A Life of Mystery and Hope

adult learning, arkansas, art, brain plasticity, Creativity, Faith, hope, Icons, Israel, mystery, Painting, Spirituality, suffering, vision

Our weather is changeable. Last week I had the heat turned on, but this weekend I have gone back to ceiling fans and my air conditioner. I was so ready for cooler temperatures, but I am not in charge of the thermostat outside, only the one inside. Of course, while the calendar may say it is autumn and the northern states may get their first snows, we southern folks should know better than to put away all our lightweight clothing just because we have had a first frost. That first frost freeze is just a tease, since an eighty-degree day or two will soon follow.

I talk about the mysteries of our weather because when we try a new art medium for the first time, we sometimes think, “Oh, this has some similarities to a prior experience.” Then we get into it and come to the “unknown land”—the place where we realize we are lost and have no idea which way to turn. We cannot go back, we do not know how to go forward, and we think if we stay in this place, we might starve to death.

We are like Abraham, who heard God’s call to “go to a land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1), but we have no idea how long that journey will take or where we will end up. We go from our safe place as an act of faith, travel in faith, and meet every obstacle and detour with the faith God will bring us through. Every artist is an Abraham in their heart, for they are always on a spiritual journey. Even when we reach the promised land, we always are moving spiritually “from Dan to Beersheba” as we hone our craft, just as Abraham and his family followed their flocks to the seasonal pastures. Like the ancient Jews, we too can confess:

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor…” (Deuteronomy 26:5).

If we wander, we need a guide. Beginning artists have always sought more experienced artists as their guides and teachers. For the basics, we more experienced persons act as teachers by giving instruction and directions. Some teachers give their students works to copy so each person produces an approximation of the teacher’s image. Since this method does not encourage creativity or intense attention, I have always taught people to use their own eyes to see the image, rather than have me prescribe and define it for them. That would take the greater part of the “seeing and imagining” work away from the students. This would build my neurons but not do all that much for theirs. The more difficult task challenges us and keeps our brains from becoming numb from disuse. Art is one of the best exercises for stimulating the brain.

Marie Woods: Seeking Serendipity II, Mixed media on birch panel, 12″ x 12″, 13″ x 13″ overall, Framed in a tray frame

To start the class, I showed some multi-media art works using words and found objects. Because everyone has a different learning style, I find showing images for visual learners helps those who learn through sight, while talking about these examples helps those who are auditory or hearing learners. I sometimes need to take the tools in hand to show the haptic or hands on learners. No style is “better” or more “advanced” than another, but our unique style of learning has to do with the design of our brains. We can train our brains to work in a different fashion, but our preference will always be easier.

I had begun working on a piece the week before when Mike and Gail were in class. Mike had to go away to handle a work emergency and Gail wanted to finish a pumpkin painting. Since they had known what we would work on, and we had a week off, they were ready with a fleshed-out idea. These two also have experimented with other media in the past also. Gail’s granddaughter brought a variety of materials to work with and already had an idea. Marilyn had a promising idea, but needed technical help to bring it to life.

This is where we become those who say, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). We might look at our canvas, the paint we have put on it, the gauze we tied to it, and say to ourselves: “Well, this is a fine mess I’ve gotten myself into!” This is when a call for help, the lack of activity, or the smoking of a brain working overtime makes me look up from my own work and ask, “You need some help?”

I do not read minds, but my old schoolteacher skills never really die. If the room gets too quiet, someone is either in trouble or fixing to cause trouble. In our Friday art class, we do not have the latter. When I went to help Marilyn, she was at a decision point over what to do with her image without the netting. To begin with, she had tied it on tightly and did not have scissors on hand. In our class, we are willing to share, so no one has any need. As the writer of Hebrews 13:16 reminds us,

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

My scissors broke when one of our group tried to cut a cork, so I borrowed Gail’s X-acto knife. Plan A was not available so we moved to Plan B. First the blade fell out, but I put it back in. Marilyn may have been wondering if we ever were going to find a working tool to cut away her netting. She had tied it very securely on the canvas board. Once we got it off, we could look at the paint texture on her board. There was always plan C—arm wrestle the netting off the canvas by sheer force of will, but Plan D would have been better: use the shears in the kitchen. Nothing stops us when we are going to make art. We will find a way.

“Talk to me about your goals here,” I said.

“I was trying to get some green here, like a green ground.”

“You have plenty of green colors on your palette. Do you want solid greens or washes, like transparent greens?”

“More like transparent greens.”

“So, use your big brush and water.”

“I did not bring my big brushes. Just my small ones.”

“You can borrow mine.”

This is how the art studio life goes. We chat things out for a bit until we get over a hump, and then we let a person explore on their own some more. Some things they will discover for themselves. The more water you put into a color, the thinner it is on the canvas. The more paint put on your brush, the more opaque it is. If you want transparency, you thin your paint with a medium or water, but if you want to cover an area, you paint straight out of the tube. Keeping your brushes clean by changing the water often is also important. Otherwise, you are dragging colored water into your other colors. None of your other colors will be true colors, but will take on the color of your water.

Jimmie Durham: “Still Life with Spirit and Xitle”, car being crushed by a volcanic boulder with a comical smiley face painted on it.

When we journey, we sometimes need to take a detour along our well-planned route because a boulder has rolled down into the middle of the road or a recent flood has washed out the bridge. My map reading skills before GPS were so suspect, my daughter was frightened whenever I announced, “I’ve found a shortcut to save us some time.”

“Oh, no! Not the long cut!” She would wail. Unfortunately, she was usually correct. The shortcut might have been true, but my map reading skills always turned these short trips into long journeys. I do get to see the “unknown lands” off the beaten path of the scenic tours of whatever place I visit. “Oh, the places I have been!”

Learning how to paint, create art, make pottery, play a musical instrument, or any other creative activity does require attention, practice, critiquing, and patience. We must be pilgrims on a journey, knowing the long walk is part of the spiritual process of becoming the person we want to be. Our works will reflect our inner journey as we get closer to our destination. An artist never quits learning, so the artist’s journey never ends until they can no longer create physical works here on earth. As Anselm Kiefer, a modern German multimedia artist says,

“Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.”

Anselm Kiefer: Feld (Field), 2019-20, Emulsion, oil, and acrylic on canvas, 110¼x149% inches (280 x 380 cm)

Gail tried laying her paint on with a painter’s spackling knife. Normally she thins her paint out with water and treats it like a watercolor painting. She will build up layers to add depth and color. She also has a good clean edge to these works. She brought none of that vision to this painting, but laid on the three primary colors so thickly, they glistened. She tried printing the words with a rubbery shelf paper, but they did not stand out enough. I asked, “Do you think those words would read better in a different color?”

Her reply, “Peace is elusive these days. It is hard to find.”

“Form follows function” is a design principle, so Gail must be on to the metaphor of her theme word.

Harper came to visit and made an ocean with sea foam bubble wrap and a heart floating on the water. She also brought her latest fancy bead bracelets.

Mike was making up for missing art. He sat down with all his materials and worked his background in paint. After listening to my intro, he returned to cut up his purple cloth, arrange it on the canvas, and set the two pieces of scrap wood into a cross shape. Then he used spray fixative to hold the lot together. I saw him trying to get the wood to stick, so I suggested putting spray on both surfaces. This way the two would bond together. That piece of information was a technical revelation.

“I just need it to stick together long enough to get it home,” he said, “and then I can glue it for real.”

I noted his background colors reflected the unusual auroras which graced our evening skies this past week.

I had started my small canvas the week before when I was half sick. My hand, heart, and mind never feel quite connected when I feel bad, but I still work anyway. The beauty of acrylics is I can paint over them later. In fact, this is a repurposed canvas. If a work does not “speak to me” after a few months, I either cut it up to reweave it or paint it over entirely. I always think I will find hope for it in another form, but it may need to take its own journey to find its best self.

Jeremiah once said to the Jewish exiles in Babylon,

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (29:11)

When we have forgotten what our home looks like, God still remembers where we once lived. When we have lost our memories of the ancient Temple practices, God still knows the rituals. God will remind God’s faithful of our service. If we have lost our knowledge of how to walk with God, God will send us teachers once more. God always provides us with what we need.

Christ the Redeemer, 16th CE, Gallery of Art, Skopje.

Hope is part of our GrecoRoman heritage also. “Dum spiro spero” is Latin for “While I breathe, I hope.” Some form of this saying has been around since the 3^rd century BCE. My grandmother sewed her antique crochet trim onto pillowcases for wedding gifts. This is a scrap I found in her sewing kit. I stenciled the letters HOPE and glued down the wooden letters H, P, and E. I used an old metal circle for the O. Torn corrugated paper added a touch of texture, as did a few string prints. Sometimes hope appears to slide away or seems raw and unvarnished. The colors are blue and violet because Advent is the great season of Hope. Matthew quotes the Servant Song from Isaiah in 12:18-21—

“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not wrangle or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

He will not break a bruised reed

or quench a smoldering wick

until he brings justice to victory.

And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

This is the Messiah of Hope of Israel and the Anointed Christ in whom we hope today. We can best share the hope of this Christ to our suffering world by serving the suffering, the grieving, the hungry, and the overlooked.

Joy, peace, and hope,

Cornelia

Total Eclipse of the Heart

adult learning, arkansas, art, Astrology, cosmology, Creativity, Faith, Great American Eclipse, Imagination, inspiration, Light of the World, Love, mystery, nature, Painting, photography, shadows, Spirituality, Travel, Uncategorized, vision

In the Bonnie Tyler song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” her rock and roll soul pines for a young man as she sings:

“Every now and then

I know there’s no one in the universe

As magical and wondrous as you.”

Love struck teen heart ballads tend to elevate the beloved to a high pedestal, while hymns lift the praises of God to the highest heavens. If we look at John Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament, one of the doctrinal standards of the United Methodist Church, his commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV) is instructive:

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

We might be more familiar with this verse in the NRSV, a more modern translation, which wasn’t available in the middle of the 18^th century:

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Bailey’s Ring, from an earlier total eclipse over the South Pacific Ocean

Wesley’s commentary in his Notes on this text is succinct:

For God hath shined in our hearts—The hearts of all those whom the God of this world no longer blinds.
God who is himself our light; not only the author of light, but also the fountain of it.
To enlighten us with the knowledge of the glory of God—Of his glorious love, and of his glorious image.
In the face of Jesus Christ—Which reflects his glory in another manner than the face of Moses did.

