So, I have started a new painting. It seems like this is going to be a nice companion to “Threshold” and one that I have been thinking of this painting for about a year. As you can read in the previous post about the sweater and scarf, there is this sense of the transformation – from one expression of a garment to another… or from one form of the church to another. While Threshold holds many layers of meaning for me, it represents the Imago Dei – the Image of God in each of us, using yours truly as the model. Just as St Francis stripped himself of his clothes – his covering that represented the security of his earthly father’s house and everything familiar – his clothing was replaced with a simple robe, something that was much more useful for his new way of life.
So that explains where your clothes went… they floated off onto the next painting! 😀
Seriously, though, I love this idea of the church being transformed into a new entity for the new millennium. Gives me hope!
I thought the same thing as Margie! Looks good. I saw it in reality when I came to pick up paintings today, looking forward to the finished work. Pastor Melissa dropped into the studio this morning, you should expect a call from her for some professional painting work. Peace!
I did talk to her, and it looks like I will be doing some painting during an outdoor “service” of sorts called “Canvas of Faith” on Aug 31 on the Cal Lutheran campus for freshman orientation. It will be an event that shares with the incoming students, the rich heritage of faith that is the undercurrent to the university. It should be a blast. Thanks for hooking me up with her. ~Rich
I just got chills reading your post about unraveling faith! Great stuff! Thanks again for sharing and stay in touch.
Rich…your sensitive connetion to art and its ability to transform our relationship to reality is stunning. Our relationship to God is through our reality… The closest our relationship to God means we are closer to our reality. Our reality is a direct reflection of our image of God. The best we can transform our image of reality means we are closer to God.
let’s see if that works