"Gathering the Graces for the Next Generation"
Grace comes, unexpected and undeserved. It appears in the most subtle of ways: somehow things open, or shift; hope is born in a dark place. It is always a gift. But to gather the graces? Is it even possible, this intentional gathering of graces?
I painted this piece while reading several books on climate change. It is difficult to do this research without a growing anxiety about our future, particularly our children's and their children"s future. It began as a type of self-portrait, a mother tree and her three saplings, then expanded to become a personal reflection of faith. An, even so. The composition is a visual dialogue between despair and hope, resignation and faith, outrage and delight. The outside border suggests entropy as an inevitable reality. In it, are phrases from the book I was reading which were especially inspiring. The crows soar towards the heavens as a prayer of both lament and trust, Hear my cry, O God. In the centre is dancing light, colour, growth. What does this gathering of graces actually look like, then? These are the things I long to pass on to our children and grandchildren: skills to adapt to a changing world, tenderness, thoughtul living, generous open-handedness, and most of all, love. In the face of so much fear and pain, Love.