"Al tar nate".....Possibilities..........

This post is not intended to dishonor any religious icons, or to offend anyone, but to heal in an "Al ......tar.....nate" way.

Retablos from Mexico...... are small oil paintings on tin, zinc, wood, or copper.

The literal translation for "retablo" is "behind the altar"...........and I know altars are more often than not thought to be serious, spiritual, and reverent......but they can also be fun.

In my artistic statement..... I say......nothing is held sacred, or almost always not sacred....but ..a sense of humor always heals whenever there is a need, and that can be thought of as sacred to some.
Retablos.............
Home altars were used and are sometimes still used to venerate the almost infinite number of Saints. I think there is an altar for just about everything. I say if we have a need, we should create our own Altar Figures ..........not Saints, but figures that have some meaning, or purpose for us. Like the Altar Figure of Lost Keys..... or the Parking Lot Space Finder Altar.

Here is an Altar to gum that has been saved not spiritually of course, but in some form......certainly gum is a very spiritual form......somehow....um it can transform..........
Going with kind of a Halloween theme.........this is a hand from B(Y)e Low......really a bye low porcelain doll's hand........I never could just go with the flow and follow class instructions. My porcelain doll instructor saw me at a show recently and she still remembers my dismembered doll..........and the rolled back in the head painted eyes. I knew I was in trouble the first day when I asked if I could make my own mold.

An Altar to "Bored" Feet......How Do You Measure Up?

I absolutely love painting on tin.....wood, etc. I want to start a new body of work...called "Altar.....Casions", an altar for every occasion. Again, this is not to be disrespectful.......but to just add another "altar dimension"........or "altar reality". People have home altars set up for many uses, some that are not intended for a religious purpose. It may be meant to have a quiet place to retreat, or meditate, or for a variety of other reasons. So, why not have an altar to make you happy, or to be helpful in some way. As they did in the past, let's bring the altar back into daily life in some form. I would not be true to myself, if I did not include, The Halloween Altar of Possibilities .....grab any of these Altar Figures, and assume a new identity/personality...at least for a day Here we have the Hungry as Hell Altar Figure........who will help you find food in a hurry......that is already precooked, or cooked on the spot........always hot, and not waiting under a lamp somewhere. Sorry Halloween on the brain again.............

And.......... the Margarita Altar ....for most all occasions.......let's give it a hand, and a taste............ this altar is portable and potable as well...........
An altar to indecision...........Halfway between Heaven and Hell..................
Circus Altar......to honor...........Circuit Dog Up to His People Tricks.............

I really want to do an alter show....Call it Altar Reality......on April Fool's Day...........set up pedestals with nothing on them........and then guide guests through the Gallery explaining all the alt(ar)ternatives I could have created. It would be a new show every time you walked someone through it..............or perhaps explained all the altarpossibilities I might have had in mind.

Art serious............NO ............30 lashes with a wet noodle...........Never! Think of all the ways in your altar life you could use an altar...........