Recently, some other artists and I put together an art show in honor of a dear friend that passed away last year. The loss of her was a hard hit to the broad community of people who loved her. And I was grateful for this opportunity to use art as a means for processing. 

Grieving is always a process one carries with them and it was during this past Ash Wednesday service, when Isaiah 40:8 (The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever) was read that the idea for this piece struck me. I was thinking about what it means to live in a broken world while also having glimpses of heaven break through. I believe we don't see things clearly enough. Too much of our self interests, relational dynamics, and every myriad of distraction clouds our spiritual lives. But one day, we break through all that and see beyond, with eyes wide open and clear. These three pieces were my attempt to communicate those ideas.

First, I started with these watercolor paintings. I chose three flowers representing her heritage, and the places she lived. 

When those were done, I made the resin panels with gold mica powder and ash mixed in. I wanted there to be a transparent screen representing how we see dimly. I placed all the elements into a glass shadow box to encase it while allowing light through. 

Lastly, I wrote a poem to verbalize all this.

- - - - - - 

We are a meadow, 
Replete with waving grass and lavish blooms.
Our meadow flames with life.
And yet, 
Here and there, 
A flower will fade. 
A patch of grass will wither.
Life extinguished. 
But the ash left behind, gives way to something more.
Beauty beyond bounds,
That our eyes, dimly lit, can only perceive
From a distance.  
And yet, we see it, 
Glimpses,
Pin pricks of light, 
That burn bright like the dawn. 
Shining new rays upon our meadow. 
Yielding these ashes for beauty.