Sacred Life Sunday -- Christmas Treasures

The first picture is of my favorite manger scene displayed on a bookshelf in my living room, sandwiched between two framed "visual" pieces I created for past Christmases. On the shelf below is one of two "Painted Ponies" I bought in Taos, New Mexico this summer along with a few other special mementos including shells and candles between a few books. This is one of several sacred spaces in my home, and I've chosen to share it today in this series of photographs.

For those unfamiliar with these uniquely designed animals, the "Trail of Painted Ponies" project "began as a public art project that invited the best artists in the country to creatively transform large horse sculptures into original artworks. The astonishing results have been hailed as the arrival of an exciting new American art movement call "Pony Expressionism." The reproductions like the one on the shelf below "capture the power, beauty, and magic of the original life-sized Painted Ponies. I've looked at them for years, and finally decided to take two home with me to enjoy.

This colorful pony is called "Renewal of Life" and was designed by Natasha Isenhour under the sponsorship of the Socorro Chamber of Commerce. "Natasha's travels abroad and around the Southwest have fueled her love for interpreting the "magical landscapes" she has witnessed. A dawn seen through mists hovering over the Rio Grande River that flows through a bird sanctuary in southern New Mexico, inspired this work of art. Whether she is painting on a canvas or a Pony, this artist has a unique ability to create a spiritual luminescence that invites the viewer to enter a meditative space that seems to live inside her art."

Some of you might recognize the writing piece on the left as one I shared on this Blog in early November here and provided a linear "transcription" here.

Perhaps I'll share the two on the right
along with the 2nd Painted Pony sometime soon.