Have you heard ?

If you would like to hear some good news against the backdrop of  all the troubles, listen to this

BBC World Service broadcast : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03vrprk

in their Heart & Soul series... this one is on how Muslims & Christians are sharing their beliefs in Mary...and what they have in common... I found "Sharing Mary" such a positive and hopeful message

Listen and hear for yourself...

Praying through Creative Art

Weve had two good Sunday afternoons so far 

& one more to go in August...Sunday 21st.

Lost amidst the chaos of weeding & clearing our front garden, someone dropped by to chat...

 & said the art & prayer sounded interesting....but....well, could someone like me join in?

...I mean what do you actually do ?

Well, a few brave souls decided to come & dip their toe into the water, so to speak...

& the first afternoon we began by looking at Jesus Calming the Storm: Mark 5 v 35-41 

Annie Valotten : Line drawings for the Good News Bible : Jesus stills the storm

Then, taking the storm as symbolic of chaotic events in our lives, or in the news,

Tsunami : etched & sandblasted antique glass panel

we chose pastel colours to doodle...shapes & colours to express our/angry /fearful / chaotic feelings
then took time in silence to pray that Christ might still this storm within us,....

finally drawing a symbolic shape to symbolise His presence within & among us,
whether expressed as calm on a wide sea...

or a variety of other colours & shapes...

Anyone can join in...at any level... its simply a way of going more deeply into what you really wish to bring before God in prayer... & maybe, a way of getting away from the wordy "shopping list"!

On our second afternoon we had a go at intercessory prayer, without using words, but instead using coloured pastels & drawing shapes to represent the people / events we wished to bring before God in prayer.

Interested?  
then do let me know...and we might plan some more small groups in Wivenhoe...
or a Quiet Day somewhere, focusing on silent prayer through creative art.

 ( click on page "Prayer painting/Quiet Day" above for more details )

Multiculturalism

Sicily ?

 what did  I know about this island ?

... only that it looked as though it was being being nudged by Italy's big toe into the middle of the Mediterranean... and here we were, a few days after the referendum, feeling as though our own island was spinning off course...split almost down the middle, amid the chaos of no follow up plan & spiteful incidents against "foreigners" who had been living & working here for years...  & I must admit that being in central London, where, like Scotland, the majority voted Remain, I felt the need to counteract my grey hair with a T-shirt saying "Don't blame me: I'm A-Typical " !

Moving on to the British Museum...I really had no idea just how fascinating this exhibition was to be

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/sicily.aspx

amid the most delicate intricate carvings we discovered the earliest document on paper: a letter written in both Greek & Arabic... a Psalter in three languages : Greek, Latin & Arabic

and this fascinating tombstone: with Arabic written down using Hebrew script, followed by Latin,  Greek and then Arabic.

Do go and see for yourself... 

& read this review beforehand...

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/24/sicily-culture-and-conquest-review-british-museum

Open Studio / Open Gardens Sat 21st May 11-5pm

I'm amazed by the abundance of blossom
and surprised by how few bees & butterflies there are this year
considering the amount of pollen, nectar and glorious scent around the garden.

 

Our Almond tree was covered in white blossom during January

but sadly this photo says it all...

 heavy night frost:
poor blossom didn't have a chance !

But soon the whole garden came alive
with beautiful bluebells
purple iris, far too early
masses of cherry blossom, damson & pear

but sudden warm spell...
far too hot for comfort,
everything opened too fast;
petal-filled pathways...

Will there be anything left
in two weeks time ?

Will this delicate white clematis
joyfully encircling tree-trunk
still be there ?
Or apple blossom and blueberry bells?

Ah, but there will be some new arrivals;
just look at these...

and there's always the STUDIO...
Don't forget...

We will be opening
on Saturday 21st May: 11-5pm
as part of
WIVENHOE OPEN GARDENS WEEKEND

Come...& see... & have a cuppa tea !

Resurrection Paintings by Jyoti Sahi

Resurrection by Jyoti Sahi

Jesus and the Samaritan
Woman at the Well : Jyoti Sahi

If you enjoyed these paintings during the "Come and see..." meditations, then you may be interested in this article I've just found on three resurrection paintings by Jyoti Sahi:

https://artandtheology.org/2016/03/30/three-resurrection-paintings-by-indian-artist-jyoti-sahi/#more-872

April Showers ?

What a day !

Rain pouring down...
roads & fields saturated overnight
making driving difficult
with deep, wide "rivers"
along roadsides...
but...
the most beautiful colours
of leaves just breaking through
 against dark oak tree trunks

Magnificent Magnolias

then brilliant warm sunshine...

cat basking in favorite place across studio threshold,
 at last the pool of water which flooded
through the skylight
 has dried out

...joyful birdsong...

 sudden thunder & lightning,
huge raindrops so loud
 the cat hides in a corner
 and mews at me,
as though
 its all my fault
 as large hailstones
 pelt down noisily
 bouncing right inside the doorway...

just as suddenly giving way
to deep blue sky

glorious sunshine
lighting up the magnolia tree next door...

Magnolias : Blue Dream  

 reminding me of paintings
 from this time last year,
 when the magnolia blossom
 basked in warm sunshine,
 suspended in stillness
 rather than suffering
 from this year's gales.

Easter Day: Poetry & Painting : Emmaus

The Servant Girl at Emmaus

(A Painting by Velázquez)

She listens, listens, holding

her breath. Surely that voice

is his—the one

who had looked at her, once, across the crowd,

as no one ever had looked?

Had seen her? Had spoken as if to her?

Surely those hands were his,

taking the platter of bread from hers just now?

Hands he'd laid on the dying and made them well?

Surely that face—?

The man they'd crucified for sedition and blasphemy.

The man whose body disappeared from its tomb.

The man it was rumored now some women had seen this morning, alive?

Those who had brought this stranger home to their table

don't recognize yet with whom they sit.

But she in the kitchen, absently touching

           the wine jug she's to take in,

a young Black servant intently listening,

swings round and sees

the light around him

and is sure. 

Denise Levertov (1923–1997)

For Levertov's poetry, see Paul A. Lacey and Anne Dewey (editors), with an Introduction by Eavan Boland,The Collected Poems of Denise Levertov (New York: New Directions, 2013), 1063pp.