What do the Total Eclipse of the Heart and Paul’s words to the Corinthian community have to do with art and faith? We’ve just experienced, what was for most of us, was a once in a lifetime experience. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire continent was in June 1918, when a total solar eclipse was visible from Washington to Florida, according to the US parks service. Nearly 100 years passed until this present Great American Eclipse.

At the 1878 total eclipse, Maria Mitchell led the Vassar College eclipse party, an all-female expedition from that pioneering women’s institution, which came to Denver in an era when science was a male bastion. Even higher education was deemed risky for the “fairer sex.” In 1873, the prominent Boston physician Edward H. Clarke had warned in an incendiary book titled “Sex in Education,” that the recent push for female colleges and coeducation could undermine women’s health by taxing their brains and causing their reproductive organs to atrophy — leading to “a dropping out of maternal instincts, and an appearance of Amazonian coarseness and force.” Nearly 150 years later some men still concern themselves with outmoded and 19th century views on women’s health concerns.

I drove over four hundred miles to Kentucky in 2017 for the prior Great American Eclipse and got to stay home to see this second Great American Eclipse in my own front yard. Some folks couldn’t have been bothered about this current grand event, while others were convinced God was informing America of her impending doom. Moreover, multiple conspiracy theories abounded, none of which came true, of course. For instance, the world didn’t come to an end and our cell phones still work. Even the electric grid held up, even though the sun didn’t shine for all of a few minutes as the shadow traveled at over 1,600 miles per hour as it raced along the path of totality. This wasn’t even Y2K, which we all remember was a nonstarter at least and a dud at best.

In art class Friday Tim and I talked about the experience of this celestial event. We humans often elevate our own importance when we measure ourselves against one another and the works of our hands. When we go out into nature, we’re faced with the grandeur of God’s creation, especially when we visit the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. In Psalms 19:1, we read:

“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”

We see the beauty of nature and feel a warmth in our hearts. Our spirits soar. This intimacy with nature is one of the reasons we send our children to our United Methodist Church Camps, not just because they’ll have a great Christian experience, but because they’ll have that faith experience in nature with trusted leaders. I still remember my adventures and experiences in nature at those camps as part of my spiritual journey.

Even in seminary, when I was having difficulty with some of my courses, I could go for a walk on the campus under the tree lined walks and search the skies for hopeful signs. Sometimes I saw the towering cumulus clouds in the Texas sky as a sign God was with me “in the cloud by day.” In those times of difficulty, even the cloistered realm of preparation seemed like a wilderness journey, but I was glad for a guide.

Bill Maxey, from Nebraska, taken at Hot Springs, AR.

When I was actively serving as a pastor, sometimes I just had to get away. I’d drive until I found some nature, a national park, national forest, or some fields outside of town. If it was a hot summer, I looked for some deep woods and cool shade to shelter me. In the cool spring, I drove until I found flowers. Maybe this is why I retired to a lake in a national park. I don’t need a big house, since I’d rather go out into nature instead.

Totality on Lake Hamilton, with sunset in the west, outside the path of totality

It was the heat of summer in 2017, so you’d think I’d remember the temperature drop right before the eclipse was halfway through. This year I was on Lake Hamilton, and the breeze off the lake combined with the cooler air was decidedly noticeable. When we entered totality, the lights on the Highway 70 bridge and at Bubba Brews automatically came on. The distant sky in the southwest, outside the path of totality, looked like a summer sunset. My neighbors and our visitors from afar were cheering.

Bill Maxey: multiple exposure of the Great American Eclipse, 2024

Not everyone can make an artwork that expresses their emotions as well as the shapes of the image. We can learn the rules of perspective and color, but then we have to learn to let our heart rule our head. This is what I call an “artistic leap of faith.” When we were young, we accepted the basic ideas of Christianity. As we got older, life happened, and we might have begun to struggle with our childhood beliefs not being equal to our adult needs. If we keep our childlike faith, we risk losing our faith. If we are able to wrestle with our faith and find a new and more mature faith, we can handle the major challenges of later life. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12—

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Tim’s Partial Eclipse painting using red, blue and brown to build the sky

Tim experimented with mixing colors to get richer depth. Using the Prang watercolor palette, he mixed the red, blue, and brown to get the black sky of the eclipse event. The red orange of the sun has some brown in it too. He layered the colors with multiple strokes, with a nod to Van Gogh. He worked from a photograph I brought. I pulled many of them off the internet, and many of my friends sent me some too.

I worked on an image I’d taken from my iPhone. I had placed one of my eclipse glasses over the lens and was wearing another pair. It wasn’t that easy to get the sun lined up with all that blocking! My image looked a lot like a fried egg or an eyeball. I used several jar lids to get the circles painted cleanly. My dark sky is red, blue, and violet. The shape of the corona was not distinct, due to the quality of my camera. NASA has a very high-resolution image, which breath taking. Our tax dollars at work are bringing great scientific research and development to benefit us in everyday life, such as solar panels and heart implants.

NASA: High Resolution Image of the Total Eclipse

Thomas Merton, in No Man is an Island, in a chapter called “Being and Doing,” wrote—

“We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm.”

I was a bit exhausted after all the excitement of this big event. I’d met new people from three different states, visited around our patio, and been gifted crystals that had been dug from Mt. Ida and “energized by the eclipse.” I’m not a crystal person, but I understand from those that are these crystals are “special.” I was feeling every bit of my new age as the calendar flipped over for another year.

Bourbon Codex: Aztec priestly document recording astronomical observations: eclipse

But today is another day, I had a night to sleep, and we had fun in art class. As long as we find joy in life, we know we’re alive. Our joys aren’t just collections of peak experiences, but some are the joy of the assurance of God’s enduring presence in our later lives when our youthful vigor has left us. We need to remember just as the moon eclipses the sun, once it passes, it also reveals the sun’s glory. One day this Bible verse from Philippians 3:21 will be true for each one of us, who has a heart full of love for God and neighbor:

“He will transform our humble bodies that they may be conformed to his glorious body, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.”

Joy and peace,

Cornelia

Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart Lyrics | AZLyrics.com

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bonnietyler/totaleclipseoftheheart.html

John Wesley: Explanatory Notes on the New Testament (With Active Table of Contents) [Kindle Edition], first published 1757

John Wesley: Wesley’s Notes on the Bible – Christian Classics Ethereal Library—online free edition of this book

https://ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes/notes.toc.html

The Solar Eclipse Is the Super Bowl for Conspiracists | WIRED

https://www.wired.com/story/solar-eclipse-conspiracies/

Solar Eclipse 2017: Sun and moon put on celestial performance – CBS News

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2017-eclipse-dazzles-million-watch-celestial-performance-sun-moon/

Thomas Merton—“No Man is an Island” in a chapter called “Being and Doing” [TMHI]: 1955

A Woman in Eclipse: Maria Mitchell and the Great Solar Expedition of 1878

https://undark.org/2017/08/17/wilo-maria-mitchell-astronomer-eclipse/

NASA: Benefits Stemming from Space Exploration

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/benefits-stemming-from-space-exploration-2013-tagged.pdf?emrc=ca90d1#:~:text=Overcoming%20the%20challenges%20of%20working,information%20technology%2C%20and%20industrial%20productivity

Rabbit! Rabbit!

arkansas, art, autumnal equinox, Children, Christmas, Civil War, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, elections, Fall Equinox, Family, holidays, Imagination, inspiration, Labor Day, perfection, photography, rabbits, St. Patrick’s Day, summer vacation, texas, US Constitution

September marks the return to order and organization, since the summer for most of us meant a relaxation of rules and schedules. “Vacay mode” of late mornings, pajama days, and snack meals are now a fading figment of our fevered frenzies. I remember these days all too well. My little girl threw a conniption fit one morning as I hurriedly dressed her so we wouldn’t be late for her pre-k class and my teaching assignment at the same school. We dashed out of the house, I locked her in the car seat, and flew to my workplace. I delivered her to the precare room and made a beeline for my art shack.

Later on at lunch, her teacher informed me I’d brought my fussy child to school without panties. Oops! Luckily, all the children were required to have a spare change of clothes “just in case of emergency.” Saved by those who are more organized than most. My art classroom always had the paint organized by rainbow colors, the scissors numbered, and shelves labeled. The moral of this annecdote is, “Innanimate objects are easy to organize; people not so much.” Murphy’s Law also comes to mind: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” and Murphy’s First Corrollary: “It will cause the most damage possible.”

In the “No Pants Scandal,” of four decades ago, only my pride was injured. I’m not as organized or as perfect as I thought I was. This brings me to a little chat on appearances vs. our true selves. Our “false self” wants to appear organized, on top of things, spiritual, magnanimous, and virtuous. We’d like to be “perfect” in thought and deed. Yet the more we try to attain perfection or to act perfectly, the more likely dark, hateful, or mean thoughts arise from the depths of our hearts. We see this is our dualist world view, which divides our world into pure evil or pure good. The book of Proverbs reminds us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18). It’s always better to admit, as I did, “I didn’t have a great morning and she wasn’t cooperative. I’m surprised we got here at all.”

Speaking about regular and organized, our earth is about to have another equinox on September 23, 2023, at 1:50 am CDT. The Fall Equinox happens yearly on or around September 22^nd. The date of the fall equinox is variable because the 365 day Gregorian calendar doesn’t match up perfectly with the position of Earth in its orbit around the sun. When we add the leap year, the equinox date also changes. While the September equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23, it can very rarely fall on September 21 or September 24. A September 21 equinox has not happened for several millennia. However, in the 21st century, it will happen twice—in 2092 and 2096. The last September 24 equinox occurred in 1931, the next one will take place in 2303. This rabbit won’t be around for any of these rare events, so don’t send me an invite.

The September 29 full moon occurs at 4:57 AM CDT. It’s called the Harvest Moon in some years, or the Hunter’s Moon in other years. Technically, the Harvest Moon, which is the Anglo-Saxon name, is the Full Moon closest to the September equinox on September 22/23. The Harvest Moon is the only Full Moon name determined by the equinox rather than a month. Most years, it’s in September, but around every three years, it falls in October. We also know this September full moon as the Corn Moon from the Native American tribes harvesting their corn in this time. Other names for this month’s full moon are Celtic and Old English names: Wine Moon, Song Moon, and Barley Moon.

