THE FIRST PIG ESCAPE

The title says it all. 

After seeing a collection of religious retablos, and ex-voto paintings I was moved to create my own devotional paintings, acting for my muse Miss Pigsley

The ex-voto  is a particular kind of retablo, a votive painting of a miracle (milagro). It shows a recovery from an illness, accident, or other misfortune, and was painted either by the person miraculously saved or by a folk artist to hang in the church near the image of the interceding saint. Since ex-votos usually tell a story, they almost always bear a text that recounts the event . Because an ex-voto is not based on something copied, the artist could give free rein to his creativity.

On a rainy December evening in 2006, Miss Pigsley having over-imbibed at the Holiday trough began her first escape adventure.

As related here in classic Mexican retablo form, the events of the evening and the Miss Pigsley deliverance through divine intervention are presented with no regard for the constraints of time or space.

"It was a dark and stormy night as Miss Pigsley, tipsy on spiked eggnog, did break out of her pen and rampage through the neighborhood digging holes. Finding herself near the dangerous main road exhausted and accosted by strange men in pick-up trucks, she did commend herself to the miraculous image of St. Pignatious and was delivered from her travails and lured home with cookies. Safe and in gratitude she offers this retablo to his glorification and memory."