Mosaic Mirror with fused glass cat body parts and hand that signs "I love You".
Created by Judy Killian
The stuff in the background of the mirror is my studio bulletin board, thoughts on paper.
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Edge glued mosaic fabric - a process I developed to create a flexible glass mosaic fabric that would easily withstand the very extreme cold on the outside of the church door and the warmth on the inside. Interestingly, the glue between the transparent glass is almost invisible where the same glue between opaque glass is visibly black. The fabric is then placed in a thermal unit. The process worked wonderfully in the door for many years, showing no signs of frost up or damage in a busy door. The door was later replaced after thieves damaged it.
Mosaic
Glass fabric on the lecturn for Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Catholic Church, Healy, Alaska
Small Glass Fabric Heart
A memorial Mosaic for MaryRita Cap
Created By Judy Killian with her fathers left over tiles. He is a tile setter.
Glass fabric
Door window for
Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Catholic Church, Healy, Alaska
Tabernacle at Holy Mary of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Healy, Alaska
Created By Judy Killian
The Tabernacle mosaic is filled with many spiritual symbols. Reminders of God's story interacting with Humans. The symbols are conversation starters between the Lord and the individual sitting there in prayer as he notices them.
The first piece of glass applied to the surface was the center of the Chalice and I broke it because the glass was too big for the curvature of the background. It made me remember how the priest had recently taught us we must break ourselves for others.
The ceiling of the enclosure is mirror. It represents the veil between heaven and earth, supernatural and natural, death and new life. Everything in this life is a simple reflection of eternal life.
When we placed the light in the ceiling mirror it cracked over night. The crack runs from the light to a nail on the cross. It reminded me of the torn veil in the Temple when Jesus died, so I left it there in the mirror that symbolized the veil between heaven and earth.
The cross is also completed in the mirror, doing it's work here on earth and in the spiritual world.
The Eucharist is only a half circle of fused glass made to look like it has the Jerusalem cross embossed on it. Reminding us of our Jewish family roots. The other half of the Eucharist is created by it's reflection on the other side of the veil, or mirror.
The flames surrounding the Eucharist look like hands and a spirit dove. Straight forward it is the priests hands and spirit offering up the Bread, in the mirror above it looks like the hands of God and his Holy Spirit offering the Eucharist to us.
Twelve fused stars surround the Chalice for the twelve tribes of Judah and the twelve Apostles. The purple background reminds us that we are a pilgrim people, waiting.
There are 120 fused grapes of different shades of color, just like the 120 people who hid, prayed and waited in the upper room after Christ's death. They were rewarded with the Power of Pentecost. There are seven Grape leaves for perfection.
There are 40 heads of fused wheat with gold leaf in them, for the forty years Moses spent in the desert and for the 40 days Christ fasted in the desert. On the wall you cannot see there is one wheat plant with 3 heads of wheat for the mystery of the Trinity. It also has seven leaves for perfection.
Near this plant is a square stone, surrounded by tiny black stones. It has been chiseled by a man in the Holy Land in the past. It was picked up on the ground near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and given to me as a gift. I could think of no better way to share this precious gift.
The sheep was drawn from the local Dall Sheep lambs. Our faith is local and universal.
In 2000 my husband and I went to the Holy Land that Jesus walked on. We were struck by how all the stories of bread, fish, and stones in the Bible made so much sense in that land. So I put my life time stone collection in this mosaic, including 7 heart shaped rocks.
The altar and baptismal in this church are hand made from local trees, so I made the side altar out of a local burl to hold the Holy Oils. The lamp is made from parts of the lamp that hung above the tabernacle before this project.
I was married in this church, baptized our children, my husband converted, and I sang. This is home, and now that we have moved I am happy for the universality of our faith. I love the symbols that speak louder than words.