Stations of the Light - Artist finds inspiration for Easter Story
March 21, 2008, 5:54PM
In accident, artist found inspiration for Easter Story
Catholic depicts Stations of Light in clay after she survives car crash
Source:
Stations of the Light by Mary Ford-Grabowsky.
-->
As her car rolled over three times and stopped just before flipping
onto the freeway below, Mary Ellen Rouen found herself in the middle of
a hurricane of shattered glass.
She remembers thinking, "I don't even know if I'm going to get out
of this alive." After the car stopped, she realized, "'OK, I'm still
alive. I should say thanks.' And I did."
But her thanks didn't stop there. An artist and Roman Catholic,
Rouen was struck by the symbolism of her survival despite the broken
glass flying everywhere.
"To me it was a symbol of mercy," she said. "Even when you are in a
hurricane of glass, there is still that little strand of mercy that's
in there, even if things look totally black."
It later occurred to her to use the symbolism of the glass fragments
in an Easter series she had started to create but had put aside.
"Art can be used to heal, and often it is," said Rouen, 63, who
broke her back in the accident last fall. "Artwork has always been a
prayer for me."
On display
The Easter series depicts the Stations of Light,
an ancient Christian oral tradition that was revived in Italy in the
1990s and formally became a Roman Catholic devotion for the new
millennium.
While the Stations of the Cross depict Christ's passion and end with
his death on the cross, the Stations of Light tell the rest of the
story. They start with Jesus' resurrection, which is celebrated by
Christians around the world today on Easter Sunday.
Rouen, who learned of the stations at a spring retreat last year,
worked on the 14 clay depictions, including Christ's appearance to his
disciples and his ascension into heaven, throughout Lent and finished
them during Holy Week.
Easter worshipers at today's sunrise service at the Cenacle Retreat
House will be encouraged to walk the stations, which are hanging on
trees at the 9-acre Catholic center in west Houston.
"It's a wonderful model for us because it's the mystery we are
called to live — the mystery and joy of Jesus' resurrection," said
Sister Roselle Haas, a Cenacle nun and retreat leader. "That's the good
news."
The Cenacle sisters had searched in vain for a set of Stations of
Light to complement the wood and bronze Stations of the Cross outside
their retreat house.
When they heard of Rouen's personal project, they knew they had found a match and commissioned her to complete the set.
While the Stations of Light can be done without visual prompts, Rouen's work will enrich the experience, Sister Haas said.
"They are really lovely. We gave the artist the freedom to use her
medium," Sister Haas said. "The pieces are done in relief and in
natural tones of clay. She will put a finish on them so they will be
weatherproof."
Wreckage becomes art
Sister Haas will lead a four-week
series, "Walking Jesus' Easter Journey — Stations of Light-Stations of
Joy," beginning March 30.
Participants will be introduced to Jesus' post-resurrection encounters through prayer, meditation and reflection.
The Stations of Light will be open to the public beginning Tuesday,
along with the Stations of the Cross and the labyrinth at the center
run by the Catholic nuns.
Several days after her accident, Rouen and her husband, Michael, went to look at what was left of her car.
They scooped up the tiny pieces of glass from the front seat and brought them home.
In her studio, she made a cross out of the shattered glass, saving some pieces for the future stations.
"The hardest work came during this Lent," she said. "It's been a big
part of my Lenten spiritual journey. It was amazingly joyous, an
exhilarating process, and very emotional too."
Rouen decided to include the glass on just one piece — the eighth
station where the risen Christ gives his disciples the power to
forgive. At the Cenacle House, the scene is placed where the sunlight
will hit it just right.
Etched in the clay piece is the hand of Jesus, which is reaching down to the raised hands of his disciples.
Melted into the center of his hand is a small cross made out of the pale blue glass.
The disciples' hands have tiny spots of matching blue glass on them.
"We all need to learn a little forgiveness, don't we?" asked Rouen,
who will celebrate Easter by helping serve Communion at her church.
STATIONS OF LIGHT
The 14 Stations of Light celebrate Christ's resurrection and the events that followed: 1. Jesus rises from the dead.
2. Women find the empty tomb.
3. The risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalene.
4. Mary Magdalene proclaims the resurrection to the apostles.
5. Jesus appears on the road to Emmaus.
6. He Is recognized in the breaking of the bread.
7. He appears to the disciples in Jerusalem.
8. He gives the disciples the power to forgive.
9. He strengthens the faith of Thomas.
10. Jesus says to Peter, "Feed my sheep"
11. He sends his disciples into the world.
12. Jesus ascends into heaven.
13. Waiting with Mary in the Upper Room.
14. The Lord sends the Holy Spirit.