Whatsoever |
Whatsoever |
SIX PAINTINGS
FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS
A STORY She carried her metal pail full of water along the stone hard corridor. She had been washing the floor in the vestry : the choir boys had been too boisterous on Sunday and knocked over the bottle of wine. She thought that she would go the extra mile and wash down the steps up to the chapter house. It was an odd thing to do as they were so uneven and strange. The dirty water pooled in the worn down depressions and took an extra squeeze of the old cloth to mop them up. She ran her hands along the curve, each step different, each one laid to make the way for the community to rise up into the vaulted hall above. She had only been up to the top twice before. Once was to clean when the man who usually did it was sick. And once was very late at night when she was packing up her things to go home and thought she heard a noise above her. That time she was very scared: it was dark and the small torch she had found had only a weak light. She only dared to get as far as the bend in the stair case and call out ‘anyone there’. No reply came, of course, so she went back down and home and was relieved when there was no sign of any break-in or mischief the next day.
She had begun to realise that her job meant that she very rarely looked up. So much of what she had to do was at floor, or at the very best waist height. Dusting chairs, mopping and brushing in corners, checking that the displays and vessels for the services were in the right place. It was hard work and her back was getting more troublesome. She realised that the best way to ease the pain of her aching muscles was to stand up and arch her back and look upwards every half hour or so. And despite the discomfort and the ominous clicking of vertebrae it was a revelation. She put her hands on the back of her hips and looked up into the high vaulting of the great church and it was as if she was seeing things for the first time. She now understood why these soaring columns and high graceful arches were so helpful in a place of worship. They were tall enough to reach the heavens, carrying up the prayers of the centuries into the high reaches of the arches. And the gentle enclosure, way up there, felt open yet protective. When she looked up in the low crypt, it felt different. Here the arches were much lower and the columns thick and rooted into the ground. These arches were doing hard work, almost like her work: hunch backed and thick legged, strong, supporting untold weight above. There were deep dark shadows and rough hewn blocks but all clearly laid down carefully, with precision, so that nothing would slip. The trees that grew outside the church were like that: thick deep roots supporting soaring trunk and branches. And where several trees were growing close together the tops met to make arches, a natural enclosed space where the light rain would not penetrate and underneath gentle small plants could find shelter to grow.
0 Comments
I am not a natural broadcaster but last year was asked to take part in two programmes, being given the chance to reflect on my journey of faith and experience. They are available to listen to by following the links These small and modest pieces of work were made this year as I have been exploring different ways of depicting trees and woodland in response to the surrounding landscape. Some were exhibited in a local art exhibition.
Blessings of autumn
Multicoloured maples Hidden like cyclamen under tree Dancing fountain Grandeur of trees Persistent roses remaining Fruitfull seeds sycamore rose hips holly berries Gardened cared for Times and seasons turning Bright autumn Free Leaves Flying through the air Hidden dahlias and daisies Into the woods Carpeted with leaves of summer past Complex dense Light shining through Quiet pathways Many different species Roots making stairway and old brick and stone laid downandworn Shade and sun. Dark and light Dry and wet Glimpse of a sunlit field An old stone wall and wooden bridge Rustle of wind in branches The St Pancras Tree was in the churchyard of St Pancras Old church in London (reputed to be the site of the earliest Christian worship in England). In the 1860's many gravestones in the churchyard needed to be moved to make way for the new train line from St Pancras station. This was overseen by the young Thomas Hardy who had the stones stacked around a tree. Over the years the roots grew around the stones so that they seemed to become part of the tree. I discovered this place many years ago and made some drawings which remain important to me and a source of inspiration. Sadly the tree fell in December 2022 which makes these even more precious to me. (see This strong image but doesn’t entirely explain itself . It could be so may things, What began as old tombstones are here like small seedlings growing upwards and the tree is almost like a pathway. These further images move things on. The roots are much more prominent and then, when adapted and overlayed with a simple landscape it begins to look much more like a shelter.
