“A Vision of Hope and Healing,” 2020’s art show at the Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey in Albuquerque opens Friday evening. It’s a perfect theme for this year, no? Most happily, like last year, I have a piece, “Holes,” that was juried into the show.

“Holes” was last year’s secret project; it’s to be included in Karen Miller‘s motherhood art book coming out in 2022. (More info on that later.) I finally finished it in February. I was also hoping to jury it into another show, but that didn’t work out. Nonetheless, it was accepted into “Hope and Healing” which pleases me inordinately. The Abbey is a beautiful, little place in southern Albuquerque. It’s quiet, even as it looks out onto the city, peaceful, even as you watch planes readying to land at the Sunport.

The Norbertines are committed to art; you can see it in the church they built. It leads you in, invites you to pray or at least reflect. Their mission and inspiration say it all:

Art at the Abbey gathers people of diverse stories, circumstances, beliefs, and perspectives together in community. We foster an encounter with the human experience and seek dialogue as the Holy Spirit inspires through art, a universal way of expression. By this, we hope to uphold themes of human dignity and openness in relation to overlying realities and movements in our world today to encourage resilience and hope.

In the spirit of Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey stands by the position that all are welcome to bear witness to and participate in their life as community, regardless of religious or spiritual background. They embrace their call to extend the grace and love of Christ unreservedly and appreciate the opportunity to do so through the universal language of art. As a sacred place and home to artworks by various artists of a shared inspiration, they are blessed by Santa Maria de la Vid Abbey to host art exhibitions, a work of art in itself.

“Holes” is a motherhood rug. Perhaps not the one you might expect. While the media, both traditional and social, proclaim the “nobleness” of motherhood, practically sainting mothers, it’s not that way in real life. Sure, it has its moments, more of them, if you’re lucky, but that’s not every mother’s experience. Certainly, it hasn’t been mine. Tom can attest, and he probably needs his own “holey” rug, but he’ll have to hook it himself.

Motherhood, parenthood – I won’t lie, it’s been a mixed bag – love and damage – and I wish a lot of it could’ve been different. But we only have the lives we’re dealt – the kids’ and our own. They’re what shape us.

“Official” Description of “Holes”:

Motherhood leaves behind holes, real, often un-patchable, irreversible. Damage is physical and deeply emotional no matter the child. Children leave holes just by leaving, from the womb or home.

The piece is hand-hooked using mostly recycled textiles. As children wear down their clothes, they can leave their mother in tatters as well.

But there is deep love for our children despite the wounds they inflict. We never lose love for our kids.

Swirls suggest the intertwining of life, blood, spirit. Life and love are dynamic, always flowing between mother and child. Life constructs life, but it also destroys. Some of that dysfunction can heal or at least be patched so that the life and love go on.

If you’re in the ABQ area, please visit “A Vision of Hope and Healing,” if only to experience the Abbey, its stillness, and its magnificent views.