Hand of Glory--Part Two

(Anne M. Huskey-Lockard, copyright 2009. All rights reserved.)

To continue with the story behind this canvas, the back is a direct reference to VoDou. The Veve--or symbol inside the canvas--is for Ayizan, the loa of the marketplace. She is the archetypal Mambo (priestess) and is tied with the natural world. My version of a small shrine is similar to what one sees wandering through the cemeteries in New Orleans.

Her symbol is the palm frond, she drinks no alcohol (thus the blue *water* in the small shell) and is syncretised with the Catholic St. Clare.

The pieces of wood and the roots are symbolic of her ties with the earth; the three small "X"s are a marking for a petitioner making a request. There are offerings in the little niche.

So what do the front and back have to do with each other?

The front is the somewhat acceptable form that Vodou eventually morphed into or hid behind, and the back is the remains of the true religion. So much was lost when slavery forced men and women to give up their ancestral practices, that even now, much is speculation. They had to hide their rites behind those of the Church, thus, very little true fact remains. But speculation, lack of those with knowledge being willing to discuss the subject for fear of reprisal has lead to the small amount of accurate information available today.

This honors those who lost their freedom, faith of their homeland and in many cases, their lives.
May their souls have been lifted to their ancestors on the soft wings of the moths and butterflies.
Again, comments and questions are welcome; I seldom go this far in depth with my art if I am not talking one-on-one to someone, so I could have missed something.
Hopefully you're not bored to tears! Go make something meaningful and beautiful!

(Materials used: antique paper, gessoed and stamped, acrylic paint, fluid acrylics, commercial stamps, Golden mediums, computer generated prints, wood, stone, shells, wax candle, nails, metal)