Essence of Place – Mission San Xavier del Bac

White Dove Mission

“Essence of Place” – A limited selection of photographs that, when combined, provide an overall feel for a place and offer a unique glimpse into what gives a place its particular essence. The mood or emotion portrayed in the place is emphasized. People are frequently included to illustrate culture or connection.  ~ Bo Mackison

Capturing “Essence of Place” is not limited to expansive landscape and wilderness areas.

Essence of Place is also a useful container when photographing historical sites, architectural spaces and urban settings. are also perfect spaces to capture their essence in a limited number of photos.

In some settings, particularly if one is traveling to see a special place, it is helpful to do some research and list a few words or phrases that highlight what the qualities that capture the essence of place. This is simply a place to begin — there will always be the serendipitous photos seen on site.

When photographing an architectural, it is helpful to keep in mind scale, and include photos of the entire site, photos of a part of the building’s exterior, plus expansive interior photos, intimate interior photos, and photos that capture small, telling details.

Words, phrases and concepts that define the “Essence of Place” at Mission Xavier del Bac:

  • National Historic Landmark
  • Catholic mission
  • a sacred place and active ministry
  • south of Tucson Arizona
  • construction from 1783 through 1797
  • built by the Tohono O’odham tribe, under the direction of Spanish Franciscans
  • oldest European structure in Arizona
  • original statuary, murals undergo constant restoration as funds are available
  • carved wooden statues of Native Americans and other saints
  • roofed with masonry vaults, domes
  • shells (symbol of pilgrimage) and cords (Franciscan symbol) are throughout the church
  • lime plaster exterior covering adobe bricks
  • painted curtains, marbling, even exterior drain spouts
San Xavier Mission

San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

This intimate landscape highlights the adobe brick structure, covered with lime plaster.

The white is stark against the Arizona bright blue skies. Desert trees offer minimal protection and shade. The sharp angles taken from a low vantage point emphasize the church’s majestic presence over the surrounding desert environment.

Down Spout of Paint

Painted Down Spout at San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

Creative details abound in the Mission Church.

In this frontier land in the 1700s, stone and adobe were available for building supplies, as was a limited amount of wood, but other items were hauled from Mexico, requiring a difficult overland trek

This did not stop the creators of the church from fabricating a sacred space using paint, gesso, and other natural materials. In one example, the drain spouts were fabricated from adobe, covered with lime plaster, and then painted from a crushed red rock substance.

In this portrait in a landscape, visiting brothers explore and worship in the historic church.

San Xavier Mission

The original church, whose construction dates from 1783-1797, was built by Tohono O’odham and supervised by Spanish Franciscan priests and brothers. The church has been repaired and renovate countless times – after periods of abandonment and disuse, earthquake damage, and lightning strike fires. Renovation is an ongoing process.

Pilgrims from around the world, some 200,000 a year, visit the Mission Church known as the “White Dove of the Desert”, a sacred space steeped in history, culture, and art.

Sacristy, Mission San Xavier del Bac

Sacristy, Mission San Xavier del Bac © 2014 Bo Mackison

The sacristy and east and west transepts feature over a hundred carved statues and murals.

Fabricated curtains, tassels, fonts, niches, and columns are carved from plaster and then highly decorated to resemble marble, fabric, gilding, and wood.

San Xavier Mission

Dome and Arches of San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

The mission church is a National Historic Landmark.

It is the oldest, still intact, European structure in Arizona.  Masonry vaults and domes form the roof which makes it unique among Spanish Colonial buildings in the United States borderland.

The church continues with restoration as funds become available. A glimpse of the scaffolds in the west sacristy is the site of a current restoration project. Experts are restoring a wall mural.

San Xavier Mission

St Bonaventure with Angels at his Feet, San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

Statues were usually created in the artist guilds in Mexico.

Then the statues were transported to the Mission where local artists added the finishing touches. Often the statues were “dressed” in gesso or fabric.

San Xavier Mission

St. Francis Candle at San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

Candles are an integral part in many Catholic Churches.

A warm golden glow emits from the many candle racks in the transepts of the church. Parishioners and visitors light candles as offerings, in gratitude and in petition. The candle lit areas are a favorite place for quiet prayer, introspection, meditation.

I chose to take a photograph of these candles and highlight the painted portrait of St. Francis Xavier, namesake of the mission and a revered saint of the Tohono O’odham — a “portrait” in a still life photograph.

San Xavier Mission

St. Francis Chapel at San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

A side chapel honors the namesake of the mission, St Francis Xavier.

Inside the small square building are racks for votive candles, statuary, and offerings from petitioners. Atop the chapel are three brass bells in a triple bell tower. The area in front of the chapel has carved stations of the cross in the stone wall and a desert garden.

San Xavier Mission

Interior of St. Francis Chapel © 2014 Bo Mackison

A detail shot shows the interior of the ten foot square chapel, white washed walls streaked with smoke.

There are always lit candles of petition and gratitude. (The paraffin candles have been replaced with a smokeless candle which will avoid further smoke damage to the ancient walls.

If one is patient, there are lulls between the petitioners’ visits. Wait long enough and the empty shrine fills with the still-present energy of seekers and believers.

I stood in this dim room, my eyes slowly adjusted to the candle lift dark when I came inside from the drenched-in-bright-sunlight desert. Scrawled letters with heart-touching stories, children’s drawings, holy cards, wedding and baptismal announcements, bits of jewelry and children’s toys adorn the altar.

(The Mission San Javier del Bac is located approximately 20 miles south of Tucson, Arizona, easily accessed from the I-19 expressway.)

The Essence of Place – Exploring King’s Canyon in Saguaro National Park

Three Cacti

Three Saguaro © 2014 Bo Mackison

Saguaro National Park is all about saguaros!

