Woman Praying Reliquary ~ Christopher’s Hair
Woman Praying Reliquary ~ Christopher’s Hair
This is another one of my reliquaries with a religious image and theme. I had just received some incredible silky lavender paper that I wanted to use for a cover, so that’s how the purple color scheme came about. Coincidentally, as I was in the process of carving the arches on the right page, I found this lovely flower trim and knew that I had to use it in this book. It wasn’t until the very end that I decided to use a lock of my son’s hair in the vial, and that’s how the woman praying reliquary got the name Christopher’s Hair. By the way, since I snipped my son’s hair for this art work, his hair color has gone to black to red and black again.As I look at this vintage image of a beautiful woman praying, I can’t help but wonder what this nun must be thinking. Surrounded by shades of violet and lavender, she stands between two gold painted columns entwined with flower ribbon trim. Layers of marbled and hand-decorated paper enhance her wistful face, and a golden cross hovers above her head. Vintage paper trim surrounds her.
On the left, shimmery pale purple paper, softly wrinkled and draped across the page, is embellished with a cut and painted cross which holds the relic: a sealed glass vial enclosing a lock of fine blond hair. The relic is stitched upon a cushion of purple taffeta and encircled with lavender and pink freshwater pearls. Genuine rhinestones add a bit of sparkle to the cross.
The entire book is covered with a silky lilac paper, wrapped in purple velvet ribbon, and decorated with iridescent pink and clear glass beads.
