The idea for these bottles predated the whole series, I had wanted to make little “message in a bottle” type pieces to give away and have been fascinated by the conept of the message in a bottle theme since hih school.  Being able to reproduce the jars and bottles to leave for people has been a motivation to finish this series.  The above is a collection of the seven objects represented in the whole series, snake skin/shed, small nation sack containing a man’s name written nine times, a dime and a single apple seed, a jar of tears, a bottle of dirt from a graveyard, a thorn, thistle and a piece of a bandanna. 

These bottles contain a vial of graveyard dust, a snake shed and ribs from a rattlesnake.

The ‘nation (domination) sack from the desire piece is reproduced here with the same same 9 elements, a 1930′s silver Mercury dime, an piece of parchment with a Man’s name written 9 times, a razor blade, a vial of honey, 7 apple seeds, a sprinkle of myrrh, a cinnamon stick, a snake rib, and a piece of a man’s bandanna.  The red top is the traditional red flannel used to make mojo hands.

 These last bottles contain the elements of the curse that relate to work, cursed earth in the form of a vial of graveyard dust, a thorn, a thistle and a vial of sweat.

I intended to finish up my exploration of the imagery of art of dying by passing out these pins I had made of a pressed flower and obituary page on these hand cut and stamped coffin shapped business cards.  The pins took far longer than expected, so here they are, ready to be launched into coffee shops and other places I frequent hopefully to be found by unsuspecting folks going about their day.

It’s a lot to ask of any creative endeavor to “make a people think” so I will send these off with a prayer to just help folks pause and possibly just be blessed by a gift. 

I have written as much as I think I will for now about the art of the dying but this site has several expressions of the imagery of fading flowers, wilting grass and flying time.  There are a couple of  bigger pieces and while I continue to be fascinated by the works of Holbien the younger and his Dance of the Dead wood cuts and other such works of art, and while I have some more ideas along the same path I am pretty excited about exploring what’s before me, “Family Curse” and expect to spend a good amount of time working on that theme, as well as some other projects in the coming months. 

I hope to revisit the art of dying themes next fall for Day of the Dead, but for now this is where I rest from this series.

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field…The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

More imagery exploring the art of dying, these pressed flowers and obituaries were actually the inspiration for the giving tins. 

Visually, I have found the obituaries a striking and linear background to the organic and fragile pressed wild flowers. 

 The theme and text are taken from Isaiah

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field…The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

For this image in my exploration of  the art of dying, I wanted to focus on the flowers that fade.  Not only is it an image used in memento mori art but even traditional painted still lifes (formerly called vanitas) relate the wilting flower to the frailty of our passing glory. 

I discovered a pressed rose in an old Bible I picked up at a Goodwill store.  What could be a more striking example of the vanity of our lives? 

A forgotten rose from an unknown funeral in an unmarked Bible. 

And so the flower fades.  Our lives pass.

 The theme and text are taken from Isaiah. The tins consist of flowers picked from fields, old obituaries and headstones inside the tins, copied from shapes in local cemeteries.

A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”

“All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Continuing my interest in the art of dying, these giving tins were developed as another contemplation of our mortality, the shortness and frailty of our lives.

The theme and text are taken from Isaiah. The tins consist of obituaries and grass from a cemetery, viewed through a headstone shaped hole. 

Again, my interest is not a teenage morbid fixation on death (well I hope not at least) but rather exploring new expressions of memento mori.

I am still amazed by the old watches I got this summer, and as I have been researching a couple projects about the art of dying  I have seen the image of the hour glass with skulls, reminders that our “days are numbered.”  Making the most of the time we have is the theme, from the ancient Romans who gave us tempus fugit to the medieval focus on morality and preparation for death.  However you choose to think about your mortality and spend your life, the fact remains that time moves on and you can’t get it back.

I find the image striking either way and just enjoy looking at them.  Hope you enjoy.

Just a few pieces I made playing with some great old pen nibs.  The images used are all basically from this original post.

