This portrait honors a friend of mine, Sister Guadalupe Medina, Order of Saint Francis, for her tremendous work and vision to offer spiritual direction and retreat ministry in Spanish, her native tongue. I used many elements from the traditional icons of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to represent Sr. Medina's empowerment and embrace of her own cultural and religious heritage.

Where Our Lady is usually surrounded by roses, Sr. Guadalupe is throwing them up in the air in celebration and invitation. Where Our Lady wears her mantle/headscarf wrapped close, She shares it with Sr. Guadalupe who then opens it wide to share with all those who come to her for guidance and compassion. Where Our Lady stands on a crescent moon, Sr. Guadalupe stands on the reverse crescent of the Fremont Bridge, a well-known landmark in Portland, Oregon, to represent her bridging work between two cultures.

 

Thanks to Eileen Parfrey, Kri Schlafer, and Karen Evans for help with this portrait project.