In South Louisiana a unique cultural event is occurring. Many Catholic communities
honor The Virgin Mother, yet no other community celebrates the image of The Virgin as
do the people of South Louisiana. Statues of The Virgin Mary have long been associated
with hidden gardens, and shrines, yet in Louisiana this icon of The Virgin has become
something more.

These Virgin statues, no longer confined to secret gardens, proudly guard the homes of
the region. Italians tell stories of The Virgin protecting homes from storms and gulf
winds. A devastating fire ravaged New Orleans in 1812. The nuns of the Ursuline Convent
in New Orleans placed a statue of Mary in a window of the convent and were miraculously
spared. The people of Pierre Part built an island shrine of The Virgin after
the town was spared from a hurricane. The Virgin Mary has been known as a protector
of Christians since ancient times. These statues have become an integral part of the
landscape with no one myth, story or belief explaining; The Blue Virgins.

The images shown are a combination of these statues and visions of the landscape in
which they reside. Collections of these prints have been shown at:
Tower Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana; Marian Library, International Marian Research Institute,
University of Dayton, Dayton Ohio; Festival International Artwalk - Up Gallery,
Lafayette, Louisiana; The Rock N' Bowl Cafe, New Orleans, Louisiana; The West Baton
Rouge Museum, Port Allen, Louisiana; The Opelousas Museum of Art, and Opelousas,
Louisiana. Prints of this project are in the collections of various friends and patrons.

The prints are archival digital prints, painted digitally using various software. They are
a limited edition series. This is an ongoing project new images will be added as they
are developed. Please contact me if you are interested in the project or purchase of the
prints.