The Images of God / For us, his creatures
Title: "The Images of God / For us, his creatures" (2022)
Size: 40x40"
Acrylic ink dyed kozo collage, paperclay, and mica powder on canvas
From "O Mirabile Mysterium," my body of work illuminating Genesis 1. This work explores Day Six of Creation, when God created the earth-dwelling creatures to inhabit the land, including mankind, who are his co-rulers of the Earth.
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Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so. God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. –Genesis 1:24-31 (NASB)
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?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
-Psalm 8:3-8
Why are we by all creatures waited on?
Why do the prodigal elements supply
Life and food to me, being more pure than I,
Simpler and further from corruption?
Why brook'st thou, ignorant horse, subjection?
Why dost thou, bull and boar, so sillily
Dissemble weakness, and by one man's stroke die,
Whose whole kind you might swallow and feed upon?
Weaker I am, woe's me, and worse than you;
You have not sinn'd, nor need be timorous.
But wonder at a greater, for to us
Created nature doth these things subdue;
But their Creator, whom sin, nor nature tied,
For us, His creatures, and His foes, hath died.
–John Donne, Holy Sonnet XII
Good Shepherd, what adoration thunders through your seas and skies—what glories are flung through your forests as the trees clap their hands! Though their chorus of praise is lovely, there must be some part of you that finds their ensemble incomplete, because you did not stop with their voices. Did the dust cry out to you—did you dream of the day you would hear its devotion carried to your ears in hymns of praise? Beyond your desire to shape the clay, you also guide, gather, and carry. Were you a shepherd before there were sheep, or did formation of wool and flesh bring forth a new aspect of your vocation?
You delight in giving all of your creatures purpose. The bee reminds me that the rewards of work aren’t always visible in the midst of my busyness—will you help my work to become something that feeds and nourishes others? The caterpillar reminds me that while there is exquisite beauty in this life, death is only a transformation. Like the caterpillar, I need a particular food to nourish my body as I prepare to be transformed. Sustain me with yourself and your word—the only food that can give me strength to make that great traversal.
You created the noble beasts—lions, bears, wild oxen—to remind mankind that your creation possesses some shadow of its glorious King. But for all their regality, these beasts cannot form poetry—they don’t delight in the sunrise or wonder at their place in the cosmos. The circle of your creation was not closed until you formed creatures in your likeness. You gave us the creative capacity to form language so you could speak to our hearts through sound and symbol. You are perfect in plurality—you made mankind after your nature, male and female.
Jesus, you crowned creation when you entered the world through woman to become a man. Oh Great Shepherd, you put on the veil of creaturehood to carry me home on your shoulders, in the sight of all creation! If I am to reflect your nobility, let me learn from your rule. If your dominion is marked by sacrificial care, give me gentleness and grace for all your creatures. Give me eyes to see your glory in every human soul.
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All artwork is signed on the back. Can be signed on the front at collector's request.
Keep in mind that paintings can look slightly different in person. I paint using a lot of texture, so they are even better when you can see them in person - it is hard to capture here!
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COPYRIGHT
Artwork is protected by copyright. All images displayed are property of Kelly Kruse. The sale of original artwork does not include the sale of copyright, including rights to reproduce or license imagery. All rights reserved.
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