This work of art emerges from my canon of creating ephemeral impressions of sustaining while vanishing. Working with sponges and pan pastels gave me the freedom to gently touch the pure white surface to leave a light residue of shimmering presence. The moment captured is a self-portrait of my spiritual struggle against the forces of evil.

As a woman reading Ephesians 6:10-20, I was not inclined to visually clothe myself like Wonder Woman with full armor of metal breastplate, belt, shield, helmet, sword and chains, but rather, I found myself quietly drifting under the invisible “shield of faith;” a delicate shroud of “mighty power.” My posture beneath the veil reveals a devoted, “fearless” gesture of “prayer in the Spirit,” and the taking up of a “firm stand against the devil’s deceptive schemes.” With “the readiness, and the mighty power that comes from the gospel of peace,” I remain “strong in the Lord,” with the “full armor of God, under the “shield of faith.” There I can “extinguish all the arrows of the evil one,” and be an ambassador of the gospel, “as I should.” Each and every word in this Bible reading empowered me to make this ethereal work of art, where the color white emits a sublime spiritual force and symbol of peace. Every time I look at it, I am reminded of the invisible breastplate of faith that I wear on a daily basis for my walk with the Lord.

Just myself, Sandra Jean Ceas.

Shield of Faith is an original work of art made from pan pastels. It is 40"x26" on white rag paper. Framed behind glass $3,300. No prints available.

I do accept commissions for artwork and community engagement encounters with the arts.