All my sculpting begins with this basic spiral
template, which I believe is programmed into
the nucleus of our mind's eye.
When you look at tiny organisms through
a microscope, or consider atomic particles,
they match the patterns of the macro-universe,
from galaxies to other heavenly designs.
This is a testimonial to God's handiwork. God
is the artist who created the fuscia flower
and the clever and cute honey bees, the
face of cats and the majesty of dolphins,
elephants and ladybugs.
Everything we
see under the sun is a window
of contemplating the mind of God,
who made it all.
Above all, God the ARTIST,
has a blatant testimony all around us
constantly, which all eyes have
seen, so there is no excuse not to praise
Him everyday.
Of course, as humans, we like to pretend
it is all our domain, to create, to destroy,
and even to mimic the designs he has
originated, and then calling them our own.
I do it, so I'm not criticizing other artists.
Yet, anything that we do was first programmed
by God.
My sculpting now consists of doing jewelry,
and I consider my jewelry the culmination
of a lifetime of artistic trial, error, education
and suffering for art. I failed as a painter,
because I didn't have anything unique to
say. Even adoring beauty in God's handiwork
was not adequate for me to interpret in
a meaningful and special way.
If anything, I was technical and competent,
but, no different than 1 out of 4 people with
artistic inclinations. This caused me so much
frustration, because all my life, I have felt
a desire to pursue artistic avocations, to
express things too deep to ignore from
within my very soul, and in my heart and
mind, constantly. Yet, I was mediocre
which was painful and hard to swallow
with each failed project.
But, after the accident, which ended
my professional life, I pursued something
else to purge the pain, something that
I have always adored: Jewelry.
For the first time in my life, my dad told
me, "you ARE a wonderfully gifted artist."
I literally choked up, and told him how
I've waited all my life to hear him say
that. I was taken back to my late teens,
as a struggling and tortured art and
music school dropout, going from one
failed pursuit to the other. He told me
patiently that art is something that I
would never distinguish my life with,
so it should just be a medium to enrich
me, not for greater purposes.
He also said that art is a second career,
something that is savored after succeeding
by establishing a work ethic, and other
layers of life. I accepted his harsh words,
but, didn't have an easy time understanding
that I would never establish my life as an
artist.
Jewelry came by surprise. First, through
my love of gems and creative design.
Jewelry is more forgiving to a creative
soul who is not the best artist. Jewelry
looks best stylized and there are really
no wrongs. The medium has intrinsic
value and unlike painting, enhances
the owner, and as three dimensional
art, it has endless possibilities.
I wonder why knowing we're in the
last days, my passion has turned to
gemstones, gold and silver, yet, I
feel that God also gave me this gift
of design and appreciation for gems.
They are natural art from God, himself,
so, utilizing them is more spiritual
than painting with oils or working
with clay.
Now my clays are brightly colored
and metal polymers, and the creative
ways that I can use them are like
trying to count the stars in the night
sky.
At a time when I thought I would
live an ascetic life devoted to the
stark and pious discipline of the
Nazarite vow, I have landed in
a world that seems to defy those
values. Yet, I long for New Jerusalem
not merely for the ecstasy of being
in Christ's Kingdom, but, desire
the beauty of mansions constructed
from the glorious gemstones that I
now can only use in tiny increments. I
wonder what it will be like to
actually walk on streets of
transparent pure gold, and
see emerald buildings, next to
tourmaline structures, etc.
The description of the breastplate
of the High Priest of Levi has a
depiction of this holy promiced city,
with twelve precious stones, in three rows,
representing the 12 tribes. The
stones and their natural beauty
are used throughout scripture.
Even the use of gems to attribute
virtue, such as the pearl of wisdom
and understanding, given to
those who seek God and heaven,
is inspirational, for sure.
I have to believe with my heart that
my love for God's masterful creation,
with all it's intrinsic and extrinsic
beauty, from the tiniest spiral organisms
to the vast and massive swirl of the galaxies,
are witnesses to God's pen and handicraft.
All we can pray for is to possess some of
God's gifts, and this gift for using God's
natural gemstones and natural world
to represent art in a personal way, seems
to me to be a gift that God's blessed me
with.
Hearing my dad call me a "gifted and
great artist" was a miracle today.
I thank God for all the blessings in my
life, and I have too many to count.
I pray for all those who are blown
about and twisting in the wind, to
find a home in New Jerusalem,
coming down from Heaven, with
gates of pears, and streets of luminous
gold. I pray that they find the love
and peace that surpasses anything
that is foreshadowed here on Earth,
for when God is with us, we will
be in Paradise.
Praise Jesus Christ forever, and Praise
to the Father and Creator of the Universe
for giving consideration, and the Holy
Spirit, to bless our species. He has bestowed
immeasurable hope of glory and joy
upon us wretched beings.
May His Name be praised forever.
May His Light turn darkness into
day. May He come soon to take
mankind to our destiny.
I will praise Him with every last ounce
of my being, until I see Him, and then
I will praise Him for all eternity.
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