
The Masks of the Goddess Project
(1998-2019)
In traditional societies masks are “vessels for the holy powers”. Inspired by Balinese sacred mask traditions,
I wanted to offer The Masks of the Goddesses as contemporary "Temple Masks, created to re-claim and
re-invent universal stories of the Divine Feminine, as well as empowering women to explore each archetypal presence within herself. As I and colleagues used the collection, the masks filled with story and energy. In APRIL, 2019 THE ENTIRE COLLECTION WILL BE ON EXHIBIT at Arise Gallery in San Francisco as I conclude this 20 year Project. For more information about the Show and the Opening visit this link: http://www.laurenraine.com/2019-show-announcement.html
(1998-2019)
In traditional societies masks are “vessels for the holy powers”. Inspired by Balinese sacred mask traditions,
I wanted to offer The Masks of the Goddesses as contemporary "Temple Masks, created to re-claim and
re-invent universal stories of the Divine Feminine, as well as empowering women to explore each archetypal presence within herself. As I and colleagues used the collection, the masks filled with story and energy. In APRIL, 2019 THE ENTIRE COLLECTION WILL BE ON EXHIBIT at Arise Gallery in San Francisco as I conclude this 20 year Project. For more information about the Show and the Opening visit this link: http://www.laurenraine.com/2019-show-announcement.html

OUR LADY OF THE SHARDS
(2018-2019)
"Our Lady of the Shards" lies among the broken shards, debris and resurfacing mythos of the past. She has been buried by time, history, war, and often the co-option of what was once sacred. She is the Black Madonna: the dark, generative Mother Earth found in the presence of sacred springs and cave. She is the numinous Spirit of Place. And she is also the forgotten, yet vital, work of those unknown women who wove the ancient stories, who birthed our ancestors, the memory keepers and the comforters, arising into the world again, insisting that we remember and reclaim.
(2018-2019)
"Our Lady of the Shards" lies among the broken shards, debris and resurfacing mythos of the past. She has been buried by time, history, war, and often the co-option of what was once sacred. She is the Black Madonna: the dark, generative Mother Earth found in the presence of sacred springs and cave. She is the numinous Spirit of Place. And she is also the forgotten, yet vital, work of those unknown women who wove the ancient stories, who birthed our ancestors, the memory keepers and the comforters, arising into the world again, insisting that we remember and reclaim.
Spider Woman's Hands
(2007-2009) "How might we live, how might we act, if we saw the world with a Webbed Vision?" .... Catherine Keller, Theologian An Investigation of the ubiquitous legend of Spider Woman, the native American Great Weaver, as She appears in today's world. |
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NUMINA: Masks for the Elemental Powers
(2013)
The Romans believed nature was inhabited by elemental forces they called Numina, and Roman sites had shrines dedicated to the "genius loci" of a particular place. Being in a reciprocal relationship with the Numina was important to the well-being of all. How can we regain this “communion with place” - the healing springs, mysterious forests, or generous orchards - that are the true wellsprings of myth? In the past "Nature" was not a "backdrop" or a "resource" – the World was a conversation.
(2013)
The Romans believed nature was inhabited by elemental forces they called Numina, and Roman sites had shrines dedicated to the "genius loci" of a particular place. Being in a reciprocal relationship with the Numina was important to the well-being of all. How can we regain this “communion with place” - the healing springs, mysterious forests, or generous orchards - that are the true wellsprings of myth? In the past "Nature" was not a "backdrop" or a "resource" – the World was a conversation.

RESTORING THE BALANCE
(2004)
A ritual theatre event as part of the Global Art Project.
" Myth comes alive as it enters the cauldron of evolution,
itself drawing energy from the storytellers who shape it."
.....Elizabeth Fuller, Playwright and Actress

THE RAINBOW BRIDGE ORACLE
A Divination System
1989-2005
Inspired by a long fascination with the Tarot, the "Oracle" evolved to reflect my personal
"iconography". The Rainbow Bridge is being created by a global society, and reflects an evolving
multi-cultural vocabulary for the sacred.

Earth Shrines, Reliquaries and Personal Icons
On going..............
"She will seal us with Her seed."
......Robin Williamson
A SHRINE is a place to honor and to in-voke the presence of the divine. The Earth is the Deity my shrines for. A RELIQUARY is a container for sacred artifacts. A relic can be many things - the pebble that becomes a touchstone, found on a long ago beach, emanating still the essence of that day. A feather left behind by a blue jay, or the flight of a Phoenix. Twigs that remember a face you saw among the leaves, whispering your name, the sweet residue of an incomparable Summer Solstice.
On going..............
"She will seal us with Her seed."
......Robin Williamson
A SHRINE is a place to honor and to in-voke the presence of the divine. The Earth is the Deity my shrines for. A RELIQUARY is a container for sacred artifacts. A relic can be many things - the pebble that becomes a touchstone, found on a long ago beach, emanating still the essence of that day. A feather left behind by a blue jay, or the flight of a Phoenix. Twigs that remember a face you saw among the leaves, whispering your name, the sweet residue of an incomparable Summer Solstice.

Photographs are by courtesy of: Jerri Jo Idarius, Ileya Stewart, Thomas Lux, Peter Hughes, Ann Beam and Lauren Raine
All materials are COPYRIGHT 2015, and may not be reproduced without permission.