Now the tree is no longer there, these old drawings become more significant. They can even speak of life not death, of joy not sadness and of of hope not despair.. Having returned from southern France with great fields of sunflowers lining the road, I wanted to bring something of the bright light, warmth and profusion that they bring into this northern home, so I made some drawings. Each drawing has been made quickly and each with different media. All apart from the pen and ink one were done while concentrating on the flowers rather than the paper. I bought sunflowers to this northern room
Remember and celebrate the fields that grow Far south in their sun Waiting for harvest Here they smile, incongruously Across the room These are hopeful flowers, Turning to the light, A halo of bright yellow Around the dark bed of seeds Protected by bracts Adding to their 'dance' Gathering together fragments to make something pleasing and interesting and unexpected. (This image was made by arranging scrapings from my painting palette) The word and idea of gathering has a whole range of meanings and resonances. Searching through a collection of postcards I have explored some of these. Gathering - bringing in the harvest These are images of things being gathered from the land and sea - the bounty provided and the basket to collect, the effort of finding just the right thing and the net to trawl it in. Carrying of things on the head as you walk along. The beauty of the grain stacks Ethiopia which are like my fragment ‘painting’ - which it therefore turns out is not a tukul but a tef-stack! In each of these there is something purposeful and joyful because the goodness to be gathered is always there.
Gathering life These two images are very different. The two hands show the gathering of a couple together and is therefore so hard and poignant - I still bear the rings but the hand has so long gone. He has been ‘gathered home’The rings are the reminder and reality of this vital gathering in my life. The other is so different: sitting alone with books, surrounded by arches and memories and symbols and the world beyond. Perhaps these two have to be together as they are different stages of my life indicated. Gathering with God And then four wonderful images of gathering with God. God is a gathering of three in one. This is not just ‘one thing’ but a trinity of Father, Son and Spirit - all different, coming together to help us understand the whole. We are allowed to come into the gathering. Mary was our forerunner as she came closest, but we can come and pray at the sunrise and sunset. We can be part of the gathering of God. Bible references with the idea of gathering.
Genesis, in creation accounts, has God gathering the world together The manna and quail in the desert have to be gathered, in the right amount, each day. Isaiah 40 Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them Psalm 104: [27]All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28] When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. [30] When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. [33] I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. [34] May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. John 6/ Matthew 16 - gathering over what is left after the feeding of the thousands. Matthew 23:37 God wants to gather us close. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. There is something peaceful about gathering, and joyful. I have been asked this questions several time in the past week. The answer is yes, but it is hard to define what I have done and how it 'fits together'.
Here are some images I have created in the last few of months. I have not sorted or curated them yet - just 'opening the bag' and seeing what is inside. I am surprised by the variety of subjects and media used: a mixture of drawing on paper, painting on canvas and drawing and manipulating images digitally. I was asked to give a talk on Zoom today and I chose as my theme the verses from the Bible : The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means “God with us”. Matthew 1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14 How can we start to understand what this means. I talked about three favourite paintings that help me appreciate more the wonder of 'Immanuel" GOD WITH US - what does it mean? Christmas may in many ways be seen as full of light, predictable and simple and straightforward.. At the centre of the Christmas story however is a dark night, a dirty stable, a puzzled young woman and the man who cares for her, the agony of a baby being born. It was hard there and it hurt. For many this time of year is coloured by sadness, hard memories, frustrations, loneliness and even fear. How can any of us cope with shock, unpredictability? By sitting close to the manger, allowing all the fragile certainties to slip away and go down to the very centre of history. The birth of Christ is the most unpredictable thing in the world. God coming to earth, having to learn to walk again. It seems that the comforting image of Christmas as light, predictable and simple is far too trite to deal with the realities of life. And yet, as we battle through complexity and unpredictability, what do we find as we come to kneel before that new born baby?
.
This painting by Carpaccio depicts Christ calling Matthew to follow him as a disciple The costumes and setting are strangely Italian and there are some slightly troubling aspects to the perspective of the buildings. Yet right in the centre are two hands joined. Christ holds out his hands to gently call the proud tax collector away from his money and reckoning. He calls him away from all he has known and relied upon. By the inclination of his head and the slight pull of his hand he beckons to a new life. Matthew has to step down onto the rough ground. He will need to discard his rich brocade cloak and gold trimmed hat. He will be able to discard the notoriety and resentment of his job for an even less respectable crowd of itinerant followers of a deeply disturbing teacher. He does not yet know what the future will hold : that he will discover the ability to exchange accounting with numbers for accounting for the truth of this man, this Messiah. In those hands there is such a clear image of God, coming to earth as a man and coming to meet us and lead us out into the future. Kintsugi (golden joinery) is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art Mending for us, as we live our harassed and sometimes helpless lives, often comes by people, by talking and sharing and helping. The promise of the Messiah is predicted: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the coastlands will put their hope.” – Isaiah 42:3-4. Jesus tells the story of welcoming the broken into his banquet Luke 14:21 NIV [21] “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The modern poet songwriter Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack,, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in. Leonard Chosen 'Anthem' |
WhatsoeverThe posts are 'postcards' on my journey through faith and art. The name 'Whatsoever' comes from Philippians 4:8 in the Bible : Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|