Alexander Lohn - Alessandro & Maria
Pope Francis recently declared that, starting Dec. 8th on The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the church year will be one dedicated to St. Joseph. This dedication to St. Joseph is one that calls us to remember that our devotion to God must be courageous, humble and founded on the “joy of work”.
On a personal note, I have a deep love for St. Joseph and to have a whole year dedicated to him is exciting beyond words. The lessons of humility that I have received from the example of St. Joseph are ones that forever stay with me. He is a man of great joy and respect for the process of labor. Labor of the heart, body and mind. Labor that is creative and resourceful. This is the labor that we are called to live by.
With St. Joseph on the mind I happily present this week’s Creation... the works of Alexander Lohn (Alessandro and Maria), specifically a recent commission of a king size bed frame.
Alexander is a creator who specializes in custom furniture and home goods. Alexander is educated in architecture and has found his call to be creating works that can be specifically experienced.
I always enjoyed design and working with my hands. I studied architecture in college, which definitely gave me practical skills in drawing, and principles of design. Already at this time I was designing furniture. I enjoyed the scale and control of the details but also the more direct interaction people have with it. They sit on the chair, or touch the drawer handle, or write on the table, or cut their food on the cutting board. My spiritual journey has moved more and more towards meeting God in the mundane, and I want the opportunity for people to have beautiful everyday objects in their home. Can I make the ordinary extraordinary, and the extraordinary ordinary?
Alexander Lohn
It was Alexander’s recent commission that caught my eye and then the rest of his work solidified the experience. The piece is a custom king size bed frame made for a client. The detail is extraordinary and based on what Alexander shared on Instagram about the project, it came with great dedication and love.
In this year of St. Joseph we are called to see how we can live for others via our work. Through the work of Alexander we can bear witness to the value of creativity, in a St. Joseph manner.
Woodworking is a centuries old tradition, which is a joy to be a part of and means there is so much to draw from. I even appreciate the material, because the grain of the wood is always something that was designed by God, and not by myself, so the sense of cooperating in design is quite visceral.
Alexander Lohn
Looking deeper into Alexander’s catalog of work you will notice artistic trends as well as spiritual ones, the latter being something to marvel at. Now, it’s safe to say that we can see great furniture on Etsy and Pinterest all the time but those pieces are usually missing something. Something that is hard to pinpoint exactly but when I scroll through Alexander’s work I feel something that most other creations, of this kind, can’t offer. I feel a true level of spiritual depth and an invitation to experience the work by the creator, Alexander.
A prime example of this spiritual depth are the meditation benches. These benches, inspired by Alexander’s experiences with CFR’s, capture multiple needs in one piece. A spiritual need, physical need and a prayerful need.
Another aspect of the work that offers a new layer of intrigue is the wonderful name of the business, for which the commissions/products are sold, Alessandro and Maria. This name serves as a call to the remarkable story of a young girl’s (Maria) murder at the hands of Alessandro. St. Maria was brutally murdered but she offered forgiveness to her killer before passing and over 20 years later Alessandro was given redemption. He was released from prison, had a rebirth (through a miraculous dream) and sought out the family of Maria to ask forgiveness. The man spent the rest of his life in a monastery living a quiet, prayerful life.
I don’t think I knew what mercy was before reflecting on this story. Through Maria Goretti’s mercy towards Alessandro I came to understand both the mercy God offers me, and the mercy he asks me to give to others. It has totally transformed my faith to remember that God is Mercy.
Alexander Lohn
Alexander’s decision to tie himself to such a story, in this manner, says a lot about how he views his role as a creator. Perhaps, it tells us that each piece of furniture created comes with an energy of new found opportunity and redemption? Yes, I may be looking very deep into it all but that’s the beauty of creating on this level, it sets us up with the opportunity to have an experience with the work.
As artists we are called to create, we certainly know that much to be true, but what else? In honor of St. Joseph and this new year we find ourselves in, we are called to lead others to have an encounter with the work. To have an experience that pays respect to the glory of hard work and invites others to see that the wonder is not only in the product but the process. Through Alexander’s work and his sharing of the work, via his Facebook and Instagram pages, he is celebrating St. Joseph and that profound call to work.
I have some experience in wood work but after seeing these creations I am truly moved to do more and seek out every opportunity I can to be physical in my work and make the “ordinary extraordinary.” I suggest we all try that a bit more, this year especially.
For more information on Alexander, his work and commission requests visit alessandroandmaria.com. Also check out the Facebook and Instagram for updates on current projects.
