Work in progress...
Stained Glass in Zinc Frame
12âł x 16âł
I made "The Universe (Cosmic Egg), After Hildegard von Bingen" in stained glass with the support of Corinne Leroux at Awesome Sauce Designs in MakerLabs, Vancouver, BC, Canada. This homage to Saint Hildegard von Bingen's 1165 illuminated manuscript celebrates the vulva especially in a religious context.Â
In my version, the four central quadrants represent the four seasons as well as the menstrual cycle. From top right moving clockwise, the quadrants represent: winter/period, spring/follicular, summer/ovulation, and fall/luteal.Â
This stained glass work is part of a larger project I'm working on, "Sapphic Sanctuary," in which I am researching various queer-feminist saints with the desire to eventually create an immersive installation. Each of the saints represents a different season and part of the menstrual cycle. Saint Joan of Arc represents winter/period because of her martyrdom, Saint Hildegard von Bingen represents spring/follicular because of her energy and intellectual pursuits, Saint Teresa of Avila represents summer/ovulation because of her dedication to pleasure, and Marsha P. Johnson represents fall/luteal because her anger at injustice and throwing the brick at Stonewall represents the fires of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
As a transdisciplinary artist working with whatever medium best suits the message, I wanted to learn stained glass to channel both the translucent qualities of glass and their religious connotations. When I first learned of Saint Hildegard von Bingen, there was instant kinship. She was a medieval nun who has been credited as the first person to publish on the female orgasm; she was a gynecologist, and a polymath composer with numerous talents. There are rumours that she may have been a lesbian, which I cannot confirm, but would like to believe.
I was compelled to honour her in my artwork as well as channel the spiritual belief that our bodies are sacred.
Through the process of making this artwork, I was also a jury member on a criminal case. It was a sexual assault case, which kept harkening back to a lack of safety in our society especially for women and other minorities. Consent is not only essential, it is sacred. To live with love in this world is to respect ourselves and those around us. Consent is the absolute basis for safety and respect.
I believe that Saint Hildegard von Bingen's depiction of the universe is a vulva because it represents our birth into the universe. This image represents the portal from a purely spiritual existence to a physical reality.
Moreover, through the making of this work, I cut my fingers and bled onto the glass on more than one occasion. Local theatre artist and dear companion, Julian Legere told me this act was a blood rite imbuing the work with further metaphorical meaning, and probably some kind of feminist magic.
Before I entered the studio, I mapped out some concept art and collaborated on a cartoon with Corinne Leroux for my stained glass. Then, once at the studio, I was able to sort through coloured glass until I found ones that expressed my ideas around menstruation, sexuality, and cosmic power with the most beauty and clarity. For me, this work is about the divine feminine. It is a celebration of the vulva, birth, pleasure, and the complexity of life.
This leaf is my first attempt at stained glass with Corinne Leroux at Awesome Sauce Designs in Decemeber 2024.
The image above is a collection of journal sketches of the four saints I am exploring in "Sapphic Sanctuary."
The brainstorming collage above summarizes some of my ideas for my future transdisciplinary installation, "Sapphic Sanctuary." The stained glass piece "The Universe (Cosmic Egg), After Hildegard von Bingen," or some iteration of it, is imagined to be exhibited here.