Santo Lucia

A Santo (which comes from the Spanish word meaning "saint") is a traditional New Mexican religious sculpture.  Santos are carvings, either in wood or ivory, that depict saints, angels, or other religious figures.

I remember the first picture I saw of one, some three or four years ago, in a decorator magazine.  I was immediately smitten and hoped one day I'd have one of my own.  A few weeks ago, my time arrived!  And here she is - the way I found her and the way I brought her beauty out.

Let me introduce you to my Santo Lucia- - - - - -

She's a modern reproduction of a Santo Angel, with detachable metal

wings, on a wood base.   

Lucia stands 33" tall and wears a vintage 1950-1960 Relic Rosary

 from Fatima - Terra Fatma. 

With artistic license, I decided she needed something prettier to wear. Here you

see her in her white under slip (painted on gesso).  It was quite tedious for her,

 holding her arms outstretched for me as I gave her two fresh coats, but she was quite

 sweet about the whole thing and didn't complain even once. Quite natural, when you

consider she is a Saint as well as an Angel.

Initially I painted the wings only with gesso, but knowing well that an angel's wings

 are special (and therefore must look the part), I painted them in a low-gloss cream color.

Ever patient she stood, as I slowly applied my favorite shade of turquoise.

Although  I must confess my photography shows it as a blue, the end result

 (with two coats) did not disappoint!

You can see for yourself how happy Lucia is with her new finery!

And here she is, her lovely new dress complete while she

 awaits her wings to dry.

In all her glory!

Santa Lucia

May God Bless! Jan

Courtyard Fireplace Progressing Nicely!!

It was a miserably hot and humid day today, and has been for some weeks past now, so the idea of writing about a fireplace shouldn't fill me with such lightheartedness.  However......this fireplace reminds me of the wonderful fires I plan to have in the dead of winter, outside under the stars, not to mention the roasted marshmallows I'm planning on at Halloween!!  And despite the heat, Husband Dearest is progressing very well indeed!  Here are the photos I took this morning before leaving for work, and after returning home from work.  You'll also notice a few Feline Aficionados "helping" me!  Bless them!

 Dundee pretending not to notice me this morning. If you look closely, you'll see that the tiles are not on the front of the two fire boxes to either side of the fireplace yet, nor is the tile on the inside floor of  the boxes either.  The photos from this evening show Husband's progress.

 Thistle being her usual nonchalant Feline Self - REFUSING to look up for a photo op!

 Close up of tiles on hearth.

 Nasty work, this!

 Rock in place on the top front of the fireplace and looking fabulous!! 

 Dundee spots a leaf and goes into his Death Crouch!

Beware, Leaf!!  Your days are numbered!!

 It looks dark here, but my camera batteries were giving out.  Amazingly enough, I was able to catch Thistle's face, at least in profile, before she realized I had her in my sights!

 "Oh Mother Dearest, when will you learn......"

 "Rats!  You tricked me! Curses! Foiled again!!!

 "I cannot be bothered, Mother.  Surely you can see that!"

 All's fair in love and war, and owning a cat!  Notice the stick hanging down from the top of the photo?  I was enticing her to look up and she couldn't resist!  Of course, she probably thought I was going to hit her with it, but at least I got my picture! So there!!!

 Oh yes, this post is about a fireplace, isn't it?  The rest of the photos were taken this evening after I got home from work.  Here you see Husband Dearest "cleaning" the wet mortar from the tile he put in place earlier.  Notice the ever-present coffee cup.  No matter what the heat, that coffee cup is never far away!

 More clean-up, this time with the hose.  The beautiful color of the tiles comes out now the dust is washed away.

 Ta Da!! Notice the top of the fireplace now, with the "vent" in place.  Would you believe Husband Dearest actually talked me into getting up on top of the fire box (not a pretty site getting there, I assure you) and helping him put that heavy slab in place? I must be NUTS!!

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their long-awaited for Friday evening! May God Bless, Jan