Could God's face be ever too close for comfort?
[/caption]I've had a pretty busy week hence just back from a Vine Trust Jubilee Dinner in St James' Palace. I'll get round to telling you about that visit in my next post.
However i wanted to follow up on my last post. Manna Dobo is a quite outstanding artist and respected in her field of visual arts. We are so fortunate to have someone of her experience and talent teaching at Bo'ness Academy. Anyway not many people could come down to the church at the drop of a hat and paint such an outstanding piece of work in less than an hour. Here in this work Manna was responding to the mood of the church and the worship of the moment as she put together this painting. The interesting thing is that she painted it with a feather in her hand and her eye and her heart 'tuned-in' to worship. I've entitled the painting "Too Close for Comfort" not sure what the artist will think of my presumption in naming the painting. However it speaks to me of the God who comes closer to us than we can imagine. Sometimes it is an uncomfortable feeling like lips being burned with the coal from the alter, or depending on your next meal to arrive with ravens. Yes God can be found in the ordinary but too often the ordinary is too difficult for us to trust or even understand.If you look closely can you see the face of the crucified Saviour kissing the face that is at prayer?
If you have time listen to the replay of the service before it is replaced by the current one on Monday morning. It it mann speaks about the place of the feather in her hand while she paints. Its worth listening to and also worth the visual impact of seeking it all come together.
I think you can also pick it up for a longer time if you go to Sanctuary first's website www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk The theme was finding God in the ordinary. What could be more ordinary than a feather, yet the artist in Manna saw that the feather speaks of flight and height, of prophets being fed and prophets being touched by winged seraphims with burning coals. It speaks of hope and for many people it is a reminder to lift themselves from where they are to where they might be.
Posted By: Manna Dobo On: 23 Jan 2012 At: 9:41am
Hi Derek,
I am very happy for you to use my painting.
I often draw hand/hands and faces in my work, probably because I find them the most honest, and more importantly, the most unfakeable ways we express our deepest thoughts.
God bless your talk, Manna