Honest Art | Raw Spoon

"I try to answer our objections to the human condition by creatively framing God's heart within the same art."

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1st Station of the Cross: Jesus in Gethsemane

In this depiction of Jesus in Gethsemane I showed him on hands and knees, with sweat drops of blood around him. I showed his friends falling asleep on him. We see references to the garden of Eden in this garden of Gethsemane, as we see the snake coming near Jesus. Where the first man failed under temptation in Eden, bringing their own death, Jesus would deny temptation, saying not my will but yours, even to his own death. In the trees we also see the cup from the last supper he had just shared with his friends. We see references to other moments of feeling deserted by friends and needing to rely on faith: Daniel and the lion's den, and Joseph thrown in a pit by his brothers. Also look for hands of God spread over him, like the wings of a hen protecting her young. We have started this series with the main color being blue. We will move more towards red, to depict the mounting pain and violence against him.

2nd Station of the Cross- Judas Betrays Jesus

The central image in this Mandala is the lips that betrayed Jesus. But they are made up of thorny vines and the words Judas uttered. Like in many of these mandalas the trinity sign is in the middle signifying that despite all the suffering and betrayal, the god-head is still central and present to everything in this world. We see thirty pieces of silver surrounding the interaction of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss, and the coins are dripping with blood. We can see dark soldiers waiting in the wings to take Jesus. We can also see one of the disciples peering from behind a tree. In the middle of the tree is the noose, foreshadowing the terrible demise Judas chose for himself. It turns into a rose, seemingly desirable like his actions first seemed, but in reality it is blood red in color, and sharp with thorns, like the regret he experiences. Near the perimeter we see someone being stabbed in the back, and we see the bread being broken and blood shed for the last supper, in which Jesus said, the one who dips his hand in the cup with me will betray me (signifying Judas). But immediately after that he describes how this bread and blood can rescue every single one of them from the dark. A dove shot through the heart, with a broken wing just below the dipped communion bread symbolizes Jesus' pure body being broken and about to pour onto the spears of the ones who took him.

5th Station- Jesus Judged by Pilate

Pilate stands across from Jesus, haivng shed his robe. So now both are nearly naked showing that in a way they were the same, king naked before king, one with eartly power, the other claiming even more power. Meanwhile religious leaders cry out accusations about Jesus about which Pilate must soon conclude a verdict. Pilate's wife cautions him from around the corner because of a dream she had. She says, have nothing to do with the conviction of this man. The text in these mandalas are often backwards, because I want your eye to have to wander and search out where the same text is forward and readable. I want this to force you to explore all the facets of each mandala, as an aid to draw you into the situation and meditate and the events and emotions the characters were feeling. I have taken liberties when reinterpreting the actual words of the text to help us hear it in new ways, often in more colloquial language in a way might communicate it today.

6th Station of the Cross- Jesus Scourged and Crowned with Thorns

The tearing whip that scourged and the crown of thorns that gouged frame Jesus and his attackers. Teeth have been knocked out and a snake whispers anger and hate in his ear. Like a lamb at the mercy of wolves, he does not fight back. The feeling of being beaten unfairly when no one is there to stop it reminded me of a certain boy tied to a fencepost and beaten with hate a few years ago in a romote area of the United States.

8th Station of the Cross- Jesus Helped by Simon

When imagining the moment Simon stooped to help Jesus lift the cross, I was struck by the intimate moment that might have happened when Simon's fingers slipped between the blood-soiled fingers of this rumored savior, only a few hours before he would die. You can see the face of Simon next to the bood-red face of Jesus above the hands. And you can see the cross over Jesus' shoulder. You can also see the faces of accusers, mockers, and soldiers looking on from behind them. I wanted to capture the awkward normalcy of the moment in the words, as Simon stumbles over how to position himself to help.

9th Station of the Cross- Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Viewers warning: this uncensored image contains graphic depiction of childbirth and stillborn babies. This is because I wanted to display the gravity of what was to come. As the women cry for Jesus in this extremely trying time for him, Jesus expresses concern for what they will go through, which sounds to be even worse. In the image we see mothers holding their bloodied babies. We see another woman giving birth between the mountains and her stillborn baby wrapped in cloth, ready to be buried. We see the tree that Jesus references, blooming in ghostly white, but underneath we see it's gnarled branches that would remain when it is barren. We can see images in the cliffs, faces of women howling in sorrow and pain. But in the middle we see Jesus, also suffering in excruciating pain, present and reaching out to them all. I wanted to portray the full graphic effect of the pain that he references but still show he was present in it all.

9th Station of the Cross- (Censored) Jesus meets the Women of Jerusalem

This is the censored image: the uncensored image also contains graphic depiction of childbirth and stillborn babies. This is because I wanted to display the gravity of what was to come. As the women cry for Jesus in this extremely trying time, Jesus expresses concern for what they will go through. In the image we see mothers holding their bloodied babies. We see another woman giving birth between the mountains and her stillborn baby wrapped in cloth, ready to be buried. We see the tree that Jesus references, blooming in ghostly white, but underneath we see it's gnarled branches that would remain when it is barren. We can see faces in the cliffs, faces of women howling in sorrow and pain. But in the middle we see Jesus, also suffering in excruciating pain, present and reaching out to them all. I wanted to portray the full graphic effect of the pain that he references but still show he was present in it all.

