This design is a mandala (a sacred circle) inspired by the San Damiano Cross from the Franciscan tradition.  The image in the center is the Jesus from that cross, only it is the countour of his body, however, highly recognizable as that Jesus.

The outer areas are a visual representation of the Canticle of the Sun, a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. This image has come to be my own personal signature style.  It speaks to a sense of who I have become in my life, a person representative of the sacred in my chosen lifestyle as a religious Felician-Franciscan Sister.

The Canticle is important to my love of nature but has become a representation of my fascination with the idea of alchemy, transformational ideas and imagery but connected with Roman Catholic Christian practices in contemplation and personal change.

The process begins with a pencil drawing, then black india ink with lacquer to make it totally waterproof.  I then take a digital image of the work for use in later black and white graphic design and possible changes.  I then add colored inks, watercolor and acrylic (all water-based mediums) on vellum or Japanese Yuppo paper to give it a translucent effect.  Some of the inks are sometimes iridized colors to give the effect of glass.  I digitize the colored image, again, for publication purposes. 

This particular image was produced as a logo design for the national Franciscan Federation Conference of 2010.  It was extremely well received and is now being used on note cards and perhaps a t -shirt in this current year.   I am also considering it for a stained glass window in the future.  It’s design would work quite well in fusion and painting, another process I use in my work.