“Visitation by the Apparition of MA” (2026) Acrylic on Canvas, 48” by 60”
Deanna Musgrave - “Visitation by the Apparition of MA” (2026) Acrylic on Canvas, 48” by 60”
I made this painting for myself. Sharing it online is probably the only way anyone else will ever see it.
Sometimes an image just needs to be painted to exist.
It was inspired by an experience in 2024 where I went to pray to my neighbourhood Marian Grotto (which I walk to daily). As I approached, I formulated in my mind a question about what to do about my identity. So much of the art world now is about announcing who you are, your heritage and how you identify. I have avoided discussing identity around my art practice because it brings up complex family histories. Not everyone feels safe to discuss their family heritage or how they identify. Sometimes things are nuanced. When I arrived, three deer jumped out from behind the grotto as if to answer my question.
The rattle snake was inspired by a moment at the Santa Rosa Healing Arts Center Residency in Christina Lake, British Columbia. I had just finished making my first rattle, shaped as a cardinal, through a workshop led by Elder Jo White. As I brought the rattle down to our cabin a rattle snake appeared on the pebble path! As the snake shook its own rattle it dawned on me that I was clenching onto mine. This was the rattle I later gifted to fellow residency participant and friend, Tamara Cardinal.
During the residency was a Water Cleansing in the Mexican Curandera Tradition facilitated by the residency’s creator, Rocio Graham. She spoke to me during ceremony about shedding old skin and becoming new. Later, when she heard I was painting an image with Mother Mary in it, she suggested I paint the snake I saw with it. This is unusual. From childhood and through researching the French part of my ancestry, I know Mother Mary is often depicted stepping on a snake to represent conquering evil. I suspect the difference in my work has to do with the symbology of the snake as a dragon connected to the Sacred Order of the Marys in Modern Esoteric, Western Occult or Gnostic traditions.
Much of the work is still a mystery to me.
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(There was a “Part 2” to this written offering but, I am saving that for another time)