We are so excited to share our latest creation with you…. 

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE!

This saint pillow was inspired by one that my mother-in-law had found awhile ago in Puerta Vallarta, as seen below.   (I wrote a blog post about their lovely house if you are interested). 

We were unable to find the original maker or another one like it so we decided to make our own. As it turned out, it was more complicated than we realized.

We wanted it to be our own, and not just copy the one we liked. We also wanted to honor this sacred and iconic image. 

(Per wikipedia, Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a Marian apparition and a venerated image enshrined within the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City).

As we studied various images of the Virgin de Guadalupe we became aware of the many historical references and visual details that we would see time and time again.

For example, the stars on her cloak are each placed specifically to reference the various constellations in the sky.

We started with a line drawing of La Virgen de Guadelupe as depicted in a beautiful book called:

Then we took this gorgeous floral print from a fabric called INDIAN ARBRE by SCHUMACHER and using elements of it, applied it to her dress.   

After that, we had to find a different face, so we looked to the Italian masters for inspiration.

Drawing by RAPHAEL

Sistine Madonna by RAPHAEL:

Madonna of the Pomegranate by SANDRO BOTICELLI:

In the end, we are quite happy with this lovely mama and her boy which ironically looks like my assistant Amanda and her son!

We ended up doing a version with and without the roses. 

My talented neighbor and artisan who lives down the street has been making them up for me. And my kids have been busy applying rhinestones!

There’s a great article by LATINO VOICE via the HUFFINGTON POST if you click on the image below:

And here is THE STORY OF OUR LADY

(as told by The Archdiocese of Los Angeles)

Read the ‘Nican Mopohua’ – the oldest surviving account of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A Mission from the Virgin

On Saturday, December 9, 1531, while on his way for religious instruction, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Indian and recent convert to Christianity, heard singing coming from the top of Tepeyac hill. Suddenly, the singing stopped, and a woman’s voice called out to him: “Juantzin, Juan Diegotzin.” Ascending the hill, Juan Diego found himself before a beautiful woman adorned in clothing that “shone like the sun.” The woman introduced herself as “the immaculate Mother of God” and explained the reason for her appearance: she came to request a church to be built there, and she wanted Juan Diego to take her request to the head of the Church in Mexico, Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The task would not be easy. Like many New World missionaries, Friar Zumárraga was suspicious of supposed visionaries, fearing it was indigenous idolatry. Skeptical of Juan Diego and the Virgin’s message, the bishop sent him away, but promised to listen again at a later time..

Dignity of a Messenger

Dejected, Juan Diego returned to the Virgin and begged her to send someone more esteemed than himself. The Virgin listened tenderly but responded firmly, insisting that Juan Diego be her messenger. The following day (December 10th), Juan Diego returned to the bishop and recounted the many details of the apparition. This time, the bishop requested that Juan Diego return with evidence of the miraculous appearance. To be sure Juan Diego was being honest, the bishop sent two men to follow Juan Diego. But after trailing him for some time, the men lost sight of him, and told the bishop that Juan Diego was a fraud deserving punishment. Meanwhile, Juan Diego arrived at Tepeyac hill and told the Virgin of the bishop’s request; she in turn asked Juan Diego to come back the following day, when she would give him the requested sign for the bishop.

Promises of Hope

Returning home, Juan Diego was met with sad news: his uncle Juan Bernardino had become deathly ill. Instead of going to Tepeyac hill, the next day (December 11th) Juan Diego found a doctor, but nothing could be done. So on Monday, December 12, Juan Diego put on his tilma (cloak) for warmth and went to find a priest. Hoping to avoid any delays, he took a different path so as to avoid the Virgin. But as he neared Tepeyac, she descended from the hill, asking what was wrong. She then reassured the sorrowful Juan Diego by declaring her motherhood and promising that his uncle was already healed. Hearing this, Juan Diego asked for the sign for the bishop, and went to the hilltop as she instructed him. There – in this barren, wintery spot – he found a garden of sweet-smelling flowers; he picked the flowers and brought them back down to the Virgin, who arranged them in his tilma. Juan Diego then set out for the bishop’s house.

More than Flowers

When Juan Diego arrived, the servants refused him entry, but eventually let him enter when they could not take the flowers from his tilma. Before the bishop, Juan Diego recounted the Virgin’s words and the miracle of the flowers. When Juan Diego opened his tilma and flowers fell out, an even greater miracle was revealed: on the tilma’s surface was the Virgin’s image. The bishop and those in the room fell to their knees, admiring and praying, and the bishop asked to be shown the place for the Virgin’s church. With his mission fulfilled, Juan Diego returned home to find his uncle completely healed, just as the Virgin had promised. Even more, the Virgin had appeared to Juan Bernardino, too, and had told him her name: “the Perfect Virgin Holy Mary of Guadalupe.” Two weeks later, the day after Christmas, her chapel was completed, and the tilma with its image was placed above the altar.

But that was just the beginning of the story. In the centuries since her apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas has continued to transform lives. Her message and her image have been celebrated, venerated, studied, and passed on throughout the world. View the timeline to follow the Guadalupe Story from the apparitions to the present day.