It’s cherry pink and apple blossom time in Toronto. Last Sunday, I went to an Art Exhibition at which my watermelon carver friend was an exhibitor. She exhibited her photography. As I went towards the building that housed the Exhibition, I was enthralled by the garden there. I had seen the cherry blossoms in High Park two weeks ago They were magnificent. However, I was captivated by the colour of the bough hanging before me laden with bright fuschia coloured blossoms. After enjoying its beauty with the naked eye, I took this photo.
After seeing the Exhibition Art in a variety of styles and mediums, I was inspired to make this collage. The idea came to me that since some of the sky was revealed, I could use my angels there. Why angels? I have always been fascinated by pictures of angels. When I visited Rome and wanted to bring some souvenirs back, I bought some prints. One of them has nothing but angels. The angels in the middle of this collage were photographed from this print. The two angels on the extreme left and right were made by me using stained glass.
Angels have a long history and have been part of the mythological stories of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, as well as other groups. Here is some interesting information I found about angels:
A common description sometimes given of angels is that they are “beings of light,” which are sometimes described as “fearful to behold” due to their tall stature, purity, and sheer power. Some will also describe angels as having wings and maybe even halos. Yet, the western idea of wings and halos originated through ancient religions and mythology. Images of angels looking like human beings, but with wings, were an ancient idea that illustrated benevolent spirit beings as coming from a “higher place” or the “heavens.” Wings were an easy way to convey the idea of angels crossing back and forth (or even up and down) from the spirit world to Earth and then back again. Many ancient gods were often depicted as birds or as having wings (think Egyptian, for example). By the fourth century (AD), angels were widely perceived as having wings within western cultures, while wings were virtually non-existent within the Eastern religions. Many ancient cultures had placed wings upon their deities, creatures and heroes, so it was natural for Christian artists to look to pagan cultures for inspiration. Christian artisans were inspired to add wings to angels by looking at Greek art. Muslim artists looked to Persian renderings as their inspiration for wings upon angels. During this same time, Christian painters also borrowed the idea of the halo from the Greeks and Romans who had used them prior. Today, most people with common sense can easily recognize that angels with wings and halos were an addition into religious art after much debate and eventual approval by the Roman Council of Nicaea after 325 AD..
If you’ve met angels with wings, you’re luckier than me. My own personal experience with angels is that they don’t have wings. Wherever special protection is given or kind deeds are done for me, this has come by way of human beings with kind hearts and hands. Angels in art though, that’s another thing! I love them – wings and all. Hope all you early bloomers and late bloomers enjoy “Cherry Blossom Angels.”
Biblography and additional reading: