Tag Archives: Glen Rogers

Symbols of the Spirit

Final Cover

Book Review—Symbols of the Spirit: A Meditative Journey Through Art
By Glen Rogers, ©2019 Luna Arte Contemporáneo
Paperback, 104 pages, US$30 or 500 pesos plus US$5 shipping from glen@glenrogersart.com

You will want to savor your time with this gorgeous volume created with love and wisdom by very talented printmaker, painter and sculptor, Glen Rogers. The book is filled with Glen’s beautiful artwork expertly laid out and printed in rich colors, accompanied by short text and guided meditation.

Glen’s work has long been grounded in archetypal imagery—metaphysical symbols from the collective unconscious. As a young feminist artist, Marija Gimbutas’ insights in The Language of the Goddess spurred Glen to walk in the footsteps of early goddess cultures. Over the next several decades Glen made spiritual and artistic pilgrimages to sacred sites around the world. On these journeys and in her art and life in between, Glen discovered and nurtured an internal resonance with sacred archetypal symbols, which then became a focus of her work. When she began authoring this latest volume, she set out to write a book about two of her favorite symbols: the bird and the lotus. Once she began, however, she quickly realized there were eight key symbols that appear again and again throughout her body of work.

In Symbols of the Spirit Glen writes a two-page essay on each of these eight symbols that have imbued such meaning and beauty into her art and daily life: the bird, circle, lotus, moon, seed, spiral, vessel and vesica piscis. She covers the symbols’ historic use and meaning as well as how they came to speak to her personally. Glen includes a short meditation or experiential activity inviting the reader to connect with the energetic properties of each of the symbols: to “experience it with your heart and allow the images to become part of your visual and spiritual vocabulary.” Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

 

The effect is one of pure joy and thoughtful contemplation. If you are looking for reading that nurtures the spirit, the heart, one’s creativity and authenticity, you will find it here. Merely touching the rich pages deepens and calms one’s breath. Keeping this book near you in your home or work space provides a quick escape from the harried world we live in.

Most Mazatlán residents have much to thank Glen for, including the First Friday Art Walks in Centro Histórico and the OMA Gallery at the airport. She owned Luna Art Gallery in Mazatlán, and currently splits her time between our city on the bay and San Miguel de Allende. Born in Mississippi, Glen holds an MFA from San Jose State University and has a long and esteemed art career. For decades she worked in public art and as a community leader. Glen has had solo exhibitions throughout the USA and Mexico plus several in Peru, and group exhibits on four continents.

Glen feels that these eight archetypal symbols offer a promise of healing and transformation, a spiritual and artistic anchor to the Sacred Feminine. She views the creation of art as meditation—a communing with a higher power. Working with ancient symbols provides a bridge to our ancestors and a heart connection to the past. Glen’s experience tells us that these symbols provide healing on a subconscious level, and that once we’ve healed ourselves we can heal the world, because archetypes allow us to go deeper inside to find new truths to the dilemmas we face individually and collectively. Do we really need reasons more powerful than these to invest our time and talent?

Glen’s record of giving back to the community and trying new things is evident in this book. Making such personal works available to everyone—artist and non-artist alike—allows us a peek into what pushes someone as amazingly talented as Glen, and in doing so inspires us to look inward as well. Meditating with Glen via these precious pages is a truly therapeutic endeavor.  Contact Glento start enjoying your copy.

“The man who speaks with primordial images speaks with a thousand tongues.”
—Carl Jung

 

Mayor Felton Thanks Expat Community

Yesterday morning during a groundbreaking ceremony in the Plazuela Machado, Mayor Carlos Felton spent a significant amount of time thanking YOU, Mazatlán’s foreign resident community, for the investment and contributions you have made and continue to make in the city. He held us up as an example of how to actively engage in civic life, noting how many of us have made efforts that have transformed Mazatlán into a better place for all to live. He spoke about how foreign residents were some of the first, and most vocal, to defend Mazatlán during the years of violence and economic downturn, and how foreign investment has helped to restore many historic homes. He told a story of one expat who, during the city elections, knew all about the issues, and he also spoke at length about our friend Janet Blaser’s most recent editorial in M! Magazine about recent city improvements. Here’s a short video of his speech:

Glen Rogers, local artist and community leader, announced her plans to donate the design for a piece of interactive public art for the Plazuela Machado. Her design is a four-sided bronze chair with a 10-foot-tall back, decorated with cutouts of local flora and fauna. The Mayor said that they will begin looking for sponsors for the art project in the new year. Glen is the woman who started the very successful Art Walk/Camino del Arte ten years ago. In its first decade the Art Walk has grown to not only showcase a broad spectrum of local artistic talent, but also has become a monthly boon to downtown restaurants and cafés. Here’s a short video of Glen talking about her new piece:

 

Glen Sorrie, owner of Casa de Leyendas B&B, was also on hand and spoke of his and his wife’s experience moving here and opening their business. Mazatlán has a long history of foreign residents and investment; heck, the city was in large part founded by European, North American and Asia-Pacific immigrants during the gold rush days! We are blessed to live in a city in which foreign immigrants have historically been not only welcomed but embraced, and this heritage gratefully continues.

The event this morning was actually a press conference and groundbreaking ceremony (banderazo or flag waving in Spanish) for the rehabilitation of the Plazuela Machado, led by Alfredo Gomez Rubio, owner of Pedro and Lola restaurant and a key leader of the restoration of our Centro Histórico. I believe we all recall that some upgrades to the Plazuela just happened. We all know there are other areas of the city, including the main Pino Suarez Market, that could much use renovation. But, hey, we’ve got palm trees on the malecón, plans for an expanded city park that includes a major art museum (thank you, Neto Coppel), and soon, a new Carpa Olivera outdoor pool in Olas Altas. Refreshing the Plazuela is definitely a good thing for our city’s image.

Click on any image below to view it larger or see it as a slideshow.

Glen Rogers, artists
Mayor Felton with Glen Rogers’ design
Glen Sorrie of La Casa de Leyendas
The Banderazo/groundbreaking
Drawing of the planned art installation
Drawing of the planned art installation
Drawing of the planned art installation
Glen with her drawings
Alfredo with Emery and Greg