i was recently commissioned by a friend to make a collage for her husband that she could give to him as a gift for a family celebration. as inspiration for the collage she mentioned that he has recently been praying the hours, and that his spiritual/prayer life has really been blessed by it.
People have prayed at fixed hours during the day for centuries. Quietly easing away from the obligations of home or work, they take a few moments to spend time with God. These moments connect them to the Divine, and to the countless others who are also pausing to pray the prayers designated for that hour, on that day. Prayers whispered and chanted, spoken loud and clear or murmured silently within, all join together in a continuous flow, a river of words from our soul to God’s. Praying the hours enjoins us to stop, let go of all that occupies us, and focus on the sacred at regular intervals throughout the day. Suddenly, every day becomes holy, for every day is laced together by our appointments with God. -from "the divine hours" by phyllis tickle.
so i took the idea of the hours, a daily prayer cycle that keeps us connected to God throughout the day, along with the image of a clock as a circular representation of the cycle of time, and went from there. for this particular collage i started with a canvas board, and then used acrylic medium to glue down some pages from a very old bible (i used the psalms). on top of this i put a few pieces of masking tape for a more interesting texture. i also then ripped some of the masking tape off, which, amazingly, gives a reverse image of the page underneath. i then did several washes with various colors of acrylic paint, and filled in some areas with oil pastels to achieve the colors i wanted. i then did the paper collage on top of all that. i was really happy with the result, and, fortunately, the recipient of the gift was as well!
People have prayed at fixed hours during the day for centuries. Quietly easing away from the obligations of home or work, they take a few moments to spend time with God. These moments connect them to the Divine, and to the countless others who are also pausing to pray the prayers designated for that hour, on that day. Prayers whispered and chanted, spoken loud and clear or murmured silently within, all join together in a continuous flow, a river of words from our soul to God’s. Praying the hours enjoins us to stop, let go of all that occupies us, and focus on the sacred at regular intervals throughout the day. Suddenly, every day becomes holy, for every day is laced together by our appointments with God. -from "the divine hours" by phyllis tickle.
so i took the idea of the hours, a daily prayer cycle that keeps us connected to God throughout the day, along with the image of a clock as a circular representation of the cycle of time, and went from there. for this particular collage i started with a canvas board, and then used acrylic medium to glue down some pages from a very old bible (i used the psalms). on top of this i put a few pieces of masking tape for a more interesting texture. i also then ripped some of the masking tape off, which, amazingly, gives a reverse image of the page underneath. i then did several washes with various colors of acrylic paint, and filled in some areas with oil pastels to achieve the colors i wanted. i then did the paper collage on top of all that. i was really happy with the result, and, fortunately, the recipient of the gift was as well!
"the hours"
mixed media collage (acrylic paint, oil pastel, found papers) on canvas board
gregory a. milinovich
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