I wanted to take some time and write about how this “Covered” series came about. It was made with magnolia leaves, acrylic paint, paper, and pine cones. Some were mounted on wood and some mounted in picture frames. They were a 3-d representation of some of my consistent themes of shame being covered in honor.
One day, I was sitting outside on my back porch with my daughters and my oldest handed me one of about a million dead Magnolia tree leaves that were on the ground. I noticed how sturdy the leaves were even though they were dead, and decided to paint on it and see what happened…then this developed from there:
A few concepts that I think are significant to this series:
Creepy Crawly Things
Even as I pick through and choose which leaves I’m going to take inside and paint on-it reminds me of how we minister to the lost. We see people through the lens of redemption, and we reach for them. But, even as I reach down into the ground, my hand often gets swarmed with bugs that were hidden on or under the leaves. Worms, beetles, and other creepy crawly things. There were times in just loving people from hard places where I felt like I had to reach into dark areas of their life. Sometimes, I got bit, swarmed, and a little creeped out. But that’s part of living life for Jesus. He goes into those places and we follow. He loves them, and we love Him-so we go to where his lost lovers are.
All Dead things to Life
Every leaf I pick from the ground is dead. I paint on them, and re-arrange them to create a crown on the woman I paint and attach it to her. It becomes part of her. It reminds me of every dead aspect of my life being redeemed and re-arranged in the hands of Jesus. Every leaf represents one aspect of our lives that has once been dead and decomposing, but then given a new story & identity.
Covered and Unashamed
The “crowns” in all my pieces are a representation of honor. Even as I was arranging the leaves, painting on them, adorning them, I was thinking of my own journey through shame. God continues to remind me that those who trust in him will never be put to shame. And his garment of praise that he cloaks me in, covers my shame.
Fragile Processes
I have broken or torn many of the leaves as I have tried to glue them together. The leaves that are most dried out are more susceptible to breaking-I must be extra careful with those. The leaves that have some life in them-or have a little bit of green left in them are easier to deal with and are more flexible.
A long time ago, I watched a documentary on how an organization was rescuing girls from a Cambodian brothel. One thing they said was that they look for girls that still have “life” or “fight” left in them. Because, the others they have tried to rescue were so completely broken and numb, that any attempts to revive them were futile. They were so enslaved.
This reminds me of the leaves I work with-the ones that have been dead on the ground longer are more vulnerable to being broken beyond repair. The ones that have a bit of life in them have more strength to endure the process of rearrangement.
So even as I work under my dim studio light, I can imagine God’s hands working in similar fashion in the hearts of the children and women enslaved all over the world. Me too.
All the dead things in our lives can be brought to life. Every fragile thing will be handled carefully-if we will hand it over.