up close & personal

So now that I've teased you with the big picture, so to speak, I'll fill in a couple details. Here are a couple smaller images that you can see framed on the wall in the first photo on the previous post, but that you can't really SEE. I happened to have good scans from a couple of the works that are up but haven't been shared on the blog yet, so I guess it's time to share. Remember that you should be able to see a larger image by clicking on the ones below.

From left to right on the big wall, the pair of works stacked on top of each other are from Karen Fields, works in watercolor & mixed media. This first piece is "Postcard #1, Heaven's Lamb" and it illustrates Revelations 5:11, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and strength and honor and glory and praise."







Her next piece is titled,
"Postcard #2, Understanding" and juxtaposes the cross and a sense of mourning with 1 Corinthians 2:9, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." This piece reflects the bittersweet reality that Christ suffered and died to give us the chance to share an eternity of amazing joy with him.

And way over on the far right hand end of the wall is a tiny gem by Sheila Stockton. This is the first of her "Trees of Life" series in bead embroidery titled, "The Tree of Life #1." She refers to Revelation 22:2, which says, “The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month.” Here you can see all the detail work, including some of the beads we shared with you in an earlier post.

hanging in the cafe'

So we've got the preview show hanging at the First Covenant Cafe' & I took a couple snaps to show...


This is the main display wall in the cafe, where you can see work from me, (Judith Monroe,) Karen Fields, Eileen Downes, Bill Kuyper, Ross Conklin & Sheila Stockton. To get a better view of it all, come on down! (You can also see a larger photo by clicking on this small one.)

This is Becky Baker's mixed media diptych tucked into it's own special spot, on the north wall.



Here's a close up of one of Jared Konopitski's and another one of Ross Conklin's pieces. I love how the color schemes pull together works of such different styles. I'm usually in the cafe' on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m., (except weekends I'm working, like this coming weekend) so if you show up there & look for the short brunette that's studying or drawing at one of the tall tables, that's probably me... come over and say "hi!"

road to heaven?

Ross Conklin is consistently stretching himself for this project, and the results are always impressive. Today's work from Ross is a colored pencil drawing titled, "The Road of Life."

For this piece, Ross refers to Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that lead to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that lead to life and only a few find it.” You can see all of these things in his modern illustrationof this scripture, including the road to hell that is paved with good intentions.

To underscore that it is each individual's choice, Ross points to Joshua 24:15: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourself this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He reminds viewers that "we have only one life to live on earth, so be alert!" Finally, Ross underscores the concept of the road to hell that is paved with good intentions instead of accepting Christ with Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.”

a vision from Ross Conklin

At long last, I am sharing more work from painter Ross Conklin, who has been continuously producing work for this show, stretching himself in ways I don't think he has done before. I'm so impressed with this body of work, and I'm pleased to present his next acrylic piece, titled "Beyond the Pearly Gates."







This piece was inspired in part when a family friend sort of jokingly suggested to Ross, “What about the pearly gates?” This actually got him thinking about what the view through the gates might look like. Ross says, "The Bible refers to the pearly gates as being made of one pearl, but I could not understand how to paint one large pearl so I broke it down into segmented stones."

Looking through the pearly gates, Ross shows what is described in Revelation 22: 1-5: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

In the painting, we can see the River of Life, which is flowing from the throne of God. The throne of God is depicted by the penetrating bright sun showing through the branches of the tree, and is referred to in verses one and later in verse five. In verse two, the Tree of Life stands on each side of the River of Life, which Ross illustrates by spreading its roots on both sides, then shows it giving fruit, as it will in each month. Ross's stylized approach to this piece gives the image impact and helps us to see what another glimpse into heaven.

final book installment

Finally, I'll share a couple more images from my "Visions of Heaven" altered book. This first image shows another Polaroid transfer image of an almond orchard here in Northern California. I happen to love almonds & my family owned an almond ranch once upon a time, so it sort of speaks a bit of the concept of home for me as well. I used it to illustrate the verse, "Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river, the leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches." (Revelation 22:12) The river mentioned is the River of Life, also referred to in my final inscription, opposite the "hole" in my altered book.

When the flaps covering the final recessed section of the book are opened, it reveals a triptych of hand colored Polaroid transfers of a river scene. The scripture across the page comes from Ezekiel 47, verses 7 and 9, "I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river... There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows... life will flourish wherever this water flows." Which explains the fruit trees always fruiting...