Mind
the Muse
“The
most astonishing joy is to receive from the muses the gift of a whole lyric.”
James
Broughton
I want to tell you a story about the Muse—one that visits me from time to time. I made a wall hanging that felt chaotic to me. I named it “Fragments and Memories,” because it felt dark and broken to me. After I finished it, my hands began to produce pieces that were orderly and measured—dependable shapes and vivid colors as though they were trying to control the chaos.
One of those is a spiral on a red background; the darkness is only around the edges. The second of those is a circular form—I thought of it as a lotus. It was a 3-layered, round form on a background of red roses. When I was almost finished, my friend Anna came over. She looked at it, and said, “That’s not a lotus. That’s a rose window!” And then we both realized that it was on the background of red roses. She said, “You know the rose is associated with the Virgin of Guadalupe. There’s a legend about her apparition speaking to a peasant named Juan Diego that involves roses.” The Virgin has always been a special favorite of mine—I am constantly lighting her candles for people who are having trouble of one kind or another. After Anna left, I started looking for information about the legend, and its association to The Virgin of Guadalupe.
I found a painting of Juan Diego presenting the bishop with a cloak full of roses to prove that he was truly seeing the Virgin and following directions from her. This painting had a border of red roses almost identical to my rose window tapestry. It felt uncanny. A moment straight out of the ether—bizarre and a little creepy. Juan Diego first saw the apparition of Mary in 1531, on Dec. 9th, just outside Mexico City. I don’t know when this painting was done, but it's safe to say several centuries ago. It’s a mystery as to how these things work, but I do believe that the Muse is a living slip of energy that if you invite it will come. She is timeless and eternal, moves from receptive person to receptive person inspiring them to create. Pat McGrath said, “It’s amazing to be an incubator. Many of my muses have gone on to other bards.” And Taylor Hicks said, “The muses visit when I’m lonely.”
There is a rose window in the cathedral built to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is much larger and more elaborate than my wall hanging. But here’s another piece of this story—after I did this piece, I remembered a backpack given to me by Anna some years agio. It came from Guadalupe by way of a friend of hers from Austin Texas. I pulled it out and gave it to my friend Emmy, who’s leaving for graduate school in Michigan tomorrow. Guess what she plans to major in—medieval studies. I’ve decided that the Virgin of Guadalupe is a bit like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants—she’s making her way around the world, one devotee at a time. Who knows, the muse may be headed your way next. Be receptive and she will bless you with creativity--creepy though it may be.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment