Divine Mundanity: The Wheel Turns Every Day

Artist Statement

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From an antlered god of the wilderness snapping a selfie to an ancient goddess of transformation stirring a mystery soup near her KitchenAid mixer, my work examines, through juxtaposition of pre-Christian deities with contemporary settings and situations, the realities of Pagans and Paganism as they exist in the modern world.  As with Paganism itself, which merges old with new, Divine Mundanity: The Wheel Turns Every Day recontextualizes ancient deities within modern day settings and situations.  Each god and goddess portrayed was modeled by a member of Whatcom Pagans, a local Pagan group which includes polytheists, pantheists, goddess worshippers, witches, and others walking a wide swath of earth-centered spiritual paths.  Each painting aligns with a spoke of the Wheel of the Year, a series of sacred sabbats marking the turning of the seasons and the endless cycle of life and death. Since we are frequently either romanticized or demonized by those outside our community, this work seeks to emphasize both the humanity of Pagans as well as the divinity within humans.

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Community engagement is crucial to this work.  The reference photoshoots I conduct with members of Whatcom Pagans have been highly collaborative; I have depended as much or more on their knowledge and creativity as on my own when planning engaging scenes.  The results range from the easily understandable to the mysterious, from solemn and reflective to humorous and seemingly irreverent.  It is my sincere hope that this community’s duality of mundanity and magic comes through in these paintings.

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