I Am the Immaculate Conception

I am the Immaculate Conception
was her words to Bernadette

She was a poor shepherdess,

Bernadette,

growing up at the foothills of the Pyrenees,

on the banks of the Gave du Pau.

Tending the very poor family's

small flock of sheep

When the most miraculous vision 

appeared to her.

A vision of Light

with roses on Her feet.

From this numinous event

flowed forth a stream of healing water,

a holy place was born,

Bernadette's life was transformed

into one of passion,

commitment and a vocation to the highest Love

Bernadette's message : God is everywhere!

A place where the fire was lit long ago

and the fire of your Soul

and Its unconditional love

is kept alive

And such is the miracle within our own hearts

as She brings forth the waters of regeneration,

healing and wholeness,

teaching you that Love is everywhere

A wearable altar to

Our Lady of Lourdes

L'immaculee Conception

Hand soldered lead-free silver

patina'd by hand

Vintage prayer card set between glass

creating a miniature shadowbox filled with

seed pearls and small freshwater pearls 

as well as a tiny vintage Lourdes connector

Vintage buttons from a street market in Paris

a tiny crown

a vintage Lourdes medal with prayer on the back

an image of Our Lady of Lourdes set in resin

in a sterling silver cup

beaded chain that contain mother of pearl buttons,

rondelle,

aurora borealis

a tiny sterling silver Agnus Dei heart locket

and two different kinds of linked antiqued chain

The back of the pendant contains the basilica

of Lourdes from the same vintage holy card

Stacked mother of pearl buttons,

swarovski crystals

rondelles

silver toned roses

aurora borealis

freshwater pearls

Sterling Silver element with artist's name engraved on it

You can read here how my sacred altars

are prepared with holy relics and oils

with love,

Hettienne

The House of the Heart

There are two kinds of intelligence.

One is like that acquired by a child at school,

from books and teachers, new ideas and memorization.

Your intelligence may become superior to others,

but retaining all that knowledge is a heavy load.

You who are occupied in searching for knowledge

are a preserving tablet,

but the preserved tablet is the one who has gone beyond all this.

For the other kind of intelligence is the gift of God:

its fountain is in the midst of the soul.

When the water of God-given knowledge gushes from the breast, 

it doesn’t become fetid or impure. 

And if its way to the outside is blocked, what harm is there? 

For it gushes continually from the house of the heart. 

The acquired intelligence is like the conduits 

which run into the house from the streets: 

If those pipes become blocked, the house is bereft of water. 

Seek the fountain from within yourself. 

[IV, 1960-68] Poems by Rumi 

Hand soldered wearable altar and shrine

The House of the Heart

Patina'ed to look old and worn

Vintage french holy card

Hand cast sterling silver sacred heart and hand charms

vintage connector of Our Lady of Lourdes

sterling silver dangle engraved with

artist's signature 

Aurora borealis crystals

rhinestones

vintage chain

Available on Her Grace by Devata on www.etsy.com

www.etsy.com/shop/devata

St Anthony wearable altar shrine

A beautiful Italian vintage holy card of St Anthony and the baby Jesus - 

you can recognize the style and colouring of this Italian image - 

set between two pieces of glass and soldered with lead free silver solder.

 On the back of the image I placed a piece from a vintage Bible 

and on top of that I cut out a piece of the Litany of St Anthony and

 I also included his holy medal - all of this edged with vintage rickrack trim. 

On top of the small shadowbox I added a piece of vintage enameled jewellery of flowers - these complement the colouring of the holy card and the lilies and roses.

The altar is suspended from an unusual double sided rosary connector. 

The beaded necklace contains fresh water pearls, pink pearls to match the colouring ofthe card,

 swarovski crystal, a piece of a rosary which I brought back from Saintes Maries de la Mer, 

auroraborealis beads and many sterling silver findings and crystal rondelle. 

The necklace also includes very old miniature rosary pieces that I found at an auction.

 Underneath the altar hangs a beautiful rosy cross, a miniature blue enamel medal of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a tiny blue enamel Miraculous Medal that I brought back from Lourdes and one of the very small rosary connectors that I also used in the necklace.

part of a rosary that I brought back from

Saintes Maries de la Mer

tiny Our Father beads found at an auction

Every wearable altar, shrine and pendant carries the signature of the artisan (me) 

engraved on a sterling silver leaf, or on the back of a sterling silver hand cast icon, 

hanging on the necklace.

Each one of my pendants, shrines, paintings and other sacred art are first infused 

with a mixture of holy water which includes holy water from Lourdes and 

water from the grotto of Archangel Michael in Monte Sant'Angelo, 

and then infused with holy relic oil of more than 53 Saints & pure essential oils. 

A mixture of one hundred oils are used, including frankincense, myrrh, spikenard, agarwood and rose. It is also immersed in blessed pink dead sea salts, 

infused with rose petals steeped in holy oil of a third relic of 

St Therese of Lisieux and it is packaged with blessed salts, frankincense and sprinkled with holy water collected form many sacred places in the world. 

So it becomes sort of holy object to be handled with reverence and care.

blessings

Hettienne