dry well and then you can do another coat if necessary.

For more of my alcohol ink art visit Http://inkcentricart.etsy.com

For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/