At the age of 14 I went on a school trip across Italy and found myself victim to a spiritual experience in Rome. This event spurred a lifelong fascination with the workings of the Catholic faith (though never a desire to convert). For about half of my life now I have been collecting Christian devotional objects, in particular those associated with saints. The personal mystical and spiritual life of past people, and the way their belief affected their relatiy and the reality of those that pray to them, is perhaps what inspired me to pursue the career path I'm currently on (at least in part).
The only difference between hoarding and a museum is whether or not you allow your collection to be seen by others, so here it is.
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| Rosary from Santa Maria Novella, Florence. | Anglican rosary from Saint Paul's Cathedral, London. Note: I need to take a better picture of this, the beads are crystal. |
Agate rosary from ????, Paris. |
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| Rosary from Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence. | Rosary with pearl and wooden beads, from ?????, Italy. | Franciscan rosary from Cattedrale di Santa Maria (the Duomo), Florence. From the 2024 Francisco Live event. |
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| Orthodox rosary with evil eye beads, from Athens, Greece. |
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| Icon of the Black Madonna of Monserrat. A gift from a very dear friend. |
Devotional candle to the Hurricane Lady of Saint Augustine, Florida. Her storyis worth a read. |
Replica of an orthodox icon, made in Barcelona. An heirloom given to me by my mother, from her youth. |
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| Orthodox icon of Saint Michael, Florence. | Hand-painted Greek Orthodox icon of cynocephalic St. Christopher, Athens. This is one of my greatest treasures. I was so visibly excited to find it that the old woman selling them gave me a huge discount. |
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| Personal font, jade, from Our Lady of Lourdes shrine. A gift from my mother, purchased at a French flea market. |
Handmade ceramic font from Santa Maria Novella | Devotional candle to the Hurricane Lady of Saint Augustine, Florida. Her story is worth a read. |
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| Black and gold crucifix, Benedictine. Unknown provenance (I didn't write it down) |
Blue and silver enamel crucifix, Benedictine. Unknown provenance |
Wooden crucifix, Latin style. |
What do you even say about the most important character of all time? Alone in the world but desperate not to be; doomed to exist in a reality that is fundamentally incompatible with the monoculture; ridiculed for his security the validity of his beliefs... A man outside of time, place, identity — Cain, wandering the earth for all eternity, unable to atone for a sin he was unaware he'd committed.
Most importantly he is so fuckin' sexy it is incoherent insanity inducing. I need him so bad RUST COME OVER!
