In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Marishi-ten is the goddess of the heavens, goddess of light, and a solar deity. Although Marishi-ten worship predates Zen, it is geared towards a similar meditative mode to enable a warrior to achieve a heightened spiritual level. Losing interest in issues of victory or defeat (life and death), he is freed from attachment to his own mortality and becomes a fearless warrior.
Marishi-ten and Sarah, 2012, 53 x 46 x 2 inches, acrylic and ink on paper on panel
drawing nearly complete
detail of heads
attaching the sheet to wood panel -- pressing the panel into the pasted-up sheet using vacuum and plastic sheeting
detail of head
detail of feet