Clairmont Presbyterian

These are all 14 Stations of the Cross Mandalas to watch in one sitting. Stations of the Cross are traditionally 14 art pieces depicting 14 of the last moments of Jesus' life leading to the cross and burial.

In this depiction of Jesus in Gethsemane I showed him on hands and knees, with sweat drops of blood around him. I showed his friends falling asleep on him. We see references to the garden of Eden in this garden of Gethsemane, as we see the snake coming near Jesus. Where the first man failed under temptation in Eden, bringing their own death, Jesus would deny temptation, saying not my will but yours, even to his own death. In the trees we also see the cup from the last supper he had just shared with his friends. We see references to other moments of feeling deserted by friends and needing to rely on faith: Daniel and the lion's den, and Joseph thrown in a pit by his brothers. Also look for hands of God spread over him, like the wings of a hen protecting her young. We have started this series with the main color being blue. We will move more towards red, to depict the mounting pain and violence against him.

The central image in this Mandala is the lips that betrayed Jesus. But they are made up of thorny vines and the words Judas uttered. Like in many of these mandalas the trinity sign is in the middle signifying that despite all the suffering and betrayal, the god-head is still central and present to everything in this world. We see thirty pieces of silver surrounding the interaction of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss, and the coins are dripping with blood. We can see dark soldiers waiting in the wings to take Jesus. We can also see one of the disciples peering from behind a tree. In the middle of the tree is the noose, foreshadowing the terrible demise Judas chose for himself. It turns into a rose, seemingly desirable like his actions first seemed, but in reality it is blood red in color, and sharp with thorns, like the regret he experiences. Near the perimeter we see someone being stabbed in the back, and we see the bread being broken and blood shed for the last supper, in which Jesus said, the one who dips his hand in the cup with me will betray me (signifying Judas). But immediately after that he describes how this bread and blood can rescue every single one of them from the dark. A dove shot through the heart, with a broken wing just below the dipped communion bread symbolizes Jesus' pure body being broken and about to pour onto the spears of the ones who took him.

With this mandala I wanted to capture the vicious atmosphere Jesus was placed under. Large canine teeth and bloody viper mouths are suggested to show a more tangible expression of the hearts of those accusing Jesus. Everything is symmetric radially except for Jesus' face at the middle.

The eyes of the horrified Peter are also the eyes of the rooster that convicts Peter of his denial. And Jesus looks at him, sadly from the center. We can see Peter denying Jesus to the three people who asked Peter if he knew him. We can see his silhouette by the fire where Jesus looked at him, the mome

The eyes of the horrified Peter are also the eyes of the rooster that convicts Peter of his denial. And Jesus looks at him, sadly from the center. We can see Peter denying Jesus to the three people who asked Peter if he knew him. We can see his silhouette by the fire where Jesus looked at him, the mome

The tearing whip that scourged Jesus and the crown of thorns that gouged him surround Jesus and his attackers. Teeth have been knocked out and a snake whispers anger and hate in his ear. Like a lamb at the mercy of wolves, he does not fight back. The feeling of being hated and beaten unfairly when no one is there to stop it reminded me of a certain boy tied to a fencepost and beaten more recently in a remote area of the United States.

Jesus carries his cross up to "the hill of the skull." Jerusalem, from which they came, and which condemned him, also resembles death. The path was long, rocky, and windy up to where he was crucified. We can see the suffering on his swollen, blood-stained face, under the weight of the cross in the middle of the mandala.

When imagining the moment Simon stooped to help Jesus lift the cross, I was struck by the intimate moment that might have happened when Simon's fingers slipped between the red, blood-soiled fingers of this rumored savior, only a few hours before he would die. You can see the face of Simon as he shyly approaches the bood-red face of Jesus. And you can see the cross over Jesus' shoulder. You can also see the faces of accusers, mockers, and soldiers looking on from behind them. I wanted to capture the awkward normalcy of the moment in the words, as Simon stumbles over how to position himself to help.