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Holy Souls

India ink, watercolor, fiber, torn paper 
1998-1999

For Wisdom is a breath of the power of God: in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God and prophets. 
Wisdom of Solomon 7:25, 27 (NRSV)

Creative venturing stirs our senses, kicks up the dust, plays with the possibilities, fuels our passion, makes connections. The Creator Spirit’s energy breathes through our bones and brings to life things unimaginable for our healing. And so we paint, sing, write, dance, design, build, garden . . .

The creative act is a communal process. It is story born of generational activity and relationship. It is interactive, a reciprocal exchange which brings past and future into the moment. It is a conversation between the internal and external, the individual and the other.

“Holy Souls,” grew from a nine-month spiritual exercise using the Retreat in Everyday Life by St. Ignatius. These personal icons—sketches of transformative moments during this time—deepen my faith, my articulation, compassion, and awareness.

By honoring a spirituality that is holistic—comprised of every moment, relationship and event in my life—I learn a way of hospitality and creativity that is inclusive and sacred. This series, like me, is a work in process—a tribute to the community that continues to foster my own emergence as an artist, a holy soul.

I offer these art-prayers in gratitude.

 
soul 'scape
breakthrough

a return to wonder
You are a holy soul—born of the dust of the Universe, sustained in each breath by the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange with all of Life that shares this space. Your story links with mine—all pieces of a greater narrative unfolding since Creation genesis.

From those who have gone before, we emerge, identify, and differentiate. I celebrate the aspects of my Mennonite heritage which foster Love, reconciliation, and justice. Each generation, each individual discovers that which is life-giving and that which is not. The codification of my early religious formation softens as Life and Love inspire freedom and new forms of hospitality. Unhealthy attachments can be recycled and transformed. The old becomes new.

holy souls
and he loved them until the end
this is my body given for you
Jesus' life of hospitality breaks wide open
and presents a paradigm that challenges
 conventional understanding.
 The dramatic parting words (John 14, 15, 16)
given to his followers, "my little children,"
create a poignant backdrop
 to the dark Sabbath which is to follow.

In that tragically compassionate act
 of letting go and opening to lament,
words and life are recycled and transformed.
 Holy souls discover the way Home.

my little children 
 

dark sabbath

homecoming

 

 

holy souls reprise

inbreaking  
re-creation

soulflight, washington boro, pa, 
 memorial piece for Sam Reist

 

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