36/365- Mother Mary

Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
 -Traditional Catholic Prayer
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On one of our outings in Tucson, Brian and I had the privilege of visiting Mission San Xavier del Bac. It is an amazing Catholic mission that dates back in history to the 1600's and the current building dates back to the 1700's. The mission is still in operation today, serving the community that surrounds it. I will have more information and pictures about the mission building at a later date, but the reason I mention it is because next to the mission is a hill of ancient volcanic rock where, carved out of the hill, there is a shrine to Mary, Mother of God. This is the focus of today's digital art.

Before we explored the mission building, Brian and I took a walk around Grotto Hill, the volcanic outcropping to the east of the San Xavier del Bac Mission. The hill is topped with a white cross and on the north side of the hill, we discovered this replica of the Grotto of Lourdes. The shrine to the Virgin Mary was constructed in 1908 and was oversaw by Bishop Granjon.  It is a quiet and peaceful place where one is inspired to reflect. In the near distance, the beautiful desert mountains surround the hill and the amazing white mission church structure gleams in the desert sun. No wonder it is called the White Dove of the Desert.

I was honored and awed to be able to visit such a beautiful and sacred site full of history. I look forward to posting more digital art from this place soon.

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Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page as I have added some dates where I will be showing art at the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra in December, March, and May. It is such a fun night filled with music and art so I highly recommend y'all to mark it on your calendars and come on out to Bel Air High School.

Also, I will be working at Arts By the Bay this Saturday from 11:00AM- 2:30PM. Come on out and visit me so we can chat about art or Lyme. I will also be bringing in Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse to hang in replacement of Long Shadows of Empirical Knowledge, which has sold. If you are interested in this framed piece, please stop in early Saturday to purchase it!