Once Again, Remembering Emily Carr

                                                            The Bounce of Spring 1936

God is in them all. Now I know that is all that matters. 

The only thing worth striving for is to express God. 

Every living thing is God made manifest. 

All real art is the eternal seeking to express God, 

the one substance out of which all things are made. Emily Carr

Yesterday was anniversary of the death of Canadian painter Emily Carr, a contemporary of the Group of Seven. Several members admired her work but they never seriously considered including her. I"ll share with you a blog entry about Carr from years past and links to a couple more in both Lion Lamb and Groundling. The first dates back to 2006, my first year blogging. 

                                                                     **************************************

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

The Spirit of Emily Carr

Snowmageddon. Snowpocalypse. Interesting how biblical images have crept into descriptions of "snow events" these days. There was some shovelling this morning, but honestly, it just wasn't that bad. I am glad I have a very short commute.

Two Sundays ago we left worship at First Met United Church in balmy Victoria and walked to the city art gallery. We knew there was an exhibit called On the Edge of Nowhere, about the artwork and life of Emily Carr, who lived in Victoria and roamed Vancouver Island and beyond to Haida Gwaii, the Queen Charlotte Islands. Carr has been a favourite artist for both of us for years and we went to an extensive exhibit of her work at the AGO a couple of years ago.

The Victoria exhibit brought home Carr's deep spiritual connection with nature and her life-long, although uneasy involvement with the church. She was often a reluctant churchgoer, annoyed with the self-righteousness of preachers along the way. Yet when her respected mentor, Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven, tried to persuade her toward theosophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy she ultimately resisted.

In the evening that Sunday I attended the Epiphany Explorations dramatic/musical presentation of Carr's life, Exploring the Mystery of Emily Carr, created and enacted by two Victoria musicians and actors, along with the music director from First Met. It was well done, and enhanced by visual images of Carr's works. For me it brought together a love of Christ's community, a love of nature, and a love of artistic expression.

We also sought out the new statue of Carr near the Empress Hotel which depicts her, her monkey named Woo, and dog Billie.

Do you know Carr's work or know much about her? What do you think about the intertwining of art, nature, and the church?

http://lionlamb-bowmanville.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-church-at-yukuot-village.html

https://lionlamb-bowmanville.blogspot.com/2006/12/emily-carr.html

St David & the Call to Simplicity

 

How did I miss it! Yesterday was St. David's Day and somehow I was unaware of the occasion to honour my namesake until I saw a tweet which included the stained glass piece above and the acknowledgement of the day. It's called "Spring", which suggests the weather is a little different in Wales than Southern Ontario. 

David was born in Wales at the beginning of the sixth century and had a broad influence as an evangelist and establishing monastic communities. His emphasis was on livng a simple, moderate life, abstaining from the desire to own more and more unneeded material possessions in order to discover true happiness. Legend has it that during a famous sermon a white dove settled on his shoulder and at the conclusion he offered, "do the little things in life". 

A call to simplicity and contentment rather than over-consumption is a worthwhile message for all of us Groundlings in the midst of an environmental crisis. And when we feel overwhelmed by the insignificance of our efforts we can do this little things which honour Creation and Creator. 

A Victorian stained glass window depicting Saint David blessing a hive of bees 

as they are about to be shipped to Ireland by Domhnog.

Ukrainian Tribute & William Kurelek

                                                            The Ukrainian Pioneer (No. 1)

                                                             The Ukrainian Pioneer (No. 5)

 I haven't been posting to my Groundling blog since the turn of the new year, and as always I'm conflicted. It's a matter of keeping the focus and energy for two blogs (Lion Lamb is the other.) Between the two I posted more than 400 times last year and that is demanding for this oldtimer. 

I decided that I needed to post here today, on the first anniversary of the terrible invasion of Ukraine  with a couple of paintings by Ukrainian/ Canadian artist William Kurelek, who grew up on the Prairies. There have been a number of stories of Ukrainians who've come to Canada in the past year and courageously started over, often with loved ones in their homeland who are living in constant danger. Canada already had a significant Ukrainian diaspora going back more than a century. Many came to farm, as they had in Ukraine. 

I enjoy Kurelek's paintings, a number of which are in the Art Gallery of Ontario. There is currently an exhibition of his paintings on Jewish life in Canada at the McMichael Gallery. There is a folk art vibe to his work, yet a depth which is often profound. So many of them uphold the stark beauty of Creation in winter. 

 I've known that Kurelek was a Christian for decades but it was only today that I found out the story of his conversion, if the experience can be described that way. He suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized for schizophrenia while living in London, England. Here is a description of what unfolded from his Wikipedia page. 

In this hospital, Kurelek met an occupational therapist who changed the course of his spiritual life.Margaret Smith brought him a book of poems, wrapped in a dust jacket that she had made of a Catholic newspaper. "I was a staunch atheist at the time…," Kurelek recalled, and upon discovering her faith, teased her about it. Later, he asked her if she was praying for him, and she answered, "Yes, I am." From here, they began to attend church services together. He took a correspondence course from the church, and met with Father Edward Holloway,^] a theologian trained at the English College in Rome, who helped him over some final stumbling blocks. In February 1957, Kurelek entered the Roman Catholic Church by a ceremony of conditional baptism. Margaret Smith, and his friend David John, a sculptor who did work for the church, were his godparents