Rachel Weeps: A Word on Abortion

A little over a week ago while in Cedarburg I happened upon a bronze statue in front of a church. I was dumb struck by it. I set up and began to paint it in hopes that I could capture some of what I was feeling in response...I got a start but felt nowhere near finished with this piece and never found time to go back to work on it again. It has stuck with me and today I felt compelled to work on it again. Her empty arms and the grief on her face had me asking some heavy questions as I painted...

Here is the plaque found at the site...as far as I could see it did not identify who the artist is (does anyone know?):

Cedarburg 2011, Painting in the Rain and some Tough Choices

"Selfless Abandon"
12x16 oil

"Morning Meditation"
12x16 oil

The 11th annual Cedarburg Plein Air Competition was held this past 8 days and I need to tell you it is at the top of my fun list every summer. With over 150 artists attending this open competition there is always plenty of  great social time as well as some serious painting. Normally I would paint 8-10 pieces and then pick my best two for entry in the competition. However this year I had a family wedding to attend which required missing 3 days right out of the middle! (all worth it mind you.)

The event kicked off with something new this year...one day of painting at a beautiful nature reserve (Riveredge in Saukville). It was a very rainy day and I had to leave at 1pm. I found a great spot under a deck to paint. I always keep some small plastic tarps in my paint bag so I laid it out on the deck above held down with some well placed rocks and voila...dry space! There will be separate awards for this portion of the event . The staff there was extremely warm and fed us all a wonderful lunch. All the pieces need to be 8x10. Here is my piece:

Rainy Day Blue
8x10 oil

The second day (Thursday) was the start of the 7 day painting window and looked to be the best weather for me anyway and as I had to leave on my trip Friday I was anxious to at least get a few good starts. My friend Judith Reidy and I spent much of the day together. In the morning we painted in Horn Park, a delightful place along the river that I had painted in before. "Morning Meditation" (above) is what became of my effort and I have submitted it as one of my 2 competition pieces.

Untitled
20x10 oil

We found a beautiful farm to paint in the afternoon. I was tired and don't feel quite resolved with this painting but the weather has not been the same since and so it will have to wait to be finished for another day.Then it was off to southern Indiana on Friday for the wedding and back on Sunday. I missed the quick paint which is one of my favorite things to do...poor me...:) This coming Saturday there is one more chance for an award as we have from 8-2pm to "Paint the Festival". With an expected 50,000 people in attendance painting Cedarburg's Strawberry Festival will bring it's own challenges. At least ideal weather is in the forecast! Also all the works will be sold by silent auction (ends promptly at 4pm) at the Cedarburg Cultural Community Center this coming Saturday...you should come!

On Monday I was very tired and achy from the trip (fibro is not my friend), it was raining and looked like it might do that for the rest of the week and I admit I had to wrestle with myself to get down to it. I made a decision to paint in solitude as I knew I would be distracted by a friend. So I drove around Cedarburg looking for the next inspiration. It came in the form of a bunch of Dahlias at the Steins garden tent on Western.  I was able to back my car up to them and open the hatch to sit. That and both my umbrellas kept me somewhat dry and a little uncomfortable. But the Dahlias spoke to me...there they were, outrageous in their bounty and beauty...rain spilling off their petals...some heads bowed. They cared not who saw their performance...their effort of extravagant praise. They gave all in utter abandon...I watched, cut to the quick with the lesson I was seeing unfold before me. My response is the painting at the top of this post and my second entry, entitled "Selfless Abandon"...I hope I've done them some small justice.

What is it? (Manna)

When the Israelites left Egypt to wander the wilderness while God made a nation out of them they were afraid and complained that they would die of starvation. So Moses talked to God about it and The Father did an amazing thing that fed them all the years they wondered in the dessert. He made Manna. It was such strange stuff that they named it "What is it?" (In Hebrew: Manna.) Each morning when they awoke it would be lying all over the ground. The rules were that they were only to gather enough to eat for one day with one exception...the day before the Sabbath they were to gather enough for 2 days. The leftovers ( with the exception of the 6th day!) would spoil and if they ate it and they would become very ill. Some died from this.

I have often wondered what this stuff looked like?...tasted and felt like. It was so important to them that they were to keep some in the Ark of the Covenant (or Promise) which eventually ended up in the Temple and Contained the Very Presence of God. (ARK: You know that thing Indiana Jones made famous again).

All of this is leading up to my point: A number of years ago I had a very significant trauma at the hands of someone I really trusted and it shook my life to the very core. Healing took a long time and here is the thing I learned that gave me my life back: Forgiveness is like manna...you must harvest it each day! On occasion it will last for 2 days but sure enough, if you eat it old, it will make you ill. I have pondered this for years now..it is like Jesus' love for us. It is such a foreign thing to us that we ask "What is it?" How could someone die (be murdered in the most brutal way imaginable and not be bitter about it?) for me when I am soooo unworthy? There is absolutely nothing else like it on the planet...but then that IS the point. God IS Love.