Just as summer’s laissez-faire moments will give away to school and work routines, so the onset of autumn and the fall equinox herald another change. You might not yet recognize it over the insistent hum of your air conditioning system or feel it due to the heat waves rising from the black asphalt of your company’s parking lot, but autumn is just around the corner.

Don’t look at your utility bill just yet, and don’t pack your bags for Texas. I talked to my brother down there who has his AC set to “stun”—he said when the bill comes, “It will stun him a second time.” Texas doesn’t belong to the national energy grid, but to ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. It’s not connected to the two major electrical systems of the lower 48 states, but has its own grid to avoid federal regulation. When Thomas Edison started the first electric power plant in Manhattan in 1882, he set off a gold rush of independent power companies. During WWI, they began to unite and even more joined after WWII.

Texas takes seriously its “Don’t mess with Texas” rhetoric. Only on rare, catastrophic instances has it briefly joined either the American or Mexican utility grids. While Texas is a large state with rich energy resources, the USA is larger. When extreme weather events happen, energy costs rise. Rates can vary wildly as a result. The economic lesson is ERCOT is Dollar Store trying to outbid the Walmart of the national grids who can share energy with those in need.

Thomas Nast: The Lightening Speed of Honesty, 1877

Speaking of nations, on September 7, 1813, the United States got its nickname: Uncle Sam. Samuel Wilson from New York, a meat supplier to the US Army, stamped his barrels with US for United States. The soldiers began calling their rations “Uncle Sam’s,” a name the local newspaper noted, which began to spread and soon became the personification of the federal government. Thomas Nast (1840-1902) popularized the image of Uncle Sam. In Nast’s evolving works, Uncle Sam acquired the white beard and the stars-and-stripes suit we associate with the character today. The satirical cartoon of yesteryear’s dithering Congress is apropos of our modern chambers, which can’t seem to come a reasonable compromise to get the people’s business done by funding our country’s basic needs.

Over a century before Uncle Sam, Columbia was an idealized feminine figure that personified the new nation of America. She was created in 1697 when Chief Justice Samuel Sewall of the Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote a poem that suggested the American colonies be called Columbina, a feminized version of Christopher Columbus’ last name. Over 70 years later, the name evolved further when former slave, Phillis Wheatley, wrote an ode to George Washington invoking Columbia in 1775. Born around 1753, Phillis Wheatley was the first black poet in America to publish a book. She was listed among the enslaved persons at Mount Vernon. You can read her amazing poem here:

His Excellency General Washington by Phillis Wheatley— https://poets.org/poem/his-excellency-general-washington

Over time, the image of Columbia became a symbol for American ideals during wars, such as the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and World War I, as well as the subject of political cartoons and literary works. With her liberty cap and patriotic shield, Columbia stood as the spirit of the country. We even see her name, image, and likeness in modern industry in the Columbia Broadcasting System or CBS, as well as in the seat of our national government, the District of Columbia.

Uncle Sam also has honored workers on Labor Day, which we celebrate on September 4^th. Many rabbit families treat this three day weekend as the last hurrah of summer. Let’s remember those essential workers who serve and protect the rest of us while we barbecue in our backyards and national parks. The first Labor Day “parade” in 1882 was a strike. Workers marched en masse from New York City Hall to Union Square to protest terrible working conditions during the Industrial Revolution. Workers, including children as young as five years old, labored in unsafe factories, farms, mills and mines for 12 hours or more per day, seven days a week, often without breaks, fresh air or even clean water.

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

This map shows global temperature anomalies for July 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how July 2023 compared to the average July temperature from 1951-1980.

Only 5 States Provide Heat Relief Laws for Workers. Arkansas doesn’t protect workers from dangerous heat inside or outside.

Today, 141 years later, during the hottest July since 1880, some states are passing laws to prevent workers from getting “special treatment due to the heat” such as extra breaks for cooling or water. Currently only five states have protections for workers in these extreme conditions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1992 and 2019, extreme heat killed more than 900 workers and sickened tens of thousands more. Those numbers, however, are likely an undercount due to the lack of reporting by negligent employers or by workers who are worried about retaliation or deportation. In addition to the physical implications, time off from a job due to illness can lead to missed wages or the loss of a job altogether.

Bain photograph: LC-USZ62-49516: Four women strikers from Ladies Tailors union on picket line during the “Uprising of the 20,000,” garment workers strike, New York City, 1910 February, glass negative photo, Library of Congress.

As a rabbit who once endured a few days in an unairconditioned art shack at the beginning of school and then fainted from heat exposure, I have a heart for all workers in extreme circumstances. I made sure to take care of my people, since my bosses didn’t care about me. It’s never right to treat others poorly just because you were wronged.

Reading The Constitution Online is also an Option

In late September, we celebrate Constitution Week (Sept. 17-23). The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, was a list of grievances against the king of England and intended to justify separation from British rule. The Constitution was written and signed in 1787. It was a charter of government ratified by the states, and continues to be the supreme law of the land. All members of the armed services and Congress take a vow to defend the constitution, as do the President and Vice President of our country.

We rabbits will all need to brush up on our civics lessons in the days to come, for the upcoming presidential candidates may be affected by their lack of appreciation for the constitution and the consequences as a result. As I always told my students, “Attitudes drive Behavior and Behavior leads to Consequences. You can choose the good or the negative. It’s all up to you. Try for a good attitude every day.”

The 14^th Amendment, section 3, passed after the Civil War, or the last great insurrection by the southern secessionist states, forbids holding office in the US government by former office holders who then participate in insurrection or rebellion. This constitutional provision is currently being tested in the courts. September is back to school for all us rabbits. The last time I remember a civics lesson was the seventh grade in Mrs. Tampke’s class, but “ex post facto” might have been “non sequitur,” as I was passing notes rather than paying attention.

Mr. Flopsy’s Rabid Rabbit Pirate won’t be Messed with.

We rabbits can only take so much seriousnes in our short lives until we need a break. Thank you September 19^th: International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Everyone can ARRGG their way MATIES through a Tuesday, and if Monday is a pain, who says we rabbits can’t Pirate on that day too? After all, pirates rob and steal, lawless vagabonds that they are. Let’s just take over the good ship Monday and drink our strong Pirate Coffee with vigor and daring.

National Bluebird of Happiness Day is September 24^th. I love these little blue glass figurines. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz sings, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can’t I?” Bluebirds uplift the heart into joy when we see them in nature. The blue glass iconic sculptures, made in Arkansas by the Ward family, have sold over 9 million birds, large and small. They’re no longer made due to concerns about climate change because the glass production process requires large amounts of natural gas and electricity. I treasure the blue bird in my possession and greet it daily. You might find one in a secondhand store.

God Please Keep My Children Safe, by Grayson Perry, 2005

Love Note Day is September 26, so I suggest you write a sweet letter to your beloved. This might be a spouse, significant other, parent, mentor, or even your own self. Share some affirmations to those who mean something to you. Don’t stop at one note of love, but make a whole symphony of blessings. In our world today, folks don’t hear many positive messages. You can help balance the scales for your recipients.

If the Sears Catalog were still a thing, we bunnies would be wishing

September 30, the last day of this month marks 92 days left in 2023. Where has this year gone?! Don’t ask this rabbit. I’ve already bought a couple of little Christmas gifts for my bunny friends. I’m never this organized. This means I’ll likely lose or misplace these items in the 86 days before Christmas Day. Then again, this is also enough time for this rabbit to find these packages once again! Live with optimism! Expect the best and work for it.

May the Blue Bird of Happiness bring you

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

The September Equinox

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox.html

Traditional Full Moon Names

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon-names.html

Why does Texas have its own power grid? | The Texas Tribune
https://www.texastribune.org/2011/02/08/texplainer-why-does-texas-have-its-own-power-grid/

How The United States Got its Nickname

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-nicknamed-uncle-sam

The lightning speed of honesty [Uncle Sam seated on snail “45th Congress” carrying Army and Navy payroll and money, with Resumption Act (of honesty) in his pocket] / Th Nast.
https://loc.getarchive.net/media/the-lightning-speed-of-honesty-uncle-sam-seated-on-snail-45th-congress-carrying

Database of Mount Vernon’s Enslaved Community · George Washington’s Mount Vernon
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/slavery-database/

Heat Stress Is Killing Workers. States Can Protect Them.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/heat-stress-killing-workers-states-can-protect-them

Short Summary—The Character to Lead: Republicans’ Fork in the Road Between Trump and the Constitution’s Eligibility Requirements for President

https://www.justsecurity.org/87750/the-character-to-lead-republicans-fork-in-the-road-between-trump-and-the-constitutions-eligibility-requirements-for-president/

Deep Dive— The Sweep and Force of Section Three. 172 U. PA. L. REV. (forthcoming 2024). William Baude & Michael Stokes Paulsen. https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=791101027092090122082025003064104018105084007031052035109090080088105005086003018089043050055106031007050097096000078089031112025019027055033023110008092018116067055086024100075002015088106075126126082029114024094102088002003074126075030067104090009&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE

U.S. Senate: The Senate’s First Act—the Oath Act and 1862 Ironclad Oath
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/landmark-legislation/oath-act.htm

Arkansas Bluebird of Happiness – Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-bluebird-of-happiness-3822/

Winter Solstice 2022

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This shortest day of the year is the Winter Solstice, which is on Wednesday, December 21, at 4:48 P.M. EST, in the Northern Hemisphere. Some think of this as the Longest Night, but I’m a person of the light, not the darkness. I always prefer to look to the light, no matter how dim or feeble it may seem.

Yet darkness is a necessary experience in our lives. We do not yet live in the land of the “unclouded sky” or the heavenly realm:

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” —Revelation 21:23

In the darkness, growth often happens: germination and rooting are two types of unseen activity that help produce the plant we see above ground. Without adequate light, the visible plant won’t thrive. So both darkness and light are at work to produce fruit in our lives.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28

Rejoice! The days will get brighter soon!

