PARABLE: A Simple Picture with Many Layers
HIGHLY FAVORED
Highly Favored is a piece meant to contrast the incredible heavenly with the minuscule earthly. It is the Annunciation of the Christ, the moment when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, the realization of a long-awaited Messiah. Gabriel is portrayed as a fantastic peacock descending towards Mary, shown as a tiny bluebird, nearly drowning in the angel’s tail. Handprints tra
OUT OF EGYPT
Out of Egypt is a piece about traveling from a bad place (or even a good place) into a much better one. The caribou in the foreground becomes a type of Moses, directing his people into the Promised Land. We can easily see ourselves in this group, as people on earth eagerly awaiting our heavenly home.
SON OF JESSE
Son of Jesse communicates the shock and impossibility of the story of David and Goliath. David, pictured as a young deer, stands proud over the slain Goliath, a lifeless cougar. The predator-prey relationship between these two creatures plainly displays the heavenly nature of this battle: David could not have won without the help of God.
PASSING OVER
Passing Over tells the story of the first Passover by picturing the Israelites as bears, hiding away in a cave. As a snowstorm rages outside, the bears remain safe and warm, protected from the deadly force. Dandelions dot the cave floor, symbolizing perseverance, and stars twinkle in the mother bear’s fur, pointing to Abraham’s descendants being as numerous as the stars in the sky.
