Babies!

So, the other week I found a wonderful set of Advent Meditations by Mark Bozutti-Jones called The Womb of Advent that reflected on the pregnancy of Mary, each week talking about the baby's development leading up to the birth on December 25.

As part of my reflection on Mary as mother this advent I decided to create an icon. I based it on an image I got off the interwebs that I liked, a beautiful depiction by painter Ann Torrini. It's a copyrighted image so I won't reproduce it here, but I can link to it. So I took the image, ran it through the Photoshop filter called "cutout" until it looked like a pretty basic paint by number. Then I used the grid method to enlarge the image onto a canvas (basically drawing a grid on your image, drawing a bigger grid on your canvas and copying it square by square - versus copying the whole image freehand). Then I started filling in my paint by number with clippings from the Economist and old comic books (instead of paint). So I found every itty bitty spot of light blue, medium blue, dark blue, yellow, gold, orange, etc. and ModPodged it on. I tore the pieces instead of cutting them because it gave more texture. Then I went back and added a few more bits to add contrast and to create details. Here's the finished product:

 And here's a close up:

Currently, it seems like everyone around me is having babies, making me think a lot about what it means to be a father or a mother as I watch my friends become just that, ready or not. This season, I suppose is all about the patience, the creativity, the unknowing and the hope that comes with awaiting a newborn. Tonight I went to my friend Jack's baby shower, so I made the baby on its way (Atticus is due Jan 11) a stuffed animal because I love stuffed animals. And I made it an orca because the baby is to be born in the Pacific Northwest and its basically the official animal. And I made it out of old pants, because they're broken in and soft and they carry more character than new materials, and its a bit of my life carrying into his. Its probably bigger than he will be, but he can grow into it. Its floppy and squishy and supportive and fun. Not bad for my second project on my new sewing machine. :)

Here's me and the orca for size comparison:

Retelling the Story

So the problem with this blog is that I cant post things that are presents for other people because it ruins the surprise. So, I've been busy making things for other folks, but I can't post the pictures until later. Sorry.

I will post a few pictures from a project my mom, brother and I are working on in narrating and illustrating the nativity of Jesus. My brother is writing the words and I'm doing the images, my mom is making it into a book.

I love illustrating familiar stories because it provides an opportunity to re-examine and re-imagine the stories we think we know so well. A few years ago I did a series on the stations of the cross during Lent (left). I found that it's one thing to put your style on a familiar depiction, its another to find an entirely new angle. I tried, but in the end the images make sense because they are familiar. How then do we keep the heart of the story without our eyes glazing over with the familiar words?

As part of this Producers Christmas this is my re-producing the narrative with my own language and  through my own eyes using scratchboard and a scratcher. Find a way or a time to tell or represent the story of the season for you, even if it is in butter, marshmallows or bacon.

The Annunciation and Joseph's Dream
I combined these two images here because I really wanted to focus on the message, "Do not be afraid" that the angel speaks to them both. The angel shines as beams of light from the small star that eventually grows to cover the night sky, the seed of an idea. From that light flow a dove's wing feathers, indicating both the wings of an angel the means to reach heaven and God as well as the symbol of peace from the flood narrative, washing over both Mary and Joseph.

In a Manger Laid
This isn't a bed separated from the other life of the stable, in fact the hay emanates from the central point of the baby. These creatures are the first to welcome the baby and remind me of the playfulness of childhood Christmas pageants. While Mary and Joseph had the spotlight, the kings had the best costumes, and the Angels got the technology, everyone knows the animals had the most fun. They also serve to remind us that the beauty of the story is that the divine became human, a creature among creatures.

 

To a Shepherd

In this image the host of angels is imagined as the brightness of the same star that led the Magi, having grown to its completion. The sky swirls in the background as the whole world dances, the leaves of the tree mirroring the light of the star while the shepherd in his smallness is the last to join the dance.