There are deep canyons, endless desert, blue forever sky, the play of light and shadow, but the biggest draw are the iconic cacti of the Sonoran Desert, the giant saguaros.

Saguaro Cactus - A View from Above

Saguaro Cactus – A View from Above © 2014 Bo Mackison

It is not often the tip of a cactus arm is easily captured, but on the Kings Canyon hike in Saguaro National Park, the mountain path rises above a stand of mature saguaros.

King Canyon, Saguaro National Park

Kings Canyon © 2014 Bo Mackison

Kings Canyon is dry on this sunny February day.

But after a heavy rain, raging flood waters can fill this canyon and overflow to the surrounding desert. A rock dam blocks this part of the canyon.

King Canyon, Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park © 2014 Bo Mackison

A stand of 50 to 75-year-old cacti, none yet sprouting arms. Typically a cactus will develop arms between 70 and 100 years, and can live 150 to 200 years.

Petroglyph Canyon Wall

Petroglyph Canyon Wall © 2014 Bo Mackison

Deep in the canyon, the desert varnish is marked with ancient petroglyphs. Snakes, spirals, human and animal figures are just a few of the many symbols.

Yipes Stripes, Saguaro National Park Visitor Center

Stripes, Saguaro National Park Visitor Center © 2013 Bo Mackison

Light and shadow is a large part of the desert experience, and even the buildings offer a light/shadow experience. The Visitor Center at the Tucson Unit of Saguaro National Park has a large outdoor ramada.

Stripes and saguaros!

San Xavier Mission – Sacred Space, Sacred Art

San Xavier Mission

San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

The calm within the storm is where peace lives and breathes. It is not within perfect circumstances or a charmed life… it is not conditional. Peace is a sacred space within, it is the temple of our internal landscape. We are free to visit it, whenever we seek sanctuary. Underneath the chaos of everyday living, peace is patiently awaiting our discovery… go within. ~ Jaeda De Walt

The mission church at San Xavier del Bac is a special place. Built in the late 1700s, the church is still run by the Franciscan order that originally built it, and continues to serve and minister to the Tohono O’odham people.

The church is an amazing space, filled with statuary and murals, and dramatic elements such a painted theatrical curtains, painted walls to resemble colorful marble, and faux doors and decorative panels. Though I typically go to the desert in search of sacred spaces, I return to this unusual church again and again to sit in its space, touched by the culture, the art, and the sacred.

Red Birds of Paradise

Bird of Paradise

Red Paradise Portrait © 2013 Bo Mackison

I’ve been dreaming of the desert the last two nights — first there was a wild dream of boat rides through canyons surrounded by skyscraper high cacti and then I was on a trek through the desert with a rattlesnake wrapped around my leg the second night! I thought perhaps I would pay homage to the desert with a few photos of one of her prettiest stars, the Red Bird of Paradise, and maybe tonight I can get some sleep.

Bird of Paradise

Red Birds of Paradise © 2013 Bo Mackison

When I visited Arizona in September, I took quite a few photographs of these beauties. These Red Birds of Paradise (or Mexican Birds of Paradise) were in bloom. It was a glorious waving of oranges and reds, caught in a strong desert breeze, while several hummingbirds darted about. Quite the show.

Bird of Paradise

Seeds of Paradise © 2013 Bo Mackison

I was even fascinated by the long seed pods twirling amidst the flowers. There’s always a bounty of glorious botanicals growing at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum., one of my favorite haunts in the Tucson area.

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Bo Mackison is photographer, book-maker, collector of stories, naturalist, curator and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.   Though I am mesmerized by the varied colors of this Wisconsin autumn, thoughts of the Sonoran Desert are often on my mind.

Generosity – A Desert Wisdom Card

Completion - A Desert Wisdom Card

Seed Pod © 2013 Bo Mackison

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
  ~ Kahlil Gibran

The four chambers of the seed pod are empty.

The seeds are scattered, and the earth is gifted with the possibility of new life. The seed pod has done its part.

Nature supports us with no request for thanks. The seeds open. The sun rises and sets. Plants grow, flower, set fruit, set seed. The seeds are dispersed, the cycle continues.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi

When we give of ourselves, when we give from our heart, we pass on our gifts and in doing so we also are the recipient.

The gift to oneself is in the giving — no expectations, no reciprocity, no keeping score. How our gift is received is not within our control, nor is it the reason for gifting. True generosity is unconditional generosity.

The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own. ~ Lao Tzu

GENEROSITY offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art activities, calls for action:

  •  Time is a precious commodity, perhaps even more so than money. The pithy advice from Ben Franklin – “Time is money.” – encourages us to value productivity. But sometimes wasting time is exactly what we need. Thich Nhat Hanh offers this life recipe: “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” Consider stretching a five-minute walk into a ten-minute walk simply for the experience. No reminders to smell the roses, practice mindfulness – simply walk at a slower pace and notice what happens. A tiny gift of generosity to oneself primes the pump to practice generosity.
  • Generosity with one’s thoughts requires no planning, no financial encumbrance. Mental gifting of a blessing, a prayer, a kind thought reaps benefits for both the giver and the recipient. A simple Buddhist teaching, the Metta Chant, offers generous thoughts for all. “May all beings be well and safe, may they be at ease.” It is easy to remember and repeat frequently, although it can be a challenge to apply this gift to all equally.
  • Consider adopting a practice of generosity. Abandon a gift — a handwritten copy of a poem, an uplifting message, a small piece of art — where someone will unexpectedly find it, perhaps on a bench or hanging from a low branch of a tree. Attach a note of explanation that this is a gift for the finder.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.