We hear a lot about love in the springtime and yet, most people cannot define it. Contemporary culture issues proclamations such as “Love is Love”, which is unhelpful and places the concept at the mercy of limitless subjective interpretations. How can we recapture the meaning of the word? Thankfully, God […]
Writing to his art dealer in 1898, Gauguin proclaimed: “…I have finished a philosophical work on a theme comparable to that of the Gospel.”[1] At first glance, Gauguin’s celebrated painting doesn’t appear to fit such a description, but a deeper look reveals more. Paul Gauguin attended Catholic boarding school in […]
Language of Loss When our first child was diagnosed with brain cancer at 18 months, butterflies decorated the oncology wing of the children’s hospital. Their colorful wings adorned the walls and windows, and bedecked doctors’ ties and nurses’ scrubs. When our fourth child was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, […]
Yale recently announced the cancellation of HSAR 115, “Introduction to the History of Art: Renaissance to the Present.” This decision cuts off university students from an in-depth study of one of the greatest periods of artistic achievement in human history. The reason given by the Art History department chair was “…student […]
When artistic people address grief, they reveal more than their level of artistic talent and design skills. The imagery, composition, and word choices make powerful statements about their worldview. One example I came across recently is a line of empathy cards by Emily McDowell Studio. The designs are text-heavy, meeting […]
Looking up in wonder Admiring the vastness Transfixed by the beauty Sparkling lights above our heads There’s no debate about the beauty of the stars. Both atheists and Christians alike look up at them in awe […]
Art Inspired by Genetic Variability The diversity is incomprehensible! When we look at the natural world–air, land, and sea–there appears to be limitless variations of shape, form, color, and texture. As an artist and a Christian, I believe the vast array of creativity in the natural world is best explained […]
I’ve been drawing peaches lately and pondering universals. Long ago, the Greek philosopher, Plato, set forth his idea of the ‘forms’. He hypothesized each thing in our physical world had an abstract essence or quiddity (the what-ness of a thing). Using the triangle, he said that the essence of triangularity […]
I was at the state capitol yesterday witnessing the historic hearing of HB896, a bill to abolish abortion in Texas. Conversations echoed throughout every corridor: talk of constitutions, equal protection, and supremacy clauses. There were attorneys and gradmothers, ranchers and doctors, educators and families of all sizes, gathered to support […]