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Joe Cajero Jr.
Nurtured by Prayer

was inspired by the desire to reflect the more feminine aspects of life. Nurtured by Prayer is the balanced response to Embodiment of Prayer, my masculine form.

The concept for this piece of art began with a swirling emotion of being enveloped by love. Thus a star shape formed at the base, moves upward in a circular motion initiating curves that yield feminine features.

Like two sides of the same coin, Nurtured by Prayer wears both the masks of sunset and sunrise. They are sisters born of the same elements; bearing many of the same characteristics they remain unique. The headpiece of Sister Sunset bears the stars and the vastness of the universe while the headpiece of Sister Sunrise displays the radiance of the sun’s rays from dawn to dusk. Sister Sunset wears the rays of sunlight upon her chin as she awakes during the last moments of day. Conversely Sunrise Sister has a star upon her chin as the last visage of night fades into day. Similar to the Embodiment of Prayer, the sisters’ mouths are extended in song. One might conceive a gentle whisper as this song softly and continually yields praise and thanksgiving to our Creator.

The sisters share one body with a common base. Dragonflies, caught up in the body’s swirling motion, are symbolic of individual growth as seen on the Embodiment of Prayer. Likewise altar designs of various sizes represent the unique stage of spiritual maturity.

While working on this piece, I paid close attention to the sunrise and sunset. Dawn brought the sound of a lone bird in morning song. Within minutes a whole chorus of birds could be heard. It reminded me of a mother awakening her children. The New Mexican evening sky was filled with the opulent colors of temperate reds and intense yellows. The warmth of these colors felt like the magnificent hue of love, very feminine and nurturing. Nurtured by Prayer hopefully captures the essence of this significant emotion as well as demonstrates my desire to show reverence to all women for their scared role as bearers of new life.

(Joe Cajero)