Consider

Consider

Teresa Carter

2010

Oil and Mixed Media on Birch Panel

36” x 36”

Eighteen houses - newspaper birdhouses made from clippings that speak of the housing market- hang from decaying branches while a bird keeps watch over her home.

Is this two perspectives within one composition or the perspective of one living within the assurance of a God who sees and cares?

“Consider the birds of the air,” Jesus said. “They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?” Jesus' question answers one of the questions posed by God to Job centuries earlier. “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, when its young cry to God, and wander about without food?” Job 38:41.

The mottled colors of the houses and branches reflect the uncertainties the world has to offer while a bird is framed with the colors and symbols of life - cherry blossoms above and eggs below, also representing new life and rebirth.

Daily newspapers are ephemeral- manna for the masses who seek answers to the wrong questions, solace from the ever-gnawing anxiety: What if...?

Most fears never manifest in a visible reality. But, sometimes they do. Sometimes banks foreclose and families are homeless. Sometimes vehicles are repossessed and caretakers are unemployed. What happens when a fear becomes visible? Is God still God?

In Matthew 14, Simon Peter walked on water toward Jesus until “he noticed the strong wind.” It is the force of the wind that determines the height of the waves, and the wind comes from God. The devil cannot live in the heart of a Christian but he can play in his mind and his 'what-ifs' can cause believers to focus on the height of the waves instead of the source of the wind.

The writer of Ecclesiastes said:

Look at what God has done: No one can straighten what he has bent. When life is good, enjoy it. But when life is hard, remember: God gives good times and hard times, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

Ecclesiastes 7:13,14 NCV

Consider is a visible reminder of a promise: “Consider the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?”  

Moments of Beauty

"Artists of the world, may your different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy."
Pope John Paul II
Letter To Artists
1999

There was in the Art Room today
a moment of complete and total silence. It happened during fifth period. I looked up from my work to see a classroom of high school students working, silently immersed in the process of picture making. It was a moment of beauty.

Google Results for beauty


Moments of beauty abound. I understand what it means 'to teach'. Well, at least most of the time. I feel right, true in design, when I am teaching. For me, teaching is a series of beautiful moments, and the most beautiful is the 'aha' moment. Every true teacher lives for the 'aha', the exclamatory-  εὕρηκα (I have discovered it)! Good teachers know that the 'aha' is reciprocal. Here are a few personal 'aha' moments I was recently blessed by:

The Lion, The Sheep and The Fire

Acrylic on paper

My wife was visiting a friend and one of the children, a five-year-old, was painting. When the friend's daughter finished, she presented the painting to my wife. It is amazing.  With economy of stroke the child rendered a lion leading sheep though a fire. Picasso said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." I am looking at the painting now, it hangs in our kitchen, and the words of Jesus speak to my Soul, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."

Backwards Logic

Cyanotype Proof

Christopher Shreve

One of my students has been working/ruminating on an art project for months. He will tell you, as he has me on numerous occasions, "I can't do art." He and I have shared hours of conversation, on a variety of topics, and I know that his mind yearns for logical order. One day I asked, "Do you know of the unsolved proofs?" This question began a new series of conversations, culminating in a printmaking project appropriately titled- Backwards Logic. I watched him today as he carefully arranged layers of formulas, screen printed on vellum, in a precise pattern. It was a moment of beauty. It was art.

Jamie Morgan - Enamored from Shutter Down on Vimeo.


Another moment of beauty occurred this morning before school. Teresa and I attended the Twenty Fourth Annual YMCA Community Prayer Breakfast. The speaker was James Morgan, President and CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. He shared his heart, the heart of a father, with 2.200 people in the Grand Ballroom of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. His sincerity and humility ministered to me. Then he introduced his son, Jamie, to the crowd. It was a beautiful moment. Jamie spoke and sang with an honesty that is refreshing, and again, it was a moment of beauty.


To hear more of Jamie Morgan's music click here.


I think, however, today's top 'aha' award goes to a colleague- Amy McNelis. Today is recognized as the National Day of Prayer and she led some of the students in a group prayer.
Thank you, Amy, for that moment of beauty.

Nutrition Facts, generic toaster pastry

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant's revolving door. Albert Camus

This low-carb diet I attempt stinks. Lurking within one packet of snack crackers is my daily allotment of carbs. I could eat a wagon full of those packets, in one sitting. Don't even look at the amount in a toaster pastry (see above). The good news-pork rinds have NO carbs. I can eat the whole bag. But, I have to begin somewhere. So, I am working on a children's book. It doesn't have anything to do with carbs or pork rinds but it occupies my mind. The story is a retelling of an old story. Someone once told me, "If you want to find concise, understandable language, look in children's books." It is difficult to press truth into a small package. Maybe that's why some preachers talk so long. And, maybe that's why stories are so effective. Scripture says that Jesus didn't teach without telling a story (parable). So, I have the story. The illustrations are the next challenge. Watercolor is a favorite medium, but I am noodling around with mixed media/digital/chalkboard drawings. Hmm. No shortage of ideas.

Paradise Lost

"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little."

Tom Stoppard

'Jesus Loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so...'

From the novel Say and Seal, Susan Warner, 1860

So, I wanted to find a reader's copy of Paradise Lost (hardcover that I could write in)...what better source than eBay. Eureka! I found a copy published by International Collector's Library, 1969. Mine was the winning bid, actually, the only bid. For $3.50 I purchased a mint, hardcover copy that contains not only Paradise Lost, but also Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. It doesn't appear to have ever been opened. John Milton and I share the same birthday, well, a few years apart. He recently celebrated his 400th birthday party. I wonder if, as he penned Paradise Lost, he foresaw the impact his words would have? But then, I wonder if any of us consider the impact of our words?
Yesterday I was in line at WalMart. There are interesting people at WalMart. Opportunities for conversation abound there. I began a conversation with the man in front of me.
"That's alot of stuffed sausage!" I commented (probably 30 packages).
"Yes, but I'm not going to eat them all. In fact, come by at noon and you can help me eat them."
I thought about him the rest of the day. He was filled with joy. I wonder what he thinks of Paradise Lost?