Transcriptions #16: Ho'oponopono
Transcriptions #16: Ho'oponopono
16” x 20” x ¾”
Original mixed media painting on canvas
Ho'oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian spiritual healing process. The family or community would come together in prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and forgiveness with the intention of healing one or more of its members. Since we are all connected, healing could be achieved through the forgiveness for and from all members of the family. In Hawaiian, Ho'oponopono means to correct, to make right.
In more recent years, the process has been culled down to four simple statements which can be recited independently, as a mantra to clear oneself and all others of any wrong thoughts and actions. In doing so, the individual becomes responsible for the whole. The four statements are:
"I love you, I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank You."
The design for the 5 canvas strips was influenced by an image of The Gandharan Scroll. I had come across a photo of the remnants of that scroll, written on birch bark. These ancient Gandharan scrolls are considered the oldest discovered Buddhist texts.
The strips of rough and ragged canvas cloth are filled with repetitions of the four statements and lines of threads are sewn between the columns of text. I left the untrimmed threads at both ends to dangle at the top and bottom of the cloth pieces. The background is textured with strings, sand, and paper beneath the paint.
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Related Paintings
18” x 18” x 1.5”
Original mixed media painting on canvas
In May All Beings, my goal was to fill the canvas with threads and strings and rough edges of cloth. Even the background is textured with strings. The 12 pieces of painted canvas cloth are sewn to the background but only at the tops… and the threads are left hanging at both ends of the stitching.
I included the words from John Astin's song "May All Beings Be Happy" in English and in Sanskrit… “May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace. May all be free from suffering. May all be free from pain.”
Some of the text is visible in the background and one of the four statements can be found under each of the cloth flaps.
I was so attracted to the shadows created by the way the light fell on the cloth, strings, and strands that I left the background quiet without color.
The painting is on a gallery wrapped canvas with painted sides. It has been signed and dated on the side of the canvas.
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18” x 24” x ¾”
Original mixed media painting on canvas
Phoenician Shalom features two prayers for peace but with a twist. I translated the prayers into the written language of the ancient Phoenicians.
The painting was inspired by an image of The Copper Scroll which was found along with the Dead Sea Scrolls. When the scroll was unearthed, it could not be unraveled without being destroyed. So instead, they sliced the sides, cutting strips that could be laid out and read. The painting’s 5 canvas cloth strips represent an ancient deconstructed scroll, painted to resemble tarnished copper.
The strips are sewn onto a textured and painted stretched canvas with the sides painted to match the overall painting. It is signed and dated on the side of the canvas.
I really got a kick out of working with a language that is no longer used and rarely ever seen. Did you know that most of our modern alphabets have their roots in the ancient Phoenician language? The alphabet developed widespread use because of the extensive maritime trade of the times.