Sentinels
1st: Hope
2nd: Trust
3rd: Freedom
4th: Desire
5th: Determination
6th: Opportunity
In early 2025 I was filled with confusion for my own future that ultimately led to despair. I felt empty. I was drawn to a lovely cemetery. While admiring the craftmanship of each headstone I noticed that there were a multitude of trees. More trees than I had seen at other cemeteries. I noticed the relationship of the trees to the graves and the trees definitely felt like sentinels. I felt something shift inside me. All my hope for the future, trust in mankind, freedom to create and the desire to do so, my determination to succeed, and subsequent opportunities to prove myself just simply, in that moment, died. For a moment I thought I saw the headstones read each abstract noun instead of a name. Then I remembered the trees. Yes, they guarded the graves of those who are gone, but they also preserve the memory and glory of those individuals as they grow.
I decided to create six coat of arms to replicate that relationship with these six pieces. Each headstone depicts one of the deaths of the abstract nouns and is the central, mounted, narrative. The trees stand as the sentinels guarding what was lost while at the same time preserving what was lost and allowing it to grow slowly. So, in effect, the trees also represent each abstract noun and subsequent title. Instead of flipping the format of the central narratives to be more of a traditional shield as seen in medieval coat of arms, I kept them oriented to point their arch heavenward. The lace backgrounds provide a basis for my makeshift coat of arms. There are two unicorns (Divinity) with a single lily crowning the top to represent the lily of the valley (symbolizing purity, humility, and redemption) while the base includes several poppies (symbolizing peace, death, and resurrection). The idea of lace represents the veil between mortality and immortality.
Why a coat of arms? To identify and represent my journey from confusion and despair to a better and brighter future and to illustrate the guardianship of trees as sentinels for they are grounded and strong and can live for centuries.