TSM- 3D portraiture

Growing up in the catholic religion I was always surrounded by religious sculpture and portraiture. Religious statues and figures are visual reminders of faith, beauty, and the stories told in the Bible. Churches are filled with iconographic figures such as Jesus, Virgin Mary, Joseph, patron saints, and other religious figures from biblical stories. The sculptures were also incorporated into my home growing up. Figures like Saint Anthony of Padua stood on the ledge of the windowsill in my kitchen or a stone sculpture of Saint Francis of Assisi nestled in the garden. Being surrounded by these religious figures in my everyday life has been an inspiration for me as an artist. Within the realm of artistic expression in the world, we have the unique space to share what is most important to us and what or who is at the core of our lived experiences. As a catholic creative and artist, I think most people expect that our work is filled with very obvious Christian themes, but it doesn't have to be that way. As artists, our first responsibility is to say what is most important to us, then our faith will be revealed through that. The reason why I am inspired by this sculpture because I feel that the expression of the woman reflects traits that are associated with/ depicted in artwork and scultpture relating to the Virgin Mary. When I look at this sculpture words that come to mind when describing this work is gentle, trusting, calm, peaceful, and humble.