Category Archives: Objects of Devotion

The Keeper of Fragments

Posted on by
5

The First OBJECTS OF DEVOTION Workshop Is Now Available

I’m so pleased to share that the first workshop in my new online series, Objects of Devotion, is now available on my Teachable studio classroom site. 

It’s called The Keeper of Fragments—and in many ways, it feels like a beginning that has been silently forming for years. Here is the link.

If you’ve followed my work over time, you may recognize the thread. The spirit figures, the small altars, the reliquaries, the layered collages—each one, in its own way, has been an object of devotion. Not in a strictly religious sense, but in a deeply human one: a devotion to memory, to meaning, and to the act of making itself.

This workshop is an invitation to explore that idea in your own way.

What Is The Keeper of Fragments?

At its heart, this workshop is about starting simply.

We begin with humble materials—leftover papers, saved scraps, images you couldn’t throw away—and through layering, wrapping, and assembling, something begins to emerge.

We learn to create small faces in clay that carry a sense of shared humanity.

A figure. A presence. A collage archive of where you’ve been.

The Keeper becomes a kind of companion—part spirit figure, part story, part guardian of the fragments that have stayed with you.

How the Workshop Works

This is a self-paced online workshop, designed so you can move through it in your own time, at your own rhythm.

  • All videos are fully downloadable
  • You can keep them forever as part of your studio practice
  • The workshop is $27, and all future Objects of Devotion workshops will be offered at this same accessible price

My hope is that this becomes something you return to—not just a class, but a resource.

A Personal Note

One of the most meaningful parts of developing this series has been hearing from so many of you on the “interest” list.

I’ve been reading your descriptions of your own work, and I’m genuinely inspired by what you’re bringing to this idea. There is such depth, curiosity, and honesty in your responses—it tells me that this series is finding the right people.

If you choose to join The Keeper of Fragments, I would truly value your feedback. Your thoughts will help shape the workshops to come and guide this series as it grows over the coming year.

What’s Next

The second workshop in the series, The Listening Vessel, will be released in late May.

And yes—there will definitely be workshops exploring Altars and Books, along with other forms that continue this idea of devotion through making. 

An Invitation

You don’t need special materials.
You don’t need a perfect plan.You just need a few fragments—and the willingness to begin. If this speaks to you, I would love to have you join me.

The Keeper of Fragments is now available in my Teachable studio.

Thank you for being here, and for the work you are already doing. Making is how we practice devotion. 

Lyn

 

Objects of Devotion

Posted on by
8

. . . a new series of monthly workshops inspired by Encantos and the quiet, meaningful objects that shape a creative life

After writing about stepping back from Painting with Fire, I found myself reflecting on the arc of my own work—what has remained constant over the years, even as materials and methods have shifted.

But it was during my recent exhibition, Encantos, that something became especially clear to me.

As I worked on that body of clay, collage, and assemblage pieces—objects that felt both ancient and immediate—I began to recognize a deeper thread running through everything I make. There was a sense of connection to the past, to shared human symbols, to small, sacred objects that carry meaning across time and culture.

In that moment, I understood something I hadn’t fully named before.

Much of what I’ve created as a collagist and assemblage artist are, in essence, objects of devotion.

Not in a strictly religious sense, but in a deeply human one—a devotion to process, to memory, to meaning, and to the quiet relationship between the artist and the work.

That realization has led me to a new series of upcoming workshops.

I am designing a collection of twelve self-paced, three-hour workshops to be released approximately once a month on my Teachable site. The series is called, simply, OBJECTS OF DEVOTION.

We begin with: The Keeper of Fragments: A Devotional Archive Figure

These wall-mounted studio guardians combine elements of spirit dolls and boxes, layered collage, clay sculpture, and assemblage—brought together in a simplified, accessible way.

It is designed to help you focus on what you are truly devoted to in your art practice: your colors, your words, your meaningful fragments—the pieces that mark your journey.

This is a figure that not only watches over your space, but holds what you cannot throw away.

I’ve had a wonderful time creating the prototype and filming its emergence. It’s almost ready for prime time. It takes a little from the spirit dolls, the boxes, the Wanderers, the Neo-Santos, and adds the meaningful fragments from your personal creative practice.

The next workshop in the series will be: The Listening Vessel: Holding What Emerges in Stillness

Available in late May, this workshop invites you to create a small hand-formed vessel using plaster, paper, and natural materials—an object shaped as much by listening as by making.

Through simple, intuitive processes, you’ll build a form that gathers texture, memory, and meaning, allowing the materials to guide you as much as your hands do.

This vessel becomes a place of pause—a way of holding what is subtle, unspoken, and still emerging.

As with all Objects of Devotion, the focus is on simplicity, presence, and personal meaning. Each piece will be uniquely yours—a quiet companion in your creative space.

Other upcoming workshops will reflect my devotion to shrines and altars, talismans, Santos, pods and vessels, and narrative Ex-Votos.  I look forward to announcing the entire series.

Ultimately, this series called Objects of Devotion is about recognizing and building what resonates most deeply with your unique self—your own devotion to art-making which calls you back, again and again, to your creative practice.

Each workshop is both process-based and object-centered. We will create something tangible—something we can hold, share, revisit, and reinterpret over time.

These objects become metaphors of meaning, reflecting both your past and your present.

The workshops emphasize:

  • Simple forms explored through mixed-media techniques
  • Materials that are accessible and chosen with respect for the natural world
  • Processes that can be adapted and expanded into your own artistic language

Each workshop is affordably priced at $27 and is downloadable for you to keep.

You don’t need to commit to the entire series—simply choose the ones that resonate with you.

The first workshop, The Keeper of Fragments: A Devotional Archive Figure, will be available next week.

If you would like to be on the list to be the first to know about new workshops, just click here. 

I’m so looking forward to sharing this with you!!!