Mary Daniel Hobson
MILAGROS Series
Left to Right
Be in Peace, 2005
Conserve Ecology, 2005
Listen Long Enough, 2006
Mixed Media Collage
18”W x 36”H | per piece | framed
Artist Statement
In 2002, troubled by the increasingly fearful and dark tenor of the world, I began this series dedicated to hope. My process involves photographing people’s arms and asking them to write down their wish for a miracle or positive change in the world or in their life. I then create collages from these images and texts and title them with a phrase from the handwritten wish.The completed pieces serve as visual affirmations, emboldening these wishes for positive change. This series was inspired by Milagros (literally “miracles” in Spanish) — small metal talismans often sold outside of churches in places like Mexico. They come in myriad shapes – arms, legs, hands, hearts, cars, babies, and many more.A person would select the Milagro that symbolically resonated with his or her wish for a miracle, and then put that intention into that object and hang it in a special spot in the back of the church.Arms and hands are the focus of my series, because it is with our arms and hands that we build tangible results in the world.