Can you guess the church? This is another wonderful piece by the talented Frances White.
This 70-year-old parishioner of Tacarigua RC Church began her journey into the art world just three years ago after attending a sip and paint in Canada.
Frances retired as a Library Assistant at 50 years old but re-emerged in the working world doing Accounts at Alicia’s Guesthouse and now she’s back again, this time exploring her third career choice as an Artist in her 70th year of life.” I really enjoy painting” she said, and her work consists of beautiful sites throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
The spiritual connection between God and Frances is intensified through her painting, “When I paint is like it’s not me that doing it, it’s the (Jesus)that doing it” she confesses that after completing a piece of art she often wonders how did she do it, “I would do a painting and I wonder how that reach there? It’s like he is just using my hands to do it.”
Frances’ art collection can be seen on Instagram as @Franceswhite4489 and one of her lovely pieces is also displayed at the Rotunda in the Red House. Her collection is filled with fantastic paintings of many local churches and familiar buildings throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Frances shared that her goal behind each work of art is to “give peace and harmony to everyone who sees her work”
So here’s how we are going to do it:
1. Set aside 20 minutes in the day for the guided prayer experience.
2. As you begin to pray, take a few minutes to open your heart and mind to God.
3. When you are ready, slowly look and notice the image, taking your time to let feelings and thoughts come to you as you take in forms, figures, colours, lines, textures, and shapes. What does it look like, or remind you of? What are your initial thoughts? What feelings are evoked?
4. Now, return to the image with an open heart and mind again. You may now experience new thoughts, meanings, and feelings. Start exploring new meanings and feelings that come to you associated with the image. Be aware of any assumptions or expectations that you bring to the image. Regardless of your response to the image—delight, disgust, indifference, confusion—contemplate prayerfully the reason for your response and what these responses might mean for and about you.
5. As you go deeper in this prayer, open yourself to what the image might reveal to you. What does the Spirit want to say, evoke, make known, or express to you in quiet meditation? What are your feelings, thoughts, desires, and meanings evoked by the image, and how they are directly connected to your life?
6. Now take the time to respond to God. Jot down in a journal the insights you want to remember, actions you are invited to take, the wisdom you hope to embody, or any feelings or thoughts you wish to express. Bring your prayer to a close-by resting in God’s grace and love.
Source info: https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2009/07/praying-with-art-visio-divina