The Winter Solstice in Hot Springs is at 3:48 pm CST on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. In terms of daylight, this day is 4 hours, 37 minutes shorter than the June solstice. In most locations north of the equator, the shortest day of the year is around this date. The good news about the Winter Solstice is the days will begin to lengthen, although imperceptibly at first: one minute, four minutes, seven minutes, ten minutes, thirteen minutes, sixteen minutes, and so on.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the sun’s return, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. Today we recognize the source of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song in this festival. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Prosperity for all in the New Year!

In this present darkness, a small light still shines brightly

In this time of stress and strain, grief and gripes, let’s look to the in-breaking light, and the renewal of life and love. Here’s a “Winter Solstice Chant” by Annie Finch, for your pleasure:

Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, now you are uncurled and cover our eyes with the edge of winter sky leaning over us in icy stars Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, come with your seasons, your fullness, your end.

Of course, if you can’t get your travel plans together at the last minute to visit Stonehenge, England for the winter solstice celebration, you can always make Rice Krispies Bars in the shape of the ancient monument. The recipe link is at the bottom of the page. Hint: don’t turn the heat up high or your treats will be hard. Due to high carbohydrate count, one “pillar” of Stonehenge Krispies is actually two servings.

Joy and peace and a Good Yule log,

CORNELIA

Sunrise and sunset times in Hot Springs https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@4115412

The Original Rice Krispies Treats™ Recipe https://www.ricekrispies.com/en_US/recipes/the-original-treats-recipe.html

Change and Tradition

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One of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons was Rocky and Bullwinkle. I loved Mr. Peabody and Sherman, who would climb into the WABAC machine after setting the controls to a time and place of historical importance. That a bow tie wearing dog had adopted a human boy never crossed my mind as being strange. It was a cartoon, after all. In the 1960’s we didn’t take cartoons as real life. We knew they were fantasy.

Votive relief. Pentelic marble. Found in the sanctuary of Eleusis.

In times of change we always want to hold on to traditions: our rituals, our places of worship, our routines. I think the newly minted Christians in the first century, who had friendships and business relationships tied up in the pagan temple sacrificial banquets, most likely had this problem too. The temples were where they ate food sacrificed to the pagan gods, drank to celebrate new deals or cement old relationships, and soon one thing would lead to another. It was the “another” that Paul had words about, for In sharing these meals, Christians were also indulging in the sexual activities that resulted from the feast. (1 Corinthians 8)

If Christians were to live a new life and their lifestyles were to reflect this newness, they needed to make an outward change to reflect the inward transformation of their hearts. We don’t keep the old but take on a newness of heart that transforms our outer life. Consider the caterpillar. It only knows how to be a caterpillar, but it has an inner drive to spin a cocoon. Once inside, it rests, reflects, and directs its energy to becoming a new creation. Then it breaks free to become what its new and true self is meant to be. If it remains bound in a cocoon, it won’t fulfill the wonderful design of God’s best hopes and dreams for its life.

We too have to reimagine and revision our spiritual lives. I’ve always based my vision for ministry on John Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection: “A heart so full of love for God and neighbor that nothing else can exist.” Like the lawyer in the parable, many of us ask, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus and Wesley say “Everybody is our neighbor.” I’d add, even those we’re most upset with, even if they’ve part of our family and we have disagreements with them.

Most of us have a Bible, but we don’t all read the same translation and we also have major disagreements on how to interpret this holy book. A particularly fraught scripture is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (NRSV)

Wesley wrote in his Notes on the New Testament on 1 Corinthians 6:9—

“Idolatry is here placed between fornication and adultery, because they generally accompanied it. Nor the effeminate—Who live in an easy, indolent way; taking up no cross, enduring no hardship. But how is this? These good-natured, harmless people are ranked with idolaters and sodomites! We may learn hence, that we are never secure from the greatest sins, till we guard against those which are thought the least; nor, indeed, till we think no sin is little, since every one is a step toward hell.”

In Wesley’s Notes on The Entire Bible, of which his Notes on the New Testament is part of our United Methodist Doctrinal standards, he also reminds us, “ Fornication—The original word implies criminal conversation of any kind whatever.” (1 Corinthians 6:9)

That was Wesley in 1754, or the mid 18th century, but most modern Wesleyans today would be shocked at that interpretation of this text. Interestingly, Wesley departed from the KJV in over 12,000 instances in his Notes on the NT. Wesley valued the Authorised Version of the Bible (KJV), but he always preferred to study the Scriptures in their original languages over any and all translations. If we’re traditionalists, we need to remember Wesley was a radical in his time. As Albert Outler was always keen to remind Methodists, Wesley looked better without his halo.

A later day hero was my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Billy Abraham. As his research assistant at Perkins, I had the wonderful opportunity to learn from his thought and appreciate the early church fathers and mothers. Through him I was privileged to meet and learn from Dr. Roberta Bondi, a noted expert on early church history. I learned from Billy about differing views of scriptural authority and from Roberta how a heart of love and mercy helps us live in community.

I decided I’d go with Wesley’s view: “The Bible contains everything necessary for salvation.” This meant I didn’t have to get into creationist arguments because that’s not going to interfere with anyone’s salvation. Of course, that was the big issue a quarter century ago. Even our disagreements change over time. I learned to pray from Dr. Bondi, “Help us to love one another as God loves us.”

When we read scripture in translation, we read from the vantage point of our times and our context. We don’t have a 1960’s Rocky and Bullwinkle WABAC machine to visit the historical people who wrote the Bible. (If only we could time travel!) Only by studying the life and times of that era can we read with a clearer mind what the original authors meant. Even then, we’re caught up in the translation, for we don’t have many full copies of the holy books from the earliest times. Our earliest complete New Testament dates from the 4th century, long after Christ and the first apostles walked these rocks and clods we call earth.

Then too, we have concepts today which ancient people hadn’t yet conceived. In Roman times, which is the time of the earliest New Testament writings, the day was divided into watches or hours. We think of those hours as having 60 minutes each, but they had no mechanical clocks for precision time keeping. The sundial kept the hour count, so a summer day had long watch hours, while a winter day had shorter ones. Since everyone was on the same system, everyone was on time, or they were late if they were my ancestors.

We all read the same Bible, but we have different translations in our hands. I choose the NRSV because it’s a modern translation that’s as literal as possible and as free as necessary, unlike the NIV, which is a dynamic translation or one that seeks to make the best readable sense of the text. Those translators have to make decisions on how to render rare words in the text. For instance, the word “arsenokoitai,” which shows up in two different verses in the bible, wasn’t translated to mean “homosexual” until 1946. It appears in the RSV, whereas in the KJV, the word gets translated as “nor abusers of themselves with mankind” (or to put it less delicately—trigger warning—masturbation).

Douris: Drinking cup (kylix) depicting an erotic scene of Eros and a youth

How was the word translated previously? It referred to the common Greek practice of pederasty: adult male love for younger boys, which everyone today would be opposed to and disgusted by this cultural practice once common in Greek society. Abuse of youths by adults is something all of us can dislike because that experience isn’t a relationship of equals. One has too much power, authority, and dominance over the other. For the same reason we object to other unequal sexual relationships: clergy and laity, counselors and campers, teachers and students, bosses and employees, and so on.

Circle of Euthymides: Two-handled storage jar (pelike) depicting young athletes jumping

This particular word shows up exactly two times in the whole Bible. It’s now translated as “sodomites.” This too is an unfortunate translation, since the sin of Sodom wasn’t homosexuality, but the townspeople’s failure to respect the laws of hospitality. When the visitors came under Lot’s protection in his home, the townies gathered outside his door and begged to have their sport with his guests. We’re horrified Lot would offer up his own daughters, but in that day and time, protecting the honor of the patriarch’s offer of hospitality to strangers was more important than anything that happened to the women of the household. We don’t have to like the culture as it was back then to get the lesson of “entertaining angels unawares.” This is an instance we’re glad fathers today have respect both for their guests and their daughters. Cultures change and we’re very glad for that.

The word “μαλακός” or Malakos refers to something soft and effeminate. It could refer to silk clothing or to an adult man who shaved his beard or grew long hair. In the Ancient Greek society, once a boy grew a beard, he was no longer subjected to pederastic abuse. Instead, he passed “the gift on” to the next generation. We’re well aware today how child abuse is generational. This is what Paul railed about in this text.

When the holidays crank up, the greedy, drunkards, and maybe a few adulterers and fornicators will go to town. The angry criticizers will probably be driving the bus and the swindlers (robbers: ἅρπαγες) will be grifting the unsuspecting flock as they barrel along. We don’t have any temples with male prostitutes as the ancient Greek cities once had. There were also women prostitutes serving at these temples, so everyone had their pick when visiting with a celebrant for an intercession with the gods. I’m really glad our current clergy orders don’t include this ritual as part of “pastoral care.” Culture changes. Maybe today’s clergy body is glad this duty isn’t added to their holiday activities.

It’s good the culture has changed from that of Rome and Athens of the first century. In fact, culture keeps on changing all the time. This is why Jesus spoke of “new wine in new wine skins.” We’re no longer a first century church, but some principles still apply. We can’t pour the new wine into an old skin, or the fermentation will burst open the weak old skin. This is why we are a new and changing church, for just as butterflies break out of their cocoons, we too have to break free from what has bound us in a past time. The Holy Spirit keeps refreshing and invigorating a living community, whether it worships in a tent, a rented room, or in a set place.

Now we look forward, to a new land, a new existence, and new possibilities. If we hear the voice of God, we hear the calling: “Go to the land I will show you.” God has always led God’s people in every place and in every time. God has brought God’s people through good times and bad, through war and peace, and in exile to the promised land. We can trust God to be faithful once again.

Joy, peace, and hope,

Cornelia

Drinking cup (kylix) depicting an erotic scene of Eros and a youth
Signed by: Douris: clay, Greek, made in Attica, Athens, Late Archaic Period, about 490–485 B.C., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

Two-handled storage jar (pelike) depicting young athletes jumping
Circle of Euthymides (Greek), Archaic Period, about 520–515 B.C., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

Drinking cup (kylix) depicting pentathletes
Onesimos: Greek, Late Archaic Period, about 500–490 B.C., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

NOTES:
(PDF) Canon, criterion and circularity: An analysis of the epistemology of canonical theism of Billy Abraham
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328641188_Canon_criterion_and_circularity_An_analysis_of_the_epistemology_of_canonical_theism

Crossing the Threshold of Divine Revelation: Abraham, William J.
Here Abraham argues for divine revelation as another leg of understanding and interpretation of church traditions and scripture.

Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology: From the Fathers to Feminism
by William J. Abraham
This is a seminary textbook and historical overview.

“John Wesley’s Notes On The Entire Bible” by John Wesley (1754)
Start reading it for free: https://a.co/3UKifSG

Has ‘Homosexual’ Always Been in the Bible? – United Methodist Insight
https://um-insight.net/perspectives/has-“homosexual”-always-been-in-the-bible/

The Use and Misuse of John Wesley on the Authority of Scripture |
Glen O’Brien – Academia.edu
https://www.academia.edu/5946863/The_Use_and_Misuse_of_John_Wesley_on_the_Authority_of_Scripture

Michael Roberts: Connected in Christ—great discussion on this topic
https://connectedinchrist.net/2022/07/14/wesley-on-human-sexuality-and-his-commentary-on-often-cited-verses/

Strong’s NT 3120: https://biblehub.com/greek/3120.htm

Strong’s 733: https://biblehub.com/greek/733.htm

Strong’s 727: https://biblehub.com/greek/727.htm

NOTES ON μοιχοὶ οὔτε μαλακοὶ οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖται—

STRONGS NT 3120: μαλακός
μαλακός, μαλακή, μαλακον, soft; soft to the touch: ἱμάτια, Matthew 11:8 R G L brackets; Luke 7:25 (ἱματίων πολυτελῶν καί μαλακων, Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 1, 78; ἐσθής, Homer, Odyssey 23, 290; Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 2, 3; χιτών, Homer, Iliad 2, 42); and simply τά μαλακά, soft raiment (see λευκός, 1): Matthew 11:8 T Tr WH.

Like the Latin mollis, metaphorically, and in a bad sense: effeminate, of a catamite, a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness, 1 Corinthians 6:9 (Dionysius Halicarnassus, Antiquities 7, 2 under the end; ((Diogenes Laërtius 7, 173 at the end)).

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance: effeminate, soft. Of uncertain affinity; soft, i.e. Fine (clothing); figuratively, a catamite — effeminate, soft.

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, STRONGS NT 733: ἀρσενοκοίτης
733 arsenokoítēs (from 730 /árrhēn, “a male” and 2845 /koítē, “a mat, bed”) – properly, a man in bed with another man; a homosexual.
ἀρσενοκοίτης, ἀρσενοκοιτου, ὁ (ἄρσην a male; κοίτη a bed), one who lies with a male as with a female, a sodomite: 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10. (Anthol. 9, 686, 5; ecclesiastical writings.)

Seeds of Dissent and a Harvest of Distrust

Ancestry, arkansas, art, Faith, Family, Forgiveness, greek myths, Holy Spirit, hope, incarnation, inspiration, john wesley, Love, Ministry, Painting, perfection, poverty, purpose, Ravenna Italy, renewal, Retirement, stewardship, Stress, United Methodist Church, vision

Christ Enthroned with the Angels
6th century Mosaic
Church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy

Nothing springs full grown to life in an instant. Everything begins in a seed, which is planted, watered, and nourished into full growth. Only in myths or fantasies can an idea come into being instantly. Zeus had a very bad headache, a “splitting headache,” that birthed his daughter Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She leapt out in fully grown from his brow. We don’t take this myth to be scientifically true, but as a metaphor for the difficulty and struggles we undergo to obtain wisdom. As my daddy used to tell me after I’d learned some hard life lesson, “The school of experience is a rough master, and we all earn a costly degree in gaining its wisdom.”

Little Master Lip Painter Attributed to the Phrynos Painter: Birth of Athena, Attic Black Figure Ware, Kylix, Date ca. 555 – 550 B.C., Early Archaic Period,

Some of us will repeat the same lessons over and over, as if we expect to get a different result. The purpose of an education isn’t to regurgitate a right answer to pass a test, but to understand why the answer is right. That’s why math classes require showing the steps to the solution, rather than the “full blown adult answer” only. In matters of faith or ethics, many of us haven’t had the training to “set out the proof” for our final answer or deed. In fact, in one situation we may think or act one way, and quite differently in another.

The name for this behavior is “situational ethics.” Less kindly, it’s also known as spinelessness, shiftiness, being two faced, or dishonesty. Mostly it means people don’t have a true center or a plumb line by which they measure themselves. If we’re measuring our lives against other people, we’re measuring against other fallible human beings. Even our heroes have feet of clay, for none of us are gods. When I used to call my parents out on this character trait, they always told me, “Do as I say, not as I do.” This sets up a moral conflict for most people, even those raised in the church or in religious homes.

We need to have a moral center based on a higher authority than our individual or cultural conventions, one that includes or exceeds the ethics of the group to which we belong, and not just our individual beliefs and actions. Professional groups—physicians, lawyers, clergy, educators, and others—all have ethical standards for caring for those they serve, even if they morally disagree with the behaviors that bring them into their care. Who decides the ethics of the group? At the risk of making my favorite seminary professor, Billy Abraham, roll about in his still fresh grave, we United Methodists do have the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral of Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience to guide us. Often we assign our personal life experience to this latter quadrilateral edge, but Wesley meant our Experience of the Assurance of God’s All Embracing and Adopting Love. As Wesley once said, “God is able to save all to the uttermost.”

The Good Samaritan by English School, (19th century)

Ethics and morals are often used as synonyms, but ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, e.g., codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in religions. Morals refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong. Ethics is a a late 17th century word derived from the Greek ēthos (disposition, character), in contrast to pathos (suffering). In Latin it means ‘character, depiction of character’, or (plural) ‘customs’.

Then we have the words moral and morals. The first is concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior. The goodness or badness of human character is another concern. From these, people decide what behavior is considered right or acceptable in a particular society. We often say a person has morals if they conform to standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. We can speak of “the corruption of public morals, “ or you can hear people talking as if “they believe addicts have no morals and can’t be trusted,” rather than understanding the disease and abuse bases which often underlie addictions.

These distinctions don’t change the negative consequences of the addict’s behaviors, yet the addicted person still has the same image of God and the same potential for wholeness each of us have, but perhaps with more suffering, or pathos. If we judge the morality of a person’s choices, and then refer that moral state to the individual’s worthiness, we can end up losing compassion for the person as well as losing the will to help them better their lives. This leads to hard heartedness and a lack of love. We reject our neighbors and make them strangers, unwelcome to our world. We forget our spiritual ancestors were once strangers in a strange land, wanderers without a home. How easily we forget our savior, who had no place to be born even in his ancestral home, and whose family fled religious persecution and certain death to live in Egypt, far from home. Strange how some Christians have no sympathy for others in the same fix today.

Moral is a word from the late Middle English by way of the Latin moralis, from mos, mor- ‘custom’, with the plural mores or ‘morals’. It refers to one having the property of being right or wrong, good or evil, or voluntary or deliberate, and therefore open to ethical appraisal. When we apply moral attributes to a person, it means “capable of moral action; able to choose between right and wrong, or good and evil.” Not until 1803 did moral come to mean “virtuous with regard to sexual conduct,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

As a noun, we meet the word in the Latin Moralia, the title of St Gregory the Great’s moral exposition of the Book of Job. Later it was applied to the works of various classical writers. All Methodists and the holiness denominations birthed from the seed of the great Methodist revival recognize the genius of John Wesley. We all quote him, but we also apply his wisdom through our own individual preconceived notions of what is “good, true, and noble.”

When John Wesley was asked, “What is that faith whereby we are sanctified?” he answered:

“First believe that God has promised to save you from all sin, and to fill you with all holiness; secondly, believe that He is able thus to save to the uttermost all that come unto God through him; thirdly, believe that He is willing, as well as able, to save you to the uttermost; to purify you from all sin, and fill up all your heart with love. Believe fourthly, that He is not only able, but willing to do it now! Not when you come to die; not at any distant time; not tomorrow, but today. He will then enable you to believe, it is done, according to His Word.”

In the old days, we said we were “going on to perfection,” not that we were so bold as to claim that we’d already arrived there or been perfected. Oh no, we allowed God could complete this for us and had the power to do it, as well as the will, but our human nature was still fallible. If a word comes up more than once in a text, writers go to the thesaurus for an alternative, but in reading scripture, we learned repetition was a sign of importance, a marker especially meant for those of us who are slow learners in the school of life.

Oliver O’Donovan in “Scripture and Christian Ethics” writes, “Moral theologians have a secret knowledge, apparently concealed from other kinds of theologians, especially those devoted to hermeneutics. They know that the most mysterious and most difficult question we ever have to answer is not, what does Scripture mean?, but, what does the situation we are facing mean?, where do we find ourselves existentially?”

We tend to speak as if our selves and our situations were known quantities, so that it only remains to choose out of Scripture whatever seems to fit our circumstances as we conceive them. Scripture has an uncanny way of shedding light on our self and our situation, to overcome our preconceptions about them. We don’t read about our situation directly in the Scriptures, yet it’s from the Scriptures we gain categories of understanding, which re-frame our view of our situation and ourselves. We can’t look for individual texts to guide our actions, but need to consider the whole of the revealed Scripture and God’s nature as we discern our path forward.

Carl Bloch: Monk Looking in a Mirror, 1875, oil on canvas, Nivaagaard Museum, Denmark.

In this sense, the Bible is a mirror which reflects our inner nature to us, convicting us of our failings and giving us grace and comfort in our times of need. We can learn much about ourselves from the verses we lean on, just as much as we can by the verses we ignore. There’s a reason we interpret texts by the whole of scripture, and not piecemeal. This is one way we understand the authority of scripture.

As an interesting aside, SWTX, my original conference, which approved my candidacy for the ministry, didn’t think I should attend seminary because I scored so low on the abstract reasoning tests I took. They didn’t think I would make 65, seminary’s passing grade, in my class work. It’s true I learn and process differently, but knowing this, I crammed a three year program into four years. If I’m slow to grasp the whole until I first understand the parts, this doesn’t reflect on my fitness for ministry or my intellectual ability. It merely reflects a different way of processing information. There’s more way to skin a cat, and many ways people learn.

