DIY Reliquaries
When I finished my daughter’s Confirmation gift, I still had a little bit of a bug in me to do some more similar reliquary work. I really enjoyed the process of working with different elements and art materials to put it all together. And so I thought I’d try again with something a little bit different.
The little reliquaries are a little adventure in multi-medium arts. Since I can’t seem to focus my brain on one specific thing, as far as the different types of arts, this gives me a chance to do several different types that I really enjoy, but in small doses. For example, I love quilling. It is so delicate and intricate. An yet, I think I’d probably lose my mind if I had to do it consistently all the time. I’m so very much a perfectionist, so the thought of getting things just right on a huge project gives me an extreme amount of anxiety. But I can focus long enough to do it in small doses, to give something a delicate feeling, and to curb that craving that my mind might get for this particular craft.
It’s also really satisfying to be able to put together different elements that I’ve been holding on to. I wouldn’t exactly call it hoarding, but when I come across something that is amazing but that I don’t have an immediate purpose for, I do hold on to it. That amazing set of vintage earrings? They would make amazing embellishments for a future project. The pearl necklace? I could take it apart and make a new rosary, or add them to something else. Little bits of beautiful paper or fabric? Same. Keeping it for future use. Beautiful spotted eggs from my Quail? Why, those would make amazing elements for a new wreath. See where I’m going with this? You can repurpose items for a variety of reasons, and no one would probably second guess their origin when seeing them in the finished project. They’ll be looking at the “whole” for the most part.
Some things that could be used for these project reliquaries follow.
- Vintage Papers & Letters
- Old Jewellery
- Beads & Buttons
- Dried Flowers
- Ribbon
- Natural Elements like sticks and moss
- Preserved bugs or butterflies
- Quiling
- Old art work
- Prayer Cards
- Playing Cards
- Mementos like tickets from movies, rides, or events
- Picture Frames &/or shadow boxes
- paints and pastels
Going over to the “meaning” side of things…I suppose you could look at it in a few different ways. My heart longs to bring beautiful and meaningful things into the world, that have significance in a way that draws others hearts towards something greater– toward beauty’s ultimate creator and ultimate source. Honoring the saints that have gone before us, with their amazing life stories of self sacrifice and honorable works by making pictures that might honor them is one way that I can do that. They’re examples of people that have characteristics that I long to imitate and emulate. Maybe it sounds like some silly artsy mumbo-jumbo to gift art these underlying meaningful purposes….and often times I don’t have an underlying meaning or representation for some of my art, but these do. I don’t know them, personally, but they have something about them, their work, their life, that I find fascinating and beautiful enough to want to give their portrait something extra special.
If you are at a loss as to how to proceed with arranging items within the reliquary, head over to Google of my favorite choice, Pinterest, for a plethora of examples and ideas. Just look up reliquaries, and prepare to get lost in a sea of beautiful examples.
