Artist’s Statement

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. (Isaiah 61:1-7, emphasis added)

Poor. Brokenhearted. Captive. Incarcerated. Mourning. Despair. The ashes of this life are spread like a thick blanket over everything. Sometimes it seems there are multiple layers of ruin. Sometimes I am more aware of it than at others. Yet for all this wreckage, the LORD of grace and mercy exchanges beauty. His creative splendor is in turning what was a burned-out husk of pain into a “crown of beauty.”

This sculpture gushes with the story of God’s creative beauty – His work of redeeming what is charred and transforming it into a “garment of praise.” The bottom left-hand corner of the sculpture is mangled and charred, and the joints in the wood are loose and flawed. These elements signify the brokenness and “ashes” common to a life without Christ, and even those that remain in this present world despite having Christ in one’s heart. Yet as the eye moves up and to the right, a transformation takes place. The sculpture becomes more and more whole, more ordered, more refined and beautiful. By the time the eye reaches the upper right corner, joints in the wood are squarely aligned, and the naturally handsome grain of the Brazilian Ebony shines through.

The transition in the sculpture signifies God’s creative/redemptive work of bestowing a crown of beauty where there were ashes, anointing with the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and giving a garment of praise instead of despair. It shows the progressive nature of His redemptive work.

There is a subtle but very important design element that runs through the sculpture that focuses attention on the cost and means of God’s creative/redemptive work. One horizontal and one vertical piece of ebony have a matte finish, unlike the gloss finish on the rest of the beams. These matte pieces intersect to form a cross. Subtle as it is in the sculpture, this element is an extremely important reminder that the zenith of God’s restorative work is to be found in the cross of Christ.

Jesus was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5)

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:13-16)

Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have the promise of beauty for ashes! Though this work progresses slowly (or so it seems, at times) in this physical life, when we die or when Jesus comes back, we will realize complete healing and joy in Him. Hallelujah to the One who brings light and life where there is darkness and despair.