When I taught art classes, I had to make sure I covered all the learning methods for all my students to have success. I talked about the project, I demonstrated the techniques, I had the steps written out, and for some few children, I had to place their hands in the optimum position to get them started. This covered ear and eye learning, visual reminders, and haptic or touch learning. Some students needed multiple types of learning throughout their working time on a project. Some needed reteaching every class period. Some just needed encouragement when they got stuck at a rough patch. Most all had to learn to talk in positive terms about themselves and their work, as well as about others and their creative process also.

I talk about this teaching method, for this is how we consciously or unconsciously teach those around us ethics and morals. As one youth asked me at a church I once served, “Why are you wearing your cross today? It’s not Sunday.”

“Because Jesus is important to me every day, not just on the day I lead church services.”

I realized even though her family was very active and faithful in our congregation, when they were out in the world of day to day folks, they didn’t stand out from the crowd. Maybe one day day this child will come to a time when wearing a cross becomes bearing a cross. Then again, how many people willingly choose suffering for the sake of the body of Christ? This suffering is often difficult for those of us who’ve committed our lives to Christ’s call, but we realize most laity won’t voluntarily submit to that kind of stress. Yet experience is a great teacher. We learn from others, even those who have differing opinions and choose different actions.

Wesley’s Sermon, “The Nature of Enthusiasm,” has some advice for us: “Beware you are not a fiery, persecuting enthusiast. Do not imagine that God has called you (just contrary to the spirit of Him you style your Master) to destroy men’s lives, and not to save them. Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and let think. Use no constraint in matters of religion. Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love.”

Jean Bondel: The fall of man—Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, 1372, illustrated manuscript, National Library of the Netherlands.

As a further reminder from his all time classic Sermon, On Working Out Our Own Salvation, 1785: “By justification we are saved from the guilt of sin…by sanctification we are saved from the power and root of sin…”In modern terms, when we profess our faith, Christ saves us from the guilt of that first sin. Some say Adam and Eve were disobedient. They then emphasize rule keeping as their moral choice. There’s always a reason behind every behavior, however. Why were they disobedient? We hear the answer in the parable of the Tree of Wisdom:

“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

The man and the woman both heard the half truth, saw the shiny fruit, believed the promises of a creature rather than their creator, and ate the fruit they hoped would make them like gods. Instead they only gained knowledge of their nakedness and vulnerability. This first lesson of the school of life came with cost: fig leaves ooze irritating sap. They won’t choose this solution again. God’s providence replaced their poor choice with animal skin clothing even as God sent them out into the world. We might say the attitude of pride or greed drove their bad behavior and was the cause of their negative consequences.

As we grow in holiness and love of God and neighbor, the Holy Spirit destroys any remaining root of sin. One of the important sins, Wesley noted, was pride. Pride is that feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction we get from our own achievements, or those of our family, tribe, nation, or other associated group. In matters of faith, we always have to remember Paul’s admonition to the Romans (10:9-13):

“because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Paul reminds us of the unity of the Jews and the Gentiles, the clean and the unclean, the former masters and slaves, with the gulf now bridged between the former God worshippers and the idol worshiping strangers. Now there’s “no Jew nor Greek, no slave or free, no male or female, but all are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

When we joined together into one annual conference in 2003, almost twenty years ago, we had good reasons to make one combined administrative body for our faith community. We had underfunded pension obligations, we were over heavy with administrators, and clergy didn’t have equity in retirement accumulation. Likewise, the conferences weren’t equally treated, since one didn’t fully fund pension needs, an act which caused clergy to seek appointments in the other conference, thus robbing the first of talents and gifts. These were the logical consequences of attitudes and behaviors, however.

Historic Souvenir—Can you drink this cup?

The logical person thought, “Let’s make Arkansas One Faith, One Focus, One Fellowship,” and this will solve all our problems. It may have looked good on paper, but our congregations had been used to a personal touch to remind them at least once a year they belonged to a greater whole. Their pride in showing off their home church and being a good host for the Superintendent was taken from them if they were just attendees at another group meeting. The moral choice of what’s better for me, a relaxing Sunday afternoon with my family or a meeting elsewhere, gets weighed and measured.

So now here we are, nearly twenty years into this optimistic marriage of the two annual conferences. The seeds for dissent and discontent were planted long ago, even before this joining. When I inventoried the historic memorabilia of the dead bishops at the SMU Bridwell Library, I saw how the chaos of the Vietnam War era and the sea changes our society were experiencing then affected our church in many ways. Some wanted to hold onto tradition more tightly, while others were ready to experiment with new wine in fresh wine skins. These were just “outer trappings,” however, for the message of “saved by faith, sanctified by faith, and made perfect in love by faith” never changes. This is Christ’s work, enabled by the Holy Spirit.

The past sixty years, as the last two decades, haven’t always been smooth sailing. We often have had trials, storms, and tribulations on our shared journeys. Sometimes we’re so far out to sea, we don’t see the land, and the skies are occluded, so we can’t take a bearing off the stars. Yet God’s spirit will blow us along, for even detours are within God’s providence. As James reminds us:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (1:2-4)

Van Gogh: The Good Samaritan, after Delaquoix, 1890, oil on canvas, Kroller-Muller Museum, Netherlands

Today we also have powerful economic and political forces that are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. They purport to work for religion and democracy, but actually work against the stewardship of our earth ‘s resources and environment, fail to care for the poor and dispossessed, and support military interventions around the world. Moreover, some of them actively work to destabilize religious denominations with social justice callings, such as the UMC, the Presbyterian Church USA, and others. Some today think “things fall apart; the center will not hold.”

Two final words in summary: one is from the ancient wisdom tradition and the other from Paul’s paean of joy in the midst of suffering. Proverbs 22:1 reminds us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” My dying grandfather spoke these words to me in his last hours. Ive always considered them a plumb line for my life.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” — Philippians 4:8-9

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

Oliver O’Donovan: Scripture and Christian Ethics
(This is a great read!)
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/anvil/24-1_021.pdf

John Wesley: Repentance in Believers (Sermon 14), “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:15. The Complete Works of John Wesley, vol. 1 of 3, Kindle ereader. Read on line here:
http://www.godonthe.net/wesley/jws_014.html

John Wesley’s Quotes – Seedbed
https://seedbed.com/on-john-wesley-quotes/

InterChurch Holiness Convention: a community project of various Wesleyan holiness denominations, with all male leadership
https://ihconvention.com/devotional/may-9-2/

On Patience: James 1:4–But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
https://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/collyer/patience.htm

The Grammarphobia Blog: Ethics vs. morals
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2012/02/ethics-vs-morals.html

The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats | Poetry Foundation https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-coming

The Heart of the City

arkansas, art, change, city, cognitive maps, Creativity, Historic neighborhood, hope, Imagination, mystery, Painting, trees

Cities are growing organisms, each having their central growth from their place of origin. Some begin on a waterfront, as a place of trade. Other communities began along a creek, where people would meet to connect, trade, and settle differences in peace. These were safe spaces, welcoming places, but they existed only so long as everyone acknowledged them.

In our cities today, safe spaces are rare. Some reasons are we don’t know everyone anymore, since our populations are so large. We don’t know who to trust, so we trust no one. If we’re anonymous, we think can do what we want, since no one knows who we are and we don’t know whom we harm. Of course, this is absurd, for if we do harm to another, we aren’t living out our best life, not to mention we’re not living out the wisdom of “Do unto others what you want done unto yourself.”

“Who knows what lurks in the heart of man?” the old radio program asked. “The Shadow knows,” was the answer. Most of what we know as the city is hidden behind the layers of paint, wallpaper, and various accretions of dust in our historic district. In Hot Springs, we can eat hamburgers in buildings where mobsters would hang out, walk the streets where old time baseball players strolled, and take hot baths where our ancestors took the “cure” for every disease known to humankind. They got clean, but the cure didn’t take.

We have a civic interest in renewing our old buildings, for they attract tourists and provide incomes for owners and workers in our restaurants, shops, and hotels of all sizes and qualities. We have dive bars and first-class accommodations within a mile of each other. This is a sure sign of a community in transition. I won’t name either, but if Hot Springs were to be the setting of an old-time radio show, it wouldn’t lack for interesting characters or venues.

During this pandemic era, for it’s stretched long enough now to be called such a lengthy time, I’ve been working on a group of cognitive maps. A cognitive map is any visual representation of a person’s (or a group’s) mental model for a given process or concept. Cognitive maps have no visual rules they need to obey. There’s also no restriction on how the concepts and the relationships between them are visually represented. If we were to take a number of people to the same place, we’d most likely end up with the same number of maps. Some parts might overlap, but everyone would notice different aspects of the landscape.

My own cognitive maps start with a screen shot of a google map of a place I’ve been prepandemic, and work in process through sketches, then several layers of paint, and finally, the end product. This last stopping point sometimes comes only after I think I’ve finished the painting, but I leave it sitting out where I can look at it some more. In the looking, I discover, I’m not ready to release this image out to the world. It lacks unity, power, focus, or some other defining quality I can’t put words to. I only know I am unhappy with it the longer I look at it.

When I cook a recipe, I have a certainty if I follow the directions, I measure correctly, and my oven is true to temperature, I’ll come out with a good approximation of the original recipe. Afterall, I’m recreating someone else’s process and instructions. Making something new, from the imagination is part of the creative process. Sometimes the end product arrives easily, but other times, its birth is a struggle, and the child arrives crying to beat the band.

Creekside Landscape, Hot Springs, 2021 springtime

Most of us are used to seeing the landscape from our upright view, for we walk through our world with our head up every day as we reconnoiter along our daily paths. Some of us keep our heads buried in our phones, so we depend on the good nature of others to keep us from bumping into them, or these people must have particularly good side vision to avoid collisions with other walkers. We don’t have the bird’s eye view of the city, so we don’t see how the streets connect or how they follow the elevation changes. We also don’t get to see the patterns of tree growth, or the hidden waterways. Mostly we have a patchwork vision of just the immediate areas we inhabit, but not a vision of the whole.

Greenway Park Map: Apple Pencil Drawing on Google Map

I saved a screenshot to my iPad so I could draw on it. Color for me has emotional energy, so as I drew, I over laid the first colors with others. The changes the drawing went through prepared me for the changes through which the painting would transition. This pandemic has certainly been a time of change, but life has always been changing. One of my old friends always said, “Human beings are meant to change. We’re brand-new people every 27 days! That’s how often we get a whole new skin.”

I spent many years in the church, an organization not noted for changing. It’s not the organization that doesn’t want to change, but the people. We find those same people resistant to change in NASCAR fans, football fans, and any other group you want to name. As one wag said, “It was the 56th Super Bowl and they finally had rap music in Los Angeles, and NASCAR had Pit Bull at the LA Coliseum for the Clash for the first time in 43 years. If you have a point, it’s time to make it.” If we don’t like change, we should quit washing our bodies, since we’re just hurrying those dead skin cells off to their final demise.

First Stage of Greenway Park Map Painting

Artists must embrace change, however, for the moment we put a mark on a canvas or tap a stone with a chisel and hammer, we’ve changed the surface before us. We can’t be afraid to go into the emptiness or the unknown, for there we’ll find the beauty of the unspoken or the hope of the silence in which we work.

This stage of the painting adheres closely to the drawn image. The blue streets define the city blocks and a few building shapes are notated. It’s a complicated street map from one of our older sections of town.

Second Stage of Greenway Park Map Painting

On this repainting, I balanced the colors better, but kept the greens and oranges. I signed it, for I thought I was “finished.” I set it down in my living room to observe it for a while. I often do this with my work, for if it still looks good after six months, I think it’ll survive for a year. If it lasts a year, I think it’ll last longer. If I look at it three years later and it doesn’t survive, I’ll destroy it. This was painted during the winter, with the worst low light of the season. No wonder it looked grim under the brightening light of the returning sun.

Some sunshine has come into my life here in the middle of February. I’m very sensitive to the transition of light across the seasons, so when it begins to leave in October, I start shutting down. When the light begins to return again, I awake, as if from a hibernation. Perhaps this is the reason I took all my yellows and reds and overpainted the other colors on the canvas. Now my canvas is almost monochromatic, except for small streaks and blobs of color in places. You can still see the city blocks and streets, but now the over all feeling is less of a map and more of an energy record of the city area.

This is the city as it grows, as it lives, and as it changes. The dynamics and life blood of the city move and pulse as it transforms. Hot Springs is unique in that we keep as much of our old as possible and build new when we must. I’m thankful for this city, for its love of the arts, and its honor of its history, as well as its embrace of the future.

After all, that’s all any of us can do, is remember who we are, whose we are, and give thanks to the one whose steadfast love remains forever.

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

How Often Does the Epidermis Renew?
https://www.webmd.com/beauty/cosmetic-procedures-overview-skin

Dreams of Trees and Butterflies

arkansas, art, butterflies, coronavirus, Creativity, Faith, Forgiveness, grief, Healing, Historic neighborhood, holidays, hope, Imagination, inspiration, nature, pandemic, renewal, vision

The saying is true: “If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” Yet how hard do we humans hold to the past, even if we need to move on into the future? As an artist, I’ve always been caught between my desire to honor the traditions of the past, but also to move into the the unknown realms of the future. Artists already have a vocabulary and boundaries to describe the works of the past, so we can tell if our current works “meet the criteria for excellence.”

Found Object Butterfly: roadside debris, wire, scrap cloth, and metallic beads

When we go beyond this known world into the uncharted territories, we’re like Columbus, who landed in the Caribbean islands, but thought he was on the continent of North America. I wonder if the monarch butterfly, just emerging from the cocoon, has any idea it soon will begin a 3,000 mile migration to its ancestral winter home in Mexico. The butterfly has the innate ability to navigate this path, whereas we humans are like Abram, for we’re going to a land our God will show us. We have no idea where we’ll end up, but we do know we’ll travel by stages and God’s guiding inspiration will always be with us.

During this current protracted COVID pandemic, with cases beginning in mid December 2019, we’ve now lost over 766,206 persons in the US alone and over 47,390,239 individuals have had COVID. Worldwide, the numbers are far greater: over 5 million have died and nearly 255 million have contracted COVID, mostly because vaccines and health care services aren’t available to the extent they are in America and the European Community. Not only has our world as a whole suffered a great grief, but each of us individually have lost friends, neighbors, or loved ones. This adds to our collective grief.

Airport Road at MLK Hwy Intersection, empty lots

When we see the rest of our world changing around us, we feel another loss, and this becomes the grief leading to the death of a thousand tiny cuts. Just as in our workplaces, when the ideas of the young, the female, and the ethnic individuals aren’t valued, their dismissal leads to devaluation of their perspectives as well as their personhood. When we devalue nature and treat creation as an arena for humanity to restructure for our purposes alone, we can fall into the trap of thinking only for our immediate future, but not for the generations to follow. This is why building lots inside the city get cleaned off and offered as a blank slate, since this makes them valuable to the greatest number of buyers.

Death by a thousand cuts was supposedly a form of torture in ancient China. It was reserved for the most heinous crimes, such as matricide, patricide, treason, and the like. From all the tiny slices, the accused finally bled to death. It was a cruel and unusual punishment, rather like flogging the back of a law breaker until the flesh was raw, but this punishment was intended to cause death because the executioner kept at it until he succeeded.

Most of us are blissfully unaware of the loss of a few trees here and there in our neighborhoods. Sometimes we even want to cut down the trees on our own property because we’re tired of raking leaves every fall, or if we have a magnolia tree, we’re tired of our year round duty of leap reaping. Of course, if you want a high strung, classy tree to show off in your front yard, you also need to sign onto the high maintenance these trees require. “Those that wears the fancy pants has to take care of those fancy pants,” my mother always reminded me.

Yard work is a type of infrastructure most of us can understand. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, those of us hosting the feast are also getting the house and yard ready for family and friends to visit. Infrastructure has been in the news lately also, with politicians debating whether soft or hard infrastructure deserves the most funding.

In Hot Springs, we have “Green Infrastructure,” which includes all the natural assets that make the city livable and healthy: trees, parks, streams, springs, lakes and other open spaces. These assets are ‘infrastructure’ because they support peoples’ existence. For example, tree canopy keeps the city cooler while also absorbing air pollutants and mitigating flooding. The Hot Springs National Park forest area is also an important resource for a variety of reasons. The mountain area is in the recharge zone for the hot springs and the forest provides other important ecosystem services.

In urban areas, we can evaluate the landscape on a smaller scale, so even small patches of green space become important, since together they can make a greater large cumulative impact. Smaller urban spaces, such as linear stream valleys, or even pocket parks, can add up to a connected green landscape. When evaluating the ecological health of an urban area, urban tree canopy is a key green asset. For instance, Hot Springs has 57% tree canopy coverage and an additional 12% green space coverage. This adds to our quality of life, for this isn’t only pleasing to the eye, but the trees and grass convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, thus improving the air we breathe.

Cities are beginning to recognize the importance of their urban trees because they provide tremendous dividends. For example, city trees are a strategic way to reduce excess stormwater runoff and flooding. Even one tree can play an important role in stormwater management. For example, estimates for the amount of water a typical street tree can intercept in its crown range from 760 gallons to 4000 gallons per tree per year, depending on the species and age. Taken city-wide, the trees within the city provide an annual stormwater interception of 1.2 to 1.5 million gallons which equates to 7 to 9 million dollars in benefits. The loss of one tree is worth so much money, replanting our tree cover is an investment in our future wellbeing.

I often heard an old proverbial poem growing up, which may not be repeated much today:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

My nanny would remind me of the same principle in other words, “A stitch in time saves nine.” My daddy was from the school of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While those two schools of thought still persist today, I think making a small, inexpensive repair, rather than a costly replacement, is a better choice, but too many of us live in a throwaway society.

When we lose one small thing, we brush it off as no matter, but after a thousand small losses, we just can’t take it any longer. We look around and wonder what happened to our world, why didn’t we take action sooner, and now we might be in a hole so deep we can’t see the top. When I first painted the trees on this vacant lot, the little coffee kiosk had closed shop and moved on. It was springtime and the violet wisteria vines were bright against a sunlit cerulean sky.

As I was taking a few photos with my iPhone last spring, the local policeman pulled into the circular drive to check on me. We chatted a bit, but he wanted to make sure I was OK. I’m at that age when silver alerts go out for others, but I’m not there yet. I guess “old gal taking photographs of trees” still looks suspicious in my small town. I’m thankful my town is this quiet.

When I told the officer, “These trees called to me,” he might have had second thoughts about my state of mind. Then he realized he was talking to an artist. I was rescued when his radio called him off to take care of some real trouble. I find I do my best work when I feel called to a subject, for I have a spiritual connection with it.

That was this past April, and here at year’s end, this lot is up for auction, with a commercial use zoning. It has easy access to the bypass and would be good for a food place or a fuel stop. Things change and we can’t hold back progress. I know people who buy a vacation home to visit while they still work, but as soon as they retire to this same place, they grouse about all the weekenders who come and spoil their solitude. They put up with it a year or so, griping daily, and then sell and move on. Life changed for them and they didn’t adjust to their new normal. I wonder why they never realized Hot Springs was a vacation destination. We think we need an infrastructure just for the 38,500 people who live here year round, but we actually need an infrastructure to support the over two million visitors to whom we offer the hospitality of our hot springs, our hotels, our fine dining, our attractions, and our natural beauty.

When I saw the trees were gone and the lots had been plowed level, I wondered if the trees had a swift death, or if they had brief dreams and fantasies while the saws pierced their outer skins. I thought of the butterflies encased in their cocoons, and the deep sleep of their transformation. Do butterflies dream in this stage, or do they even dream like we do? I wondered if next April I would see wisteria growing near the ground, for as a weed, it’s hard to kill. I always hope, for I’ve learned over time, if I’m a prisoner of hope, this is better than seeing only the loss.

After traveling and recovering from an autumn sinus infection, I decided to destroy an old mobile sculpture of a butterfly made from found materials and attach it to a canvas. I took some scraps of cloth from some mask projects, and glued the whole to the canvas. Maybe I crammed more than I should have onto the small surface, but I was going with it. This work might be more catharsis than art, or more process and possibility than success. It doesn’t matter, for sometimes art is more therapeutic than anything else.

The first layer held all the colors and shapes of the original Google map. The second layer began to make sense of the shapes and textures, for I started to pull together the small areas into larger spaces. By the third layer, I’d lost most of the color areas and turned them instead into linear shapes. The primary colors of the background I subdued beneath an overall gold tone. The lines now are like an automatic writing or glyphic writing, which might be the language spoken either by the trees or the butterflies, or by all natural living beings.