Organizing the box of treasured old watches and watch parts I was amazed at the intricacy, design and amazingly small scale.  A couple hours spent sorting through them and seeing more and more possibilities for art projects, jewelry, photographs, etc. But I kept coming back to how beautiful the little timepieces were all by themselves. 

In such a compact space, there are such small and delicate parts that fit and work together, with precision, with a measured accuracy.  There are screws, gears, and springs, of all different sizes.  And the composition encased in metal.  Dials and small hands, all of which create a larger beauty when put together than they could as interesting little pieces all by themselves.

I wondered about the individual who had collected all these pieces to work on, wrapping individual watches in little pieces of thin paper and labeling little plastic bins of higher end watches.  I wondered at the mind that would use thin pieces of paper and old cat food cans as their sorting system. 

But even if this treasure trove came from a collector, someone made them, engineered them and constructed them, and I marveled.  I still do.

There was a sense of the beauty of these pieces of art and also of the mind and personality of the creator behind them.

I realized that the single cell, a single atom, DNA, were far smaller, more complex and too, pointed to the mind and personality of a designer.

Teachers in both the Old and New Testaments pointed to created things to impart some truth.  Consider the ant…Consider the birds…Consider the lilies…

Often time the created order also was a pointed reminder of the care shown by the Creator for his creation.

Sometimes, awe in the face of creation, at even being noticed in such a grand piece of art

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
              The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

What is man that You take thought of him,
                And the son of man that You care for him?

Creation of things of beauty can often remind us to consider the creator.  That’s what happens every time I look at these little works of art, and then too I am reminded to consider the Creator.

I share this little treasure with you and pray it may be a silent witness to the existence of a Creator, who has drawn near to your life, closer than you may know.

­As I considered how to share these little gems I thought it best to let them just be a little picture themselves, and not try to add too much visually to their intricate and delicate beauty.  They are encased in small watchmaker tins, the actual storage bin less frugal watchmakers and watch repairmen would use to sort out watches and parts.  The images on the sides are from the above mentioned examples in the scriptures, the ant, the birds and the lilies.

 “No one can serve two masters” Matt 6:24

Just about finished working on a piece, reflecting on my own need to “dethrone” myself (again) from the central place in my heart and life, and surrender again and trust God’s intentions for my life, versus my own designs.

During my own education and career ups and downs this year (among many great blessings, as well) I prayed, I begged, I expected, I demanded, and pretty much wore myself out looking for God’s provision (as I understood it should be). It still hasn’t come the way I demanded it, but what has come out of this time of suffering has been a keen awareness of how much I have sought to maintain control of my life, live by principles from the scriptures and with faith in God for the big stuff, and call the shots where everything else is concerned.

It hasn’t worked.

I found myself angry and chaffing at God’s wasteful (mis)management of my life, clearly I have too much to offer to be so underemployed (not to mention I hate the lack of money and prestige).

What is God thinking?

And in that, I have found the need to make a greater surrender to the One who has bought me at such a high price to Himself that I should be ashamed that I have doubted His goodwill.

God is no fool, and my life is not wasted by being entrusted to Him. Though I have been unhappy with my circumstances, as I have come to a greater surrender (one of many lifelong such encounters, I expect) there is a joy in my heart that doesn’t match my surroundings or make sense to me.

This piece was a simple reflection of that need to unseat myself from power and once again look to Jesus, my Savior and Lord, trusting not only in His love and good will, but also His grace to help me surrender afresh.

I was inspired to illustrate all this in a small space, using religious imagery (Christ knocking at the door, based on Rev 3:20), the images of revolution and overthrow, and old images I found. The verse over the heart box is from Matthew 6:24, stated above, no one can serve two masters. The ropes pulling down the king’s statue are crimson, a nod to the scarlet thread, a shadow of Christ’s blood sacrifice that saves us from our sin. It is only through the power of the cross of Christ that we can experience the power that changes us, reminding me that “all that this Grace asks, it provides.”