Category: Specimina

 

“Hear the Promise”

 

Sometimes amazing things happen in the studio during the art-making process. While I was working on one set of artworks for my current show at Little Relics Boutique & Galleria, I came upon the titles in a pretty unusual way. In the past, I have used Bible pages in my works, and I have been very careful to choose specific passages that realted to the imagery somehow, but for these works, I decided to use the text as more of a conceptual idea and so I just grabbed random scraps and pages and applied the pieces and pages, paying attention only with an eye to composition and design. I then layered the photo transfers on top of the Bible pages. As I was using pencils to add the first layer of color on the first piece, a couple words almost popped out at me, “sleep in peace.” I could hardly believe it, it was the perfect title for the image!

 

“Sleep in Peace”

 

Excited, I went to each of the other pieces and started looking for the titles. Sure enough, they all had something in them that served to give another layer of meaning to the visual image. I immediately wrote the titles on the backs of the panels and then after getting over my amazement, went back to work.

 

“Where He Fell”

 

 

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Last week I told you about how I was getting stuck trying to put my newest work into words, this week, I’m happy to say I’ve figured it out, at least for now.

 

 

Specimina (Specimens of Faith)

 

The search for meaning is a common thread for humanity. We want to know why we are here, what we are supposed to do, or at very least that our life has meaning to others. We also have a tendency to search for meaning in the acts of others, in the world around us, and in art. As for me, I have begun to look for meaning in natural artifacts and in the process, I am formulating a personal symbology for my faith.

 

In my world, a sparrow is not just a sparrow, but a reminder that God cares about me. That sparrow’s nest points to a final home and that sparrow’s death reminds me where I would be without my faith and points back again to the first reminder. Many of my symbols will be familiar to those with a knowledge of Judeo-Christian literature, as they derived from my studies of the Bible. Some have farther reaching commonalities and some maybe fewer, all are meant to be shared regardless of one’s spiritual beliefs.

 

Symbols are strong things, able to tell a whole story with single image, convey concepts on a subconscious level and wield the power to unite or divide. My goal is to bridge any gaps that might exist and provide a forum for discussion. This is an ongoing journey for me, continually picking up objects that seem to speak to me and stopping to listen, then passing the message along.

 

Over the next few posts, I plan to go into each of the symbols I’ve figured out so far, with some explanation as to how I came to that conclusion. I’ve even had the idea to do an art journal entry for each one, but that might take me a little longer, we’ll see what happens.

 

 

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For the past week or two I’ve tried to sit down to write an artist’s statement for my new show, “Beauty & Death,” opening a week from now at Little Relics Boutique & Galleria in midtown Sacramento. Usually, this is not a difficult task for me, as writing as always come fairly easily to me (unlike many visual artists, who are cursing me right now.) But this time it has not been so easy. It hasn’t even been at all. For some reason I am experiencing an incredible block, trying to explain verbally what I have been doing visually. 

 

So this is my non-statement. Dead things, pretty things, pretty dead things. They mean something else. I could just come right out and tell you what they mean and I certainly will at some point in time but first I need to tell you why I’m doing this and why you should care and that’s the hard part right now.

 

And instead I’ll just show you a piece of artwork. This is what I’m saying:

 

 

I call it “Not Dead but Asleep” and I’ll just let it speak for itself right now.

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This past weekend I painted live onstage for four services at my home church, Bridgeway Christian Church. We have live painters onstage during the whole service (one and a half hours long) semi-regularly, an acknowledgement that our creator God has given us many different kinds of creative gifts that we can honor him with. I also happen to coordinate this fledgling program, now halfway through its first year. We have five painters that rotate through, choosing the various scriptures that are to be taught that weekend, based on what we each have felt called to translate into our own visual language. It’s a wonderful experience for painter and congregation alike.

 

Prayer and meditation are very often a part of my creative process, regardless of the subject or intended audience. I have long now understand that I was created to create and take my calling seriously. Somewhere in this creative process, I felt very much compelled to begin a new series that I have no idea where I can begin to show it, but somehow that has become secondary to the fact that I must create it. The first three pieces were smaller and produced to submit to a specific call for art that they were not accepted for, and I’m now looking for where they will go – I’m sure it will become apparent at some point.

 

When I first sat down to consider what I would paint for the weekend of July 20 & 21, I came to the scripture with an open mind. But when I started reading through Isaiah 59 & 60, it was almost immediately that I realized this would be the next phase of my new series. 

 

I have decided to call this series Specimina (Specimens of Faith,) illustrating basic concepts of the Christian faith with various natural specimens that I have collected. For all of these pieces for Isaiah 59 & 60, I chose a square format as a reference to the New Jerusalem in Revelation, that is described as a cube, and I chose a light palette, to represent how God will be the only light needed both in the millennial Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem.

 

 

Like Doves to Their Nests
“Look and see, everyone is coming home!.. flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests.” Isaiah 60:4, 8
Not only illustrating the verse written on the piece, a nest is a symbol of home, heaven, and Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom, inspired by Isaiah 59-60. The dove is also used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit, who has put a seal on believers, promising them the joy of eternity with God.

 

 

Arise Jerusalem
“Your sins have cut you off from God… Among the living we are like the dead.” Isaiah 59:2, 10 “Arise Jerusalem!” Isaiah 60:1a
In Matthew, Jesus says that God knows when even a sparrow falls, and how much more he watches over each of us, so sparrows have become a common symbol in my works. Death is the true consequences of sin, so there is dual meaning in the dead sparrow here, and Isaiah 59 specifically points to the consequences of Israel’s sin. The ram was inspired by Isaiah 60:7, “The rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars” and can also symbolize how God provided the appropriate sacrifice for both Abraham and for us. Butterflies allude to the new life we have in Christ, as well as resurrection of the dead.

 

 

Sanctuary
“The glory of Lebanon will be yours – the forest of cypress, fir and pine – to beautify my sanctuary. My temple will be glorious!” Isaiah 60:13
A magnolia blossom, surrounded with pine needles refers to the trees of Lebanon in Isaiah 60 and to the beauty of the earth that God has created as well as to the future glory of Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom. The sparrow is a reminder that God watches over his children, as Jesus told us in the book of Matthew.

 

 

Joy to All Nations
“I will now have mercy on you through my grace… I will make you beautiful forever, a joy to all nations.” Isaiah 60: 10, 15
As believers in Christ we are co-heirs with Israel and promised a new life in Christ, symbolized here by the butterfly. My personal recurring symbol of the sparrow refers to how God has promised to always watch over me, and I often include it to remind myself of that truth, as much as to share it with others. Nests are a home, another personal symbol that refers to heaven, or can also be a reference to Jerusalem as where God will make his home in the millennial kingdom, fulfilling his promise to Israel.

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