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This is a 24×24 acrylic and gold leaf on canvas painting that I made while going through some intense conflict with another believer. It represents how it can feel when we receive harsh criticism, whether it’s warranted and maybe just not communicated lovingly, or it’s harsh and unwarranted/unfair. When I go through this I have a tendency to internalize the criticism and start to believe that those things are who I am: someone who talks too much, is un-redirectable, is argumentative, unprofessional, inappropriate, on the fringes and not worthy of being included/heard. Visually I am depicted as naked, ashamed, bruised and battered and seated in a barren wilderness.
But, thankfully God puts people in my pathway who remind me of the things that are truest about myself, according to Scripture: I am a beloved daughter, a child of the king, clothed in righteousness, a co-heir and co-laborer with Christ, a member of God’s family and his kingdom, and part of a royal priesthood.
The unseen person offering a hand represents both God and fellow believers that he puts in my path to remind me of these more essential truths. Where I am stepping out in faith to grasp hold of those things, I am transformed and clothed in shining garments, with plants and ferns springing up from the wasteland.
The title of the piece, “Talitha Cumi” is an approximation of the Aramaic spoken by Christ when he raised a little girl from the dead. It translates as “little girl [or little lamb], get up.”
The plants are the same as a tattoo I got around the same time, so the tattoo is a constant reminder or the lessons learned in the painting.
Project Images
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