Anne and Joachim

Today is the feast day of Anne and Joachim and I wanted to share a piece I carved in 2004 for a Health Care Facility in St Paul, Mn. The reason that I suggested carving grandparents as we started discussing the project is because they are an example that the people in the facility could identify with. Anne and Joachim were the grandparents of Jesus and the parents of Mary. Not a whole lot of information is given about them in the bible but we all know the important role that grandparents and parents hold in a child’s life.I did several drawings for this commission and tried to make the carving fit into the space where it was going. I delivered the piece after completion and really never saw it in place until eight years later when I returned there for a funeral. It amazed me to see it in its actual setting hanging in a prayer space. I felt like something that was a part of me had taken on a life of its own. It had been in that space and witnessed many events and feelings that had happened there. The piece began to speak to me in a new way about how something you have a hand in creating has to be let go of so it can take on a life of its own. I guess that is the lesson grandparents and parents learn every day. Let's celebrate today our gift of sharing in the power of love to transform.

Anne and Joachim, Linden Wood, 30"h x 36"w x 1"d