"I remember well the feeling of holding my newborn babies in my arms for the first time. It was like holding a little piece of heaven. Through motherhood, I have experienced a joy that is pure and beautiful. This experience is not unique to me, it is shared by mothers all over the world. Everyday I feel gratitude for the opportunity to be a mother, and hese beautiful souls that have been placed in my care."

Life is an ongoing series of miracles. Everyone has something to be thankful for or someone they should be saying “Thank You” to. Prayers, large and small, are answered daily, often without our recognition.

Ex voto is Spanish for votive offering. Ex votos are paintings offered to a deity or saint as a thank you for an answered prayer, or, as a form of prayer. Traditionally, the ex voto is signed by the petitioner, dated, and explains why the giver is giving thanks. In many cases, they tell a very touching personal story. The personal nature of these stories is what makes them so fascinating.

“These little artworks are painted out of gratitude for the miracles, protection and prayers answered not only in my life, but in what is common to so many of us,” says Cassandra Barney. “In conceiving these paintings, it didn’t seem that I was illustrating ideas, but sharing and exchanging them.”

Each ex votos celebrates the exceptional nature of the common and the uncommon: friendship, love, life, family and self. This collection was inspired by look of the Mexican tin-paneled works and designed to be hung in groupings. As gifts, they are the perfect message at the perfect time. Life is full of blessings and Cassandra Barney’s Ex Votos give us the opportunity to share our recognition of gratitude with beauty and grace.