St. Agatha of Catania

St. Agatha of Catania

Daring Diva c. 235–250

Patronage Jewelers, Bells, & Nurses, Against fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions & breast cancer

Feast Day February 5

Hailing from Catania, Sicily, Agatha bravely refused Quintianus’ advances for the sake of God. She was heinously tortured, including breast mutilation, but was healed by St. Peter in a vision. Thrown onto burning coals, Agatha still refused to act against her faith. Upon her death, Mt. Etna volcanically erupted and villagers protected themselves from flowing lava with her silk scarf. They invoke her protection to this day.

Small Snippet

Saint Agatha, intercede to the Holy Ghost that I may have protection from mutilation of any kind. That I may be brave in the face of danger.

Prayer

Artistic Process

Inspo References

I wanted to capture the delicate balance between Agatha’s bravery and her beauty. Above all, I wanted to reverence her mutilation over perversion.

I took these photos. The primrose, according to Celtic tradition, symbolizes the keys to heaven, that they drive away evil. Quite poignant for a woman who remained steadfast in the face of torture.

Primrose Flowers

Two years ago, I attempted to go to daily mass for St. Agatha’s feast day, but my car windshield was frozen. No matter the heat applied, it wouldn’t melt in time for me to make it. Instead, I watched the ice melt in a way that vaguely reminded me of lava. This led me to use the images as lava in her image.

Water Melting

I felt the same way about candle wax at the end of an event my friends hosted. They used so many candles and said the melted down wax was to be chucked. Well I chucked them home to take these photos because once again, I saw potential for lava. I didn’t expect this to be used for Agatha, but it turned out to work nicely for her lava.

Candle Wax

I’ve been fascinated by Agatha for many years, long before I illustrated and designed her. She’s one of those Roman martyrs that just intrigues with her story.

I completed this illustration in 2021, and was happy with it at the time, but she was come a long way.

Older Designs

Just a year later in 2022, I drew and updated Agatha to become much more dynamic and intriguing. I didn’t expect myself to possibly top this gnarly illustration of her. Yet here we are.