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| I'm a member of an artists' group at Bethany Presbyterian Church. To
encourage visual artists to get more involved in the life of the church, we did an
installation based on the liturgical tradition of the Stations of the Cross. Sixteen
artists were given some charcoal, a piece of paper, and a scene from Christ's passion to
illustrate. The Seattle Times found out about this project and wrote a very nice article. My drawing, as you can see, is of Jesus being flogged and crowned with thorns. It wasn't an easy concept to think about, let alone draw. I didn't want to shy away from the violence and suffering in the image, but at the same time I wanted it to be about Jesus still trying to make a connection between God and humanity. I liked the challenge of trying to show extreme emotion without showing a face. No one knows what Jesus' face really looked like, so I chose to try to put the emotions into his hands instead. Click any thumbnail to see a full-size photo. |
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 Through the outstretched left hand, Jesus releases his suffering toward heaven. |
 The right hand is his connection to the earth and the human race. |
 So many stories in the Bible involved Jesus changing people's lives by physically touching them. The contrast between his touch and the cat o' nine tails' touch is extreme. |
 The crown of thorns. |
 The full-size piece along with some preliminary sketches. |
 The finished work. |
