From Paris to Purgatory

My two most recent projects have taken me from the Moulin Rouge to the Catholic's purgatory with the anima sola. It's been a very split personality kind of a week. ;)

I created a mini theater featuring can-can dancers of the Moulin Rouge. I am fascinated by Paris when the Moulin Rouge first opened, the idea of the bohemian lifestyle and the mingling of the artists, the dancers/singers, philosophers, and poets. It's a romanticized vision I’m sure but I’m still enamored of it. Here are a few pictures I came across while researching:

 And here is my version of the theater:

My other project was a nicho style shadow box featuring an image of the anima sola. I was raised Catholic and even though I’m no longer a Christian I’m still drawn to religious images and stories of the Saints. The anima sola seems to be an image that started as a lost soul in purgatory but it also has stories linking it to different religions and cultures. In doing research the one story that struck me is its tie to lost love or unrequited love. That is something I can definitely identify with so I started the piece from there. Here’s the completed shadow box: