sitting with The Master

5:27 a.m.

Fall brings on early morning firings where I sit beside roaring kilns drinking good coffee, reading The Ancient Word and watching the fire to give me signs.  I am looking for certain temperatures to starve the fire of air in order to bind certain molecules together to make the ancient Asian glaze Ox Blood Red.  It is a very difficult color to get and requires more miracle than skill which is why, whether I believe or not, God sits here with me.  When playing with fire, air, earth and water you are never in control but only sitting with The Master, their Maker.   

Ox blood red glaze on a casserole I made

Acts of Hope

Being in relationship with God and art making are very similar to the point of being related.  Art making is a very sincere acting out of a belief in creating beauty.  Striving to make beauty is a tremendous act of hope.  The act of faith toward God is the most sincerely hopeful act of humans.  It is the acting out of a belief in Whom cannot be seen or proven which animates our bodies to the doing of good often in opposition to its own good.   It is the only dependent means by which humans become and maintain morality.

Sarah sitting at the entrance of Amiens Cathedral as I lecture.
Cathedral building is also a most sincere act of hope.

Daydreaming While Walking On A Lake

Reading the gospels we see that Christ often found humanness inconvenient, He couldn’t keep from getting tired, hungry, or thirsty. Everything He wanted to do He had to make His body physically do.  At times however He seems to forget the trials of His humanness and just lived in His Deviness, like walking on water.  I wonder if He was even aware of it until He saw the disciples struggling in their boat. 

At times I awake from daydreaming and find myself back on planet earth.  These time often involve art making.  Time is momentarily suspended as I exist in a different dimension of just being.  The best way to understand this is to recall those times when you were riding in a car and all of a sudden you become conscious of time and realize you had traveled a long way.  I just read the story of Jesus walking on the water and wondered if He was just daydreaming and for a moment his human existence was suspended and He was just being.  Just being for Jesus would be being Devine.  Just being for an artist would be making art and art making is often a sincere way of seeking The Devine.  It truly is like walking on water, the physical dimension is suspended as we daydream of God.

The Burden of Beauty

I live a life that is surrounded by beautiful handmade objects.  It is the intent of the craftsman to create functional objects whose main function is the ability to carry the burden of beauty while simultaneously serving as wares of daily life.  When God decided to enter into an intimate relationship with humans, the Tabernacle, He hand picked artisans and dictated certain objects, bowls, candle sticks and tables to serve worship needs but first to bear the burden of beauty.  Beauty has many reasons but one of the most sincere is to lead humans to worship God. 

It should be one goal of life to inventory our daily routine and examine how many of our objects rely solely on function while ignoring our greater need, to be in relation with beauty as a means and method of being in relationship with God.  

(Your soap dish would be a good example.  Ours is hand made by Ellen Cline.)

A Sacred Silver Little Bean

A sacred silver image tucked safely away in warm flowing nutrients like gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Crystal being formed, shining bone and blood red muscle, eyes and nose and consciousness of the rythum of Sissy’s heart creating soul and gratefulness in a new human being in the Benson family.  I sit beside a dark silver river softly glowing by morning moonlight thinking about Little Bean, a new human being made, my grandchild.