The Virgin Mary and Icon Boxes

While I waited for my clay to get stiff enough to make icon boxes I painted some more on the mantel...I decided to paint the Virgin Mary on the oval medallion...partly because it looked like she belonged there and partly because all the saints lined up on the mantel seemed like they needed her...

The somewhat finished portion of the mantel looks like this and says ..."be not weary of make believing... when you least expect it you shall reap" (I don't remember where I read this but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in Revelations)

The icon boxes I made today were Saint Giles (patron saint of those who fear the night)...he will have doors on the outside, metal stars hanging inside and a place for a battery votive candle.

...and Saint Agostina Petrantoni who has a lovely name and is the patron saint for protection from poverty...I think a stack of coins on her shelf would look nice...maybe some hexagon shaped foreign coins