The centre of every home must be the shrine room! The fragrance of flower and incense, emanating from this must pervade the home and purify it (Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
Be kind to all beings - this is more meritorious than bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage and the giving of charity (Sri Guru Granth Sahib)
Combining the notion of shrine with art has been one of the themes I have wanted to pursue for a while. The little travelling shrine I bought at the market is an inspiration for this. I will give everyday items a mystical, sacred energy as I juxtapose them with iconic imagery or objects.
One of my current favourite artists, Michael de Meng*, creates shrines from ‘rusty things’ in a genre called ‘altered art’. I bought one his books Secrets of Rusty Things and found it really inspirational.
A shrine could be a special place inside or outside your home that you have set aside for quiet, respectful time, possibly for meditation or just to remember loved ones. The idea of physically creating a space for this is important. It focuses and prepares the mind for the quiet time.
I like the way Ada has created a shrine on a side table for her late father, Vivian and her uncle, Ugo. She has a photograph of each and always has a vase with a flower or two in it.
Candles are an important part of a shrine, I think. There is something spiritual and calming about candlelight.
I am building up my collection of fascinating little knick knacks for my shrines in my Box. For now my shrines are being woven in my mind.
[Ariél is home! She arrived this morning, tired, but full of news and stories. I love being with my little storyteller, she expresses herself so delightfully, captivating her audience with her narratives and anecdotes, that you can picture actually being inside her stories].
*More about Michael de Meng tomorrow
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