GABRIEL, 2021
Tidings of Great Joy,...to All People. — Luke 2:10
Woodblock print inspired by a Carolingian style marble relief of an angel (one of seven panels) at the ambulatory of the Cathedral, St. Sernin, in Toulouse, France. The marble carving is from 1,096 C.E., by: Bernardus Geldunius.
CHRISTMAS STAR, 2020
“For my part I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” — Vincent Van Gogh
“Silently, one by one,
In the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars,
The forget-me-nots of the angels.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, 2009
Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish, I wish tonight — Anonymous
To Thee, oh God, we turn for peace…. But grant us too the blessed assurance that nothing shall deprive us of that peace, neither ourselves, nor our foolish deathly desire, nor my wild longings, not the anxious cravings of my heart. — from, For Peace and Assurance, by Soren Keirkegaard (1813 — 55).
When creating this New Year’s greeting, I kept thinking about how wonderful stars and wishes are at the commencement of a new year. To compliment the playful text of the Old English nursery rhyme, “Star Light, Star Bright….” I selected a prayer by the 19th century poet and philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. A prayer for peace, which poetically addresses our human tendencies that often get in the way of the peace available to us.