Artist: Brooke Ochs
Title: St. Alphonsa
Media: Original Gouache Collage
Size: 8 x 10 in.
Artist Statment:
 
Alphonsa, born Anna (nicknamed Annakutty) whose life centered around suffering and illness, used her struggles to commune with the Savior. Alphonsa believed her trials sanctified her. Her whole life she struggled and was often ill. She suffered physically, but held close to her faith in God and used her pain as connection with The Savior.
Alphonsa was even born through tribulation. When her mother was eight months pregnant, she slept outside because of the heat. A snake wrapped itself around her and caused early labor.
Alphonsa has been compared to “a beautiful Rose where only the beautiful flower is visible to the onlookers. But it grows on branches with thorns which are unnoticed by others” (alphonsa.org). She is said to always have had a “serene smile even though the thorns of agony were hidden inside” (alphonsa.org).
I struggle with chronic illness and I do not live through my struggles with faithful grace. I wanted to paint Saint Alphonsa as a way to find strength in my pain. I may not ever get a miracle of healing, but I like to believe I can find ways to feel peace on the bad days like Alphonsa did.
The background is patterned after a cloth that was on the altar where Alphonsa was laid for her funeral. She is surrounded by roses and snakes because of the way her suffering was described and because of the circumstances of her birth. I chose the color purple for the background as, according to catholic.org, it symbolizes humility.
I may not be able to hold a serene smile on my face on the bad days, but I will think of Alphonsa as I try to have a little more peace when I struggle. She will be an example and a strength for me, and I hope for anyone else struggling with chronic illness.