The Ancestors Speak to Me

During my first fire ceremony with a K'iche' Maya Daykeeper we were all given several white beeswax tapers. As the ceremony progressed, we were each to place them in the fire, calling out the names of our ancestors inviting them to be present. This is traditional. It was then I had the sad realization that I knew few names of those in my lineage but called upon them as a collective. Later that night when I returned to my lodging in Chiapas, Mexico, I had an email from my mother awaiting me. It said she'd just found our geneaology chart and other information she didn't realize she had. The time stamp on the email showed it arrived in my inbox during the ceremony. This painting is inspired by those occurrences.

Elements: oil and cold wax on wood cradled panel.