edition of 30
5.75″h x 5.75″w

 

 

 

An utterly quiet realm endlessly prevails
of infinitely potent seeds
sprouting invincible, pure Love
where we can no longer decipher
where we end and other begins
In this resplendent realm each becomes
one beautifully vital flutter
of our one, miraculously Sacred Marriage

 

 

 

 

Marriage of Spirit, was included in the Juried Exhibition; Empire 100; at the Tucson Desert Art Museum in 2015

Inspiration

Subtle heart shapes – the heart being the Center of Love – appear sprinkled among the foliage (growth) of the three trees (through the shapes of the cut-out areas within the foliage). The open spaces are those spaces that allow the Light to travel most easily through the vessel –through the heart space is where we most easily allow our Love to flow through to the world at large. We might consider how many “open spaces” we hold in our lives to allow greater opportunity for the higher realm to pour through us freely. We too frequently pack our lives so full we function in a mode of overwhelm neglecting to allow for open, quiet space to both receive and to send forth. These heart-shaped spaces can be easily overlooked on the vessel mirroring how easily they can also be overlooked in our lives; yet it is here (from our hearts) that our love flows most purely and potently. Also hidden in this piece (before closer inspection) are twenty-one (21) life forms sculpted into the root system of the trees: whale, owl, monkey, deer (African Oryx), rabbit, butterfly, starfish, honeybee, frog, floral blooms (4), humans(1 couple, 1 single), bird, cat, whale, elephant, and star. These fifteen different life forms appear in the hidden root system while each woven within the other – feeding one another in an intricate and frequently invisible web. Representative of the miraculous human and all creatures of land, air, and water, all are presented within the single, while complex, circular (infinite) root system (representing the Universe at large woven in an infinite web). The images are quiet and hidden at first glance, mirroring how we typically do not see and honor these deep connections without effort and intention. As we share our heart space, and our loving intentions spill into the world, we are simultaneously sharing it with all the world and all its creatures and beings – invisible or visible to us at the moment.   It is documented that the vast majority of the universe (96%) is invisible, even to our most sophisticated instrumentation, and that this 96% is often not considered as real as the 4% we can perceive with our five senses.Yet, with every loving act and intention we are indeed influencing THE ENTIRITY OF THE UNIVERSE – little by little, radiating our seemingly small light whether clearly visible or not to the human senses. Even the seemingly smallest gesture of Love ripples into our world with often invisibly profound effects. Marriage of Spirit suggests we remember the rich potency of even the smallest loving act – pouring forth from our heart centers – and consciously realize its impact (visible or not) unto the entire realm of life. This is our inherent truth – we cannot act from love and NOT affect the world – we are married in Spirit – each to the other in an intricate and powerful web.

The earthly sacred act of marriage – one to another – offers us a glimpse – a slice – of this deeper infinite umbrella of Love and connection. When entered into with a mature awareness it can become a glorious steppingstone into blooming yet greater gifts in ones life. The act of marriage, invites us to bless this world with that bond of love in a myriad of colors and seasons. It offers us a sliver of the even grander Love of the higher realm – a taste of its infinite reality and dimension – the expectancy that the marriage will bless this world even more deeply through the loving union. Martin Luther (1566), quoted in Random House Webster’s Quotationary ed. Leonard Roy Frank (1999) “The ideal that marriage aims at is that of spiritual union through the physical. The human love that it incarnates is intended to serve as a stepping stone to divine or universal love.“ Our marriages (whatever color they may be) become a pregnant bud for the ever-growing extension of that Love into our world at large – blooming and blessing within each diverse season and in all its many colors.

The three, simple trees on the Marriage of Spirit vessel are representative of trees collectively – and, all that grows reaching for the heavens while grounded in the potent earth. Their arms are intertwined – married – in both the seen and unseen realms. The number three is frequently used in my work representing the ultimate creative number, the triad and the bringing together of the two into absolute harmony.This powerful number is symbolic of the Trinity, of birth-life-death, the three precious jewels; beginning-middle-end; the three worlds: physical, intellectual and spiritual. It is a highly creative number bringing opposites into absolute harmony.

Marriage of Spirit speaks to this realm of marriage to our inherent Lover – always waiting and always seeking us in diverse seasons and colors. It is as if our name was called many long years ago and an expectant One patiently awaits our reply. As surely as the tree grows straight toward the heavens, roots planted firmly into this earth, we too are rooted in this earth as we stretch (consciously or unconsciously) toward that other Realm – the nameless One. No one directs the tree to grow – to sprout – to bloom – to seed – to fall upon the earth at last and offer its final blessing. And no one directs us to do the same though we yearn to mirror that miraculous rhythm that bears the deepest connection to our purpose and our peace. The trees mirror for us how effortlessly this journey offers us this peaceful sense of being and loving contribution – simply grow exactly where you are planted. Release the judgments – release resistance – release the absurdity of believing you need to “figure anything out” –release the myriad of illusions and simply trust your inner voice to be a guide of absolute Wisdom. It is that same inner voice that may have guided you into a physical union to another – guided you to absolutely know you simply and completely love another. When the union formed within a marriage is empowered with the reality of its potency to bless this world it is indeed a profoundly powerful force of love and blessing to our universe. And outside of marriage, that union is equally, while differently, radiantly aglow and powerful.

The limited edition size is 30 – symbolic of the three trees representing the great triad (the bringing together of opposites into absolute harmony). Marriage of Spirit is a sister vessel to Serenity – they hold much in common (including size and shape) but each displays its own unique trees and Marriage of Spirit presents the hidden web of creatures of land, sea and air. .Serenity, in contrast, presents a textural illusion of images within the root system symbolic of the illusions we carry precluding us from experiencing a sense of serenity.Either or both are available with an optional bronze base cast from a slice of the ironwood tree and providing slight additional height and an added organic element. They make a lovely “couple” while each also stands quietly, while powerfully, alone.

The companion writing holds three verses with three stanzas in each equaling nine – the last number, symbolically, before returning to absolute unity and completion. May it inspire a deep blooming – a soulful recognition – in all who pause in her presence and may it bring a growing awareness to the potency of all we think and do, expressing Love, within our miraculous Marriage of Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

© C. Alleman 2014