Practicing “A Call to Commune”

This blog is my humble attempt to “practice what I preached” in The Call to Commune and its invitation to “experience intimacy by sharing thoughts, feelings, and desires” through aesthetics/artwork. In that spirit, what do you experience as you commune with these photographs? Please share your thoughts in the comments section! To help you commune and experience the joys that result, I offer my own commune-reflections embedded in each photo and below the photo gallery, too. If you’re viewing this on mobile and can’t see my embedded comments, view the blog on an iPad or computer.

Right before leaving for Gulf Shores, I was enjoying a relaxed afternoon sipping a glass of Merlot and reading Patrick O’Brien’s Master and Commander. As I did so, I was suddenly struck by the translucent mingling of color in my wine glass. The bright sunlight in the room accentuated this beauty with unique reflections.

The interplay of light among unique forms dominates this simple photo of infused vinegar dispensers at The Happy Olive in Fairhope. I was particularly drawn to the many curves in the tiny bucket and their handles, and the round reservoirs. The brightness of the metal also offers a impactful contrast with the dark, rich tones of the glass bottles.

Like a living cathedral, these vaulted live oaks that span a residential street in Magnolia Springs provide the perfect context for praising their Maker. I was so stricken by their beauty, I had to pull my car over and take them in… and take my camera out to snap this photo. The uniqueness of these forms, along with their perspective and scale, is particularly striking.

While communing with God in His creation during my walk on a deserted Gulf Shores beach, I noticed these fine “etchings” in the sand. They’re actually tiny bits of shell and other organic matter left on the sand by various tides and waves. What a fascinating composition! The beach is literally “littered” with this “wasteful” beauty! To notice it is to recognize I’m walking upon an expansive work of art, surrounded by beauty.

The Master Artisan is such a “wasteful” Artisan. Daily, He sculpts gorgeous forms like these which surely go unnoticed to most people. Thankfully, I was drawn to commune with them and was quickly stricken by their intricacy and beauty. I cannot think of any human sculpture that trumps these “wasteful” tide-pool sand sculptures for their sheer beauty. I particularly noticed the shadows and merging of soothing, smooth forms in this divine composition. I was so stricken by these sculptures that the day after my return home, I acquired wood to reflect their beauty in a sculpted recreation of my own.

What do you see in this photo? At first, I was only awed by the majestic colors and composition of the sky and the clouds. But as I communed further with this artwork, I noticed the various hues in the sandy beach, and how the color palette of sand, water, and sky harmonized to yield an incredibly pleasurable, soothing work. The soundtrack of lapping waves accompanied this composition for an immersive experience of beauty.

This work of art literally elicited tears of joy and praise to its Maker. Who but The Master Artisan could create such a work? Indeed, He composes forms in the expanse of the sky, shifts their colors, and splashes light upon them as He pleases. What beauty! What pleasure!

During my hike on Gator Trail, the delicacy and form of these sand-loving mosses struck me with wonder. As individual forms, they are certainly intriguing. But photographing with varied focus from a “worm’s eye view” opened entirely new appreciation of their beauty. One can focus on any individual clump and marvel at its tiny details and its fragile filaments, and how they play with light and shadow. Or, one can take a wider angle and notice how the light interplays with all these delicate individual forms to compose a stunning work of pale color and form. Gorgeous!

At first, I hiked by this tree, only offering it a passing glance. And then something clicked in me, inviting me to “commune.” So, I backtracked and took more time to notice the artistry in this little scene. Framing the photo with varying focus conveys the depth of the composition and highlights the incredible textures, colors, and light-play in the piece.

Sea foam. It’s ubiquitous at the beach. And like lots of beauty, its ubiquity means it often goes unnoticed. In an attempt to “practice what I preach,” I pushed back on this by stopping to commune with this otherwise “ignorable,” ubiquitous beauty. As I played with sightlines, I noticed the incredible beauty of its color and the way the translucent material (sea foam) played with light in a truly unique way. It’s striking, really. And who else but The Master Artisan makes such beauty from something as mundane as sea foam?! He’s so good with even the most unexpected materials!

I took this photo during a walk around Little Lagoon in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I was stricken by the layered, rich colors in this shallow area of the Lagoon. By using a polarizing filter on the camera, I was able to appreciate the depth of this color along with the way the water added translucence to its beauty.

I love the way this incredibly textured live oak reaches upward like like a gnarly arm reaching to the heaven. It’s bent and twisting in its reach, just like me. I surveyed many gorgeous live oaks on this trip, but this one stood out. Playing with camera angles helped me commune as I appreciated the artwork more extensively.

While hiking the Jeff Friend Trail, I noticed the layers in this beautiful scene. The photo reflects the compositional classic “rule of thirds” where the water, reeds, and trees each comprise one third of the composition. The depth of field is incredible, as is the snowy white heron as a focal point. This would make a great source for a painting or sculpture. But before jumping to that pragmatic end, it’s simply worth experiencing and appreciating. For example, notice the reflections in the water, the different ways that the elements play with light, and the overall harmony of the palette. Gorgeous!

The color palette in this scene is striking, accentuated by contrasting forms and shadows. Of course, the sunset itself is mind-blowingly beautiful and soothing. It’s a divinely-organic, beautifully “formless” element. Composing it against the rigid, linear, man-made piers heightens these intriguing elements. On a deeper level, the overall composition invites contemplation on the differences between humanly and divinely-created beauty and the way they interplay.

Like sea foam, these little plants are often missed for their ubiquity in the coastal landscape. I missed them at first. But upon remembering to “commune,” I stopped and took a closer look. I shot several photos of these plants as individuals and in clusters. This photo stood out due to its clarity, contrast, and texture. In particular, I love the one leaf that’s yellowing as a contrast to the otherwise monochromatic color of the plant. It’s like a little artistic dash that adds intrigue to the beauty of this artwork.

You probably noticed that I refer to God a few times in my commune-reflections. I don’t mean this in a heavy-handed way at all. As a grateful Christ-follower, I’m simply, humbly, and happily acknowledging that there’s a Creator behind the natural world and that He has thoughts, feelings, and desires as that Creator. Scripture reveals this fact quite beautifully.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6

So, for me, to commune with the created world is to commune with its Creator, the One I often call The Master Artisan. As I do this, I experience His thoughts, feelings, and desires as revealed by what He’s created. On a smaller scale, this is the same thing I’d experience when communing with, say, one of Rembrandt’s paintings. As I viewed that painting, I’d be communing with Rembrandt himself based on what he’s created. I’d experience Rembrandt’s thoughts, feelings, and desires as the creator of that painting. That’s what I mean by “commune.” What a joy this is!

One of the most prominent joys resulting from experiencing God as Creator in the “artwork” He’s created (as reflected in the photos, above) is His sweet and holy desire that we experience pleasure in what He creates! Wow! What beautiful intentionality! This verse in Genesis is very telling in that regard, “Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food…” (Genesis 2:9a, emphasis added). Notice that God didn’t just make trees for a important yet non-sensory, utilitarian purpose: to provide food to sustain us physiologically. He created them to be “pleasing to the sight” to sustain us and give us joy emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically. In other words, He created them for our total nourishment. Again, wow!

All these photos (except for the first photo, the wine glass) were taken during my recent trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Happily, I wrote A Call to Commune right before I left for that trip. So, I was freshly oriented to that call. For that reason, I purposefully packed my real camera (not just my smartphone camera!) to help me heed that call. By taking it with me on my hikes and walks, I was much more inclined to look for beauty and commune with it.