The concept for me was to decorate the alb with images of memories and objects that I associated with growing up in the church. So the first step was to make a list of those memories and objects, which was harder than I thought it would be.

And I think that’s important. This reminds me that art isn’t always interpreted how the artist intends. More importantly though, this reminds me how the sacred or holy can be filled with joy and humor. But it also shows me comparingly that acts of humor and emotions of joy can be holy in turn.

Eventually I decided I needed to break out of the grief. I had 3 ½” x 5” pieces of wood, 4 of them. And I wanted to paint them, but I wasn't sure what. So I asked three people “When you think of Joy and the bible what do you think of?” And I got three answers: The baptism of Jesus, The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, and the women fleeing from the tomb. I decided to add my moment of joy, the Song of Simeon, to the mix, and that’s what I painted.

Eve and Abel, depicts Eve holding Abel’s body after he has been killed by Cain. The blood flows from his head, and seemingly into the clouds. I imagine this red sky is both the flaming sword at Eden and the weeping of bloody tears from God, the heavens, and Earth itself. The ground is dotted with poppies, and the brightest color is the yellow of Abel’s shirt. Even the sun is dim compared to his body.

And I began to wonder, how traumatic would it be to be created as two-in-one, then essentially split into two separate individuals. Did the being even know it would be put under? The scriptures seem to see joy from Adam when he meets Eve, but was he also afraid? Still in shock?

I made the more traditional icon of Julian of Norwich first, with my limited painting ability. It is painted on wood with acyrlic and flashe. I want to be clear that while it is done in a traditional style, and I refer to it as the “traditional” icon, I make no claims that it is a traditional icon, as what is defined as an Icon traditionally is more complicated and specific and has many rules that I do not follow. In addition, Icons are not something that traditionally have statements. Nevertheless here we are.

These are the icons I was inspired to make after my iconography retreat in June 2023, they are my first attempt at painting non abstract human figures.

Whereas the first pair of works in this project drew from the story of David and Jonathan, the second pair is all about Judas. Originally i was continuing with the queer themes found in the first two, by depicting the moment of the passion when Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. This is what my piece The Kiss depicts, along with 8 of the 14 stations of the cross as a border. I don’t actually have a lot to say about this piece. I’m not very fond of it. Most of what I want to say is about the second of the pairing: Forgiveness and Sorrow.

I spent a lot of time with Leviticus 18:22, which reads (according to the NRSVUE) “You shall not lie with with a male as with a woman: it is an abomination.” My first thought in reading it and discussing it in Rainbow Sheep was simply “Then I will be abominable”.