When we confront suffering in nature, in our lives, or in the world, we often ask, “Where is God in all of this?” In the days past when I suffered, I held on to the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans:

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (8:18-21)

Often we suffer because we can’t change our past, or we think we can’t affect our future. At some point in our lives, we come to accept our suffering. We don’t have to continue to suffer, of course, but we need to accept that what happened to us is over. We can forgive ourselves for not leaving a bad relationship earlier, or being too young to know we were being harmed. Some of us may have survivor guilt from our nation’s wars, and suffer moral injuries from acts of war. Only good and decent human beings would feel this guilt, and they can heal with Christ’s forgiveness. We can be changed and then begin to change the world, even if we begin only with our own selves.

After all, the Psalms promise us God is faithful both to us and to the creation also: “When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” (104:30)

Joy and peace,

Cornelia

Vegetation Community Monitoring at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, 2007–2014
Natural Resource Data Series NPS/HTLN/NRDS—2017/1104
https://www.nps.gov/articles/upload/HOSP_VegCommunity2007_2014r-508.pdf

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE LANDSCAPE STUDY AND PLAN
City of Hot Springs, AR
Green Infrastructure Committee
https://www.cityhs.net/DocumentCenter/View/6245/Hot-Springs-AR-GI-Study-and-Plan-Final?bidId=

Hot Springs General Information: Hot Springs National Park Arkansas
https://www.hotsprings.org/pages/general-information/

The Autumn Colors

adult learning, apples, arkansas, art, autumn leaves, change, Creativity, Faith, inspiration, nature, Painting, perfection, photography, shadows, trees, vision

Robert Frost, in his poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” speaks to the transitory nature of fall colors:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

When I was in North Carolina recently, I was a tad early for the best colors of autumn, but I didn’t miss the Apple Festival in Waynesville, where I bought a half peck of apples fresh from a local orchard. Every time I encounter the word peck, it it brings back memories of my dad and his older brother schooling us children on the tongue twisters they learned in school. Back in the Stone Age, proper elocution was emphasized, along with cursive writing. To this day, l still hear their dulcet duet:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Don’t get me started on sister Suzy’s seaside seashells or the amount of wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. I’d much rather talk about autumn leaves!

Here in Arkansas, our colors up north are about spent, but near and south of the I-40 corridor, peak leaf change generally takes place in early November. The colors usually don’t last long because as soon as the leaves change, strong cold fronts tend to knock off the leaves quickly as we head toward Thanksgiving.

Of course, with climate change, our first frosts are occurring later in the season. In fact, some climate scientists think we could be on the path to two main seasons—winter and summer—with transitional short shoulders of temperate weather we once knew as fall and spring. This will affect not only agriculture’s growing seasons, but also insect populations, flower blooms, and the wildlife dependent upon them, not to mention our utility bills.

After a three week hiatus from art class, I was excited to return. While I was gone, Gail has had many sleepless nights helping with the new grand babies and Mike has been extra busy, as is his normal usual. I was glad to see Erma and catch up with her to give condolences in the passing of her dear husband. COVID has kept us apart and out of touch, so I was late to know this. Others were sick or out of town, so Mike, Gail, and I looked over some art works for inspiration.

The Georgia O’Keefe Leaf painting treated these single shapes as unique objects, a radical idea in its day. This allowed her to limit her color palette and focus her design on the positive and negative spaces. A somewhat similar painting is Norman Black’s surrealist Autumn Leaves. It differs in feeling because the individual leaves are isolated, floating in space, rather than being layered one upon the other like cozy coverlets.

One of the aspects in painting we often overlook is the source of light. Light is what gives our work sparkle, just as the light makes the world visible. As we wake to darkness now, we’ll appreciate the light more and more when we come home in the dark, for the days gradually grow shorter. Most artists pick one direction as the source for their light in the painting. This allows them to control the shadows of the objects in their canvases. They prefer the afternoon or morning light, not just because the sun is lower in the sky, but also because these times have distinctive temperatures. The morning has cooler colors, while the afternoon has warmer colors.

We looked in our cell phones for images of autumn leaves. This is when we discovered our phone search systems aren’t all created equal. While my phone will turn up every single yellow, red, or orange tree or leaf photo, plus a few pumpkins thrown in for good measure, other peoples’ phones list photos by month and date. Technology frustrated us right off the bat. Rather than waste half our class time looking for an image, Gail and I decided on one.

Sometimes the perfect is sacrificed in favor of the good when the time is short. Perfection is a goal, not the necessity to begin the journey. This is why we Methodists say we’re “going onto perfection,” rather than we’ve already arrived.

Mike chose the first one that popped up in his phone. He went straight to work. Gail likes to find the best before she starts. Sometimes we need to accept what is before us and make the best of what we have. The perfect isn’t always available. Also, she was working on too little sleep. Newborn babies will do that to grandmas. We can take a halfway good image from our phone and use it as an inspiration or jumping off point. We don’t have to recreate the image.

When working from a photo, it’s good to crop the image to the same scale as the canvas. This helps you get the proportions of the subject true to form. I also photoshop the colors, sharpness, and contrast. This preparatory work helps the mind sort out the important shapes. Once these decisions are made, drawing the basic shapes on the canvas starts and colors start happening.

Mike got out of the class to get back to the office before I could set a photo of his tree, but I recall it was an overall image with multicolored leaves. I worked from an old autumn photo from the grounds of my condo. I’d pushed the colors past realism in my computer software program, so it was already bold. I eliminated much of the extraneous details and painted just the simplest elements of the landscape. This is called “artistic license.” We don’t have to paint every leaf, but we can paint the shape of all the leaves in the mass together.

Artists and poets both seek to strike a chord in the hearts of their audience: one uses colors, light, shape, and form, while the other creates their images and emotions through word and metaphors.

If we remember nothing about this glorious autumn, let’s remember John 8:12, in which we hear Jesus proclaimed as the Light of the World:

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Fall Foliage Dates

https://www.5newsonline.com/article/weather/when-is-peak-fall-color-across-the-usa-state-by-state-foliage/527-c4986dff-ffb9-4b27-9335-65ead54a1c10

History of Tongue Twisters

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/513952/history-behind-famous-tongue-twisters

USGCRP, 2018: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 1515 pp. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.

https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/

Golden Leaves on a Silver Breeze

arkansas, art, autumnal equinox, beauty, cognitive maps, Creativity, Dreamscape, Faith, flowers, Holy Spirit, hope, Imagination, inspiration, ministry, mystery, nature, Painting, Retirement, Spirituality, Travel

Autumn is just around the corner: I know this in my heart of hearts. My friends, who have lost hope in this endless pandemic, tell me, “It’s heat stress, nothing more.” I persist in my belief the bright yellow leaves scattered among the green canopies and the orange and red tinged foliage are the harbingers of the cool breezes of fall.

When the thermometer kisses 100 F and the heat factors have blown past that number like a NASCAR driver taking a hot lap for the pole position, my body only wants to swill decaf iced tea and stay close to the air conditioning. When I taught art back in Louisiana, my art rooms were in an old wooden shotgun shack. It wasn’t air conditioned because “it’s tradition, so it won’t be air conditioned, no matter how much you ask for it.” Private schools have their “traditions,” some of which aren’t healthy for either the teachers or the students.

Two days into the school year, I fainted from the heat. A visit to the nurse’s station got me glasses of sugary iced tea and cold compresses, plus it was air conditioned. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Someone drove me to my dad’s office in the Medical Arts building across from the hospital. I got the once over and was sent home to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and not go outside. My couch never looked so good to me. Mom and dad even kept my little girl so I could rest.

I learned later I had a brush with death. Passing out with other people there allowed me to be helped. People who are alone in the heat aren’t so fortunate. Heat can kill a person. The hurricane Ida is already taking out the utilities in south Louisiana, which means they might not be back for weeks. The hospitals full of Covid patients hope to have ten days of power and food, but that’s just to get them through until relief supplies can roll in.

I actually repainted this canvas a second time, since I wasn’t thoroughly pleased with it on the first go round. The Airport image above is the first incarnation of this painting. While I don’t mind the colors in the ground, the overall texture of the work didn’t appeal to my senses and the runway with its numeral stuck out like a sore thumb. It was either going into the trash bin of my work, or I’d leave it alone long enough to find the inspiration to cure it.

Painting is a journey in itself, as the white canvas disappears under the brushstrokes of color. We can think of a pristine sand beach in the early morning, and its well marked surface erased by the high tide under the moonlight, only to be marked again when the sun rises. As Benjamin Disraeli, the British Prime Minister in the 19th century once said:

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”

Sometimes we can better solve a problem by ignoring it, for the the problem will find its own solution. Trying to impose our solution upon it just leads to more death, but not to life. Letting the painting come into being in its own time is a better choice, for it can’t be born before its time. In the spiritual life, kairos time is God’s time, while chronos is human time. When we work on deadlines or punch a clock, we operate on chronological, human time, but if we wait for the inspiration from the divine energy, we’re operating in the God moment, or the propitious moment for decision or action.

Along my life journey, I’ve made some unique handmade preaching stoles. When I decided I no longer had use for them in retirement, I decided to cut them up. This is why some of the pieces are the same rectangular size, such as the gold and silver diamonds pattern with the blue and white diagonal stripe in the upper left corner. Some of the pieces are the backings, and others are deconstructed sections. I incorporated several types of gold: acrylic paint, embroidery thread, and a metallic candy wrapper. I also used multiple textures of lace and fabric, some of which I overpainted. All of these come from recycled fabrics. In life, nothing is wasted.

Perhaps this no longer looks like a map of an airport, but more like a place remembered in a dream, when one wants to travel on the whiff of a breeze, which has brought a half remembered smell of a time in the past or a love long lost. Autumn can bring those memories to mind, as well as our hopes for a more beautiful future, for just as a leaf flutters free from its tree, our thoughts can fly away: golden leaves on silver breezes.

Look for the golden leaves, my friends, and let them call to mind those of fond memory and the dreams of journeys yet to come.

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

Artandicon's Blog

Crossroads of art and faith

arkansas

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Change and Tradition

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The Heart of the City

Dreams of Trees and Butterflies

The Autumn Colors

Golden Leaves on a Silver Breeze

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