The whole sculpture is moving–the broken and lifeless body of our Lord limply in the arms of his mother offers a powerful reflection on the horrors of the crucifixion, and the price of my sin. The depiction of Our Lady is also very thought provoking. She is much bigger than her son–with the shoulders of a football player. I like to reflect on the strength of Mary–the strength she needed to do what God asked of her, and the strength she can have in my own life, if I let her.
I had the opportunity to study the sculpture in person a few years ago when I was in Rome with my two younger sisters.
Standing in front of the sculpture you get to see not only the whole, but the parts too. When you get really close, you can see the gentle beauty of Mary’s face. The entire sculpture is depicts the cruelty of sin and hate, but on her face is peace, and trust in God’s plan.
That is something I need to foster in myself–Peace and Trust in God’s plan.
For this reason, I used a close up of Mary’s face from Michelangelo’s Pieta for this project. He did such a beautiful job capturing her and the image serves as a quiet reminder of the blessing and trails of motherhood. I also really love the idea of Our Lady reflecting the glorious light of Jesus, and I wanted this project to be light-filled as well.
If you’d also like to make a Light Catcher of Our Lady, here’s how:
Supplies:
Printed image of Mary
Sheer Fabric (mine has a sweet little flower design on it)
Transfer Gel (sold at arts and crafts stores, in the glue section)
Paint brush
Mod Podge
- Once you have gathered your supplies, trim your printed image of Mary to the desired size. Then, spread a thick coat of transfer gel onto the face of the image. Press the image face down onto the sheer fabric. Use the pads of your fingers to get out any air bubbles or gel blobs.
- Allow this to dry. You will probably need to hang it while drying, so it doesn’t stick to something, since the fabric is sheer.
- Once totally dry, take a wet wash cloth and totally saturate the paper. Then, using the pads of your fingers, start to rub away the paper. The paper will come off, but the image will remain.
- When all of the paper has been removed (be patient, it takes a while) cover the image, front and back with Mod Podge. This is important because it is nearly impossible to remove all of the paper, so without Mod Podge your image will appear cloudy.
- After the Mod Podge dries, add a frame of your choice and whatever you decide to use to hang it up!
This is what mine looks link in front of the full light of a window. You can really see the flower details in the fabric.
It is a simple craft that is beautiful in it’s own right…but it is a far cry from the beauty of the woman it depicts.
Thanks for being here–and may we all grow closer to Mary’s heart!
And, don’t forget to check out these other Mary Project from the Catholic Blogger’s Collective!
AmyColleen says
Hi!
I was wondering if you have ever transferred a photo onto a mirror? It’s similar to glass I know but also different . I’m llooking to have a picture of Jesus in a mirror.
🙂
Nancy Bandzuch says
Check out this tutorial: https://www.catholicsprouts.com/2013/08/photo-transfer-onto-glass.html
nobody, son of nobody says
Well that was an interesting surprise for me today. I drew of picture of that very same statue back in 1995. Here is my rendition of it. I was working from a picture on the cover of my art history book 🙂
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4447/pcid.jpg
Level 1 Homemaker says
Oh goodness that is lovely!
Monica McConkey says
I love this post…and would love to try that technique of transferring the image. The Pieta is beautiful…great choice for a beautiful light catcher! Love the picture of the 3 sisters!
Ginny Kubitz Moyer says
That’s just beautiful. Such a great gift idea for a special woman (or man!).
Jennifer Marie Lawrence says
Nancy, she is beautiful! I’ve never seen a close-up of Mary’s face on the Pieta. And this is a great project! Thanks so much for sharing it! Blessings!
Chris says
Wow this is a wonderful craft…so beautiful and so well explained, Nancy. Thank you!