10th Station of the Cross- Jesus Crucified

This mandala shows Jesus literally hanging from nails in wood boards meant to resemble the adorned sides of church pews. Pulling down on his legs is an lavishly adorned intricate silver cross that one might wear if wanting to show their wealth while attesting to their religiosity. It was this religiosity that sent Jesus to this death on the hill of the skull. We also see cracks in the skulls, foreshadowing the earthquake about the happen as he dies.

11th Station of the Cross- Jesus Promises his Kingdom to the Good Theif

Here I have symbolically depicted the unity given by Jesus to the good theif. But i've also depicted the distance between the bad theif the Jesus shown by his attitude. The hand gestures in each personage are important. The good theif has locked hands with Jesus. Even though this was physically impossible while nailed to separate crosses, I imagine this represents the bond his heart felt when Jesus offered him forgiveness and friendship. The good theif's other hand is covering his nakedness because I imagine being in that circumstance would be a very shame-filled experience. And yet Jesus, the greatest among them is the only one who accepts him. With Jesus' other hand we see him, even in his moment of deepest betrayal and pain, still offering forgiveness. Underneath the olive leaf of forgiveness, hidden in the shape of white we see a dove covering a slew of condemning faces. Jesus offers these people, even while they mock and accuse him, forgiveness for, he says they know not what they do.

12th Station of the Cross- Jesus Speaks to his Mother and Disciple

In the center you may recognize the famous sculpture of La Piedad by Miguel Angel. But I have modified it to show the dying Jesus figuratively gently redirecting his mother's gaze to his friend and disciple, John. And John looking on, now commissioned to take care of Jesus' likely widowed, aging mother. Then above them we see where Jesus literally is, on the cross, looking down at them. Around them, in the shape of the continents of the world, I have shaped selected events from Jesus' ministry. And around the outermost scenes of the mandala, we see a few of the moments his mother might have remembered from Jesus' childhood, and which might have directly shaped what he did in his ministry. First we see (in the south american continent) Jesus giving his sermon on the mount, preaching about the poor and the meek. This moment is reflected in the image at the very top of the mandala in which his mother recognizes Jesus had been picked on by kids his age, and she uses it as an opportunity to teach him to always care for others who are poor and meek. Secondly we see (in the continent of Africa) Jesus is stooping to help the woman on her knees before him. This is the woman who was caught in the act of adultry. This is reflected by Mary stooping to help Jesus after he skinned his knee. I presume Jesus knew the feeling of being loved and lifted when life has brought you, suffering and ashamed to your knees. Thirdly we see, at the top of the north american continent, Jesus administering the last supper with those closest to him, his disciples. And this is reflected in the moments at his dinner table with his mother and father when he was young. These memories of his mother's were perhaps so cherished as she watched her son perish. And he comforts her by saying, I am not lost, but continue to love me, and be loved through my friend, John.

13th Station of the Cross- Jesus Dies on the Cross

In this moment we learn that Jesus breathed his last breath and the curtain in the temple ripped from top to bottom. I wanted to show those in one moment: as Jesus' spirit (portrayed by a dove) escapes his lungs, his body is ripped open, releasing his spirit, like the curtains ripped, releasing God's spirit upon everyone who would desire it. There was no longer a physical barrier between God and man. Jesus was now in a form he could be present with all people. We also learn that this happened between certain hours, as depicted by the roman numeral clock. And this overlays on top of an image of the lunar eclipse that happened concurrently. In the corona of this eclipse we can see a few images. They show the evolution of what is happening behind the scenes. Near the bottom we see bones decaying in the ground. A little further up we see a buried coffin. Above that we see seeds buried, like a coffin is, in the ground. However, we see these seeds sprouting and sneaking out of the ground. Above that we can see seeds that are released throughout the world, only because the buried seeds died in the ground, and grew into full plants that could then spread their seeds, like Jesus was spiritually doing by dying. And at the very top we see flowers in bloom, with a coffin that has been cracked opened, the contents inside re-enlivened and ready to step out.

14th Station of the Cross- Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

You may have noticed how the first mandala was 95% blue, and we have moved towards the final mandalas being 95% red, showing the process became more violent, harder, and bloody. However, someone pointed out to me that despite the violence, hope was on the verge of being released as well. And so I started adding more and more white battling the encroaching heaviness of black. And this final mandala is meant to be full of white and light. I wanted one that depicted peace. It is calm. No more violence. It was finished. The human heart has been buried, and wrapped in a cloth, like Jesus was. But you can see the vast garden of flowers blooming on the other side of this orb, just beyond the horizon we can see, showing that though the body is buried, it is only the first step in a world that is about to filled with a whole new type of beauty, so much bigger than the seed ever was, and could reach so much farther than the seed ever could before it died. As lent nears its end, we may see flowers beginning to bloom all around us. The hard is coming to a close. Spring is coming.