Gifts of the Magi
The story ends with humankind giving thanks with the works of their hands. The hands in the background represent all kinds of human emotions from celebration and greeting to receiving and giving, fists and pen grips. They represent that the human gifts we bring to the divine present in the world are our whole selves.

Happy Advent!

So, today is the first day of Advent, and for us Episcopalians (and millions of other Christians around the world) today is the first day of the Liturgical Year. So Happy New Year! In my family we have always marked Advent with the lighting of the Advent wreath, a circle of four candles representing the four Sundays of Advent. They are usually Purple or Blue, the liturgical colors for this time of year (Purple leaning more toward Advent as a mini-Lent and Blue to the honoring of Mary).  Each Sunday you light a new candle as you move through advent, preparing yourself for Christmas. In my church growing up each of the Sundays was also marked by a single word to reflect on that week, words like Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love, reminding us to prepare our hearts with these qualities as we move through the season.

A few years ago, my brother and I started using a beautiful Advent wreath our parents gave us, and I've continued using its since. But this year as part of the Producer's Christmas, I decided I would start a new tradition of creating my own Advent Wreath, and here it is!

Basically, I started with 8 simple carving blocks of Bass wood, two gauges of copper wiring, a bunch of tiny nails and sheet of medium weight copper foil.

First I took a carving gouge to the blocks to give them some texture before roughly staining them. Then I drilled holes through the blocks at various angles and wove the heavier gauge copper wire through them to create four connected platforms for my candles. Then it was all dressing as I cut letters to spell out the four words on the blocks and nailed them into place. Then I cut and embossed leaves for the "vines" that connect the bases. These I attached with the thinner gauge copper wiring simply by punching holes in the leaves and decoratively entwining them into the existing structure. The end product is a copper and wood garden holding my four pillar candles.

I chose pillar candle rather than the traditional tapers because I want to be able to burn them during the long evenings of the Seattle winter, a reminder of the hope and warmth of the season amidst the dreariness of the rain and clouds. An important part of the wreath is also the hole in the center, a space for the Christ candle to come on the day of Christmas. I've got a tall whote pillar candle that will fit perfectly when the day arrives.

Create your own Advent wreath and keep the candles burning each night of these 28 days as we make our way toward Christmas. Whether its wood and wire or a few evergreen branches (or palm fronds) or maybe a paper map, take some time to create this symbol in your home and mark the passing of these days. Happy Advent!

The Power of Production

About two months ago I was walking through the fields of Clean Greens Farm in Duvall, WA with a group of twenty-somethings from around the country. The cauliflower stood in rows of brilliant orange, purple and green under a solid grey western Washington sky. We were exploring the idea of "EcoJustice" and this seemed like the perfect example of environmental justice intersecting with the disparity of economic realities in our society.

The farm had been established to address the problem of "food deserts" in Seattle's Central District, places where healthy foods are inaccessible for any number of reasons: price, distance, hours, education, etc. But as its founder, Rev. Robert Jeffrey spoke of the project's importance, he spoke more of poverty and community development than he did food justice.

So as we walked between the rows of squash and green beans, I asked Pastor Jeffrey why he chose this project, when it was clear his heart was not for agriculture but for people. Why a farm and not an arts center or a farmer's market or a legal services center? He replied, "If you want to develop a community, you've got to give them back the means of production. And food is easy to produce."

He was pointing to the simple reality that producing something gives you power. Sometimes that power is a simple sense of accomplishment, the hope that you have potential in your own hands. Sometimes it's a moneymaking venture providing stability and independence. And sometimes it's simply the power to say "no" when somebody is trying to sell you something.

This Christmas, I'll be saying "no" to Christmas consumerism and declaring this year a Producer's Christmas. I'll be making Thanksgiving and Advent and Christmas by hand. I'll be giving of my hands and my potential and sharing a bit of myself with the people I care about. I'll be planning ahead and saving things to be used in making presents. I'll be considering deeply my feelings toward the people I love and reaching deep within for something personal to let them know. I'll be taking my time. I'll be waiting, I'll be watching, I'll be hoping, and I'll be crafting.