Easter 2023! The world around us often looks broken and orderless; but when I look at the cross, I see a reflection of perfect love, healing, and unity.
This year’s Christmas set! On one side you have Bethlehem and on the other some imagery of contemporary Christmas. At its center is the familiar nativity scene. I was hoping to connect east and west. Old and new. That the hope of Christmas is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Merry Christmas!
This year’s Easter installation was inspired by the song “Graves Into Gardens” - the imagery really clicked for me. I feel like we’ve endured the desert and are looking for signs of hope. For Christians, Easter Sunday is our hope!
The tomb sits center stage and the three palm trees on a hill echo the crucifixion. The red flowers are a macabre reminder that His spilled blood is the water of new life.
It’s all built from 1” foam board. Contact adhesive is used to sandwich them together. Wood plates are glued to mount feet and the taller pieces are recurred from the ceiling for support.
A little about my 2020 Christmas installation: This year has been defined by chaos, but the story of Christmas is equally fraught. Jesus was born as an oppressed minority under the occupation of a global superpower. There was genocide, exploitation, and hopelessness. Yet, the messiah did not come as a conquering king to challenge Roman rule as many had hoped. Rather, he came as a vulnerable baby and ushered in an upside-down kingdom. He conquered hate with love and death with eternal life.
The Christmas wreath is an iconic symbol that I used to evoke the tempest of our world. At its center a new and verdant nest is built, establishing a new kingdom within our own. A swaddled bundle rests there, crowned with golden branches. This fragile egg also hints at the Easter story to come.
This Easter will be different. Everything seems different. But we persevere because we have a hope that never dies.
Even though we won’t be having church in person this Easter, I went ahead and built my Easter installation anyway. I’ve been calling it the ‘reverse tomb’. The inspiration comes from the words we share every time we take communion: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, surely we will be united with him in a resurrection like his.” In this piece, we are invited into the resurrection as we look out from the tomb into new life. The panels that flag the tomb show thorns, flames, and clouds. These are echoed in the landscape (the earth, the fiery horizon, and the blue sky) and also reference the arc of the passion story: that he suffered and died, descended into hell, and rose again.
The landscape is painted on a giant canvas and the tomb is construction paper wrapped over a wood and chicken wire frame. The panels are hand cut from mdf.
My first pass for this very large canvas (7.5’x10’). Super fun! The cheap latex paint doesn’t blend well, but I did the whole thing with just three colors: blue, orange, and white.
