I am impressed with the sculptures of Carol Dunford Jackman. It is intriguing to me that she became a sculptor later in life, and that her experiences as a woman and mother bring emotion to her work. She explains, “My sculpture is an integral part of who I am, and I hope that my work portrays the joy I feel for life, and for the creation of of the work. I sculpt for the love of it, and from the deep emotional need to do it.“

("Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven")

"Mother in Heaven, Mother of Earth"

Last week we visited the Temple of Leah in the mountains near Cebu City. In 2012, Mr. Adarna commissioned the temple to be built in honor of his wife Leah whom he adored. The structure includes  columns, sculptures, a grand staircase, rooms of collected items, a large bronze statue of Leah, and an breathtaking view.

The display included an amazing and unusual portrait of Leah made from butterfly wings.

I love art! When visiting Lakeview Gardens on Saturday, I saw tile and rock work I admired. The sign hanging outside of the gardens was made using beautiful green and white tile.

There is a cement bench to sit on made from colorful tiles and white sea shells (See two pictures below). 

Even the driveway was finished in an artsy way with circular rock patterns. Who took the time to lay the pattern of those rocks? I don't think I have ever seen art on the floor of a parking spot before, but it was beautiful.

 

I saw this piece by YongSong Kim titled "Lord of Prayer" in the January Friend Magazine. I am in admiration of the way Mr. Kim blended colors, his portrayal of anguish, the radiating light, Christ's clasped hands, and His bowed head. This is beautiful to me. 

 

Brian Kershisnik

Night's Impossible Burden

"For an artist, a painting is like a sentence in a novel that you're writing your whole life."

"If I am not careful about how much I reveal my own intentions, I run the danger of closing the door on what the painting can mean to you or anyone else.  What a viewer takes away is every bit as legitimate as what I intended, possibly more legitimate than what I intended."

Brian depicts women as very capable and thoughtful and going about engaged in great work. He paints women in real situations, and there's not a sense of putting them on a pedestal where they're not given anything to do, but rather embracing women in lots of different capacities.

Brian always paints a kind of heaven that is close, that is near, that wants to intervene or help or point you in a direction. It doesn't become too weighty because of the hope that is also there and the angels that want to intervene and assist and aid and comfort.

(Michael R. Walker, "Everyday Heaven," Y Magazine, Winter 2025)

 Shelby Stroud produces art from shells.  She is simply amazing!

"Every part of the process makes me so happy. Finding the shells, sorting, cleaning and finally creating with them--I could do any part indefinitely and be thrilled with the opportunity. I have found my identity and the way I want to express myself, and I am grateful to be a Shel."

A final piece from the art show last week--this piece is titled "He Anointed the Eyes of the Blindman" by Walter Rane.  Isn't it beautiful? 

I am including the statement which was displayed next to the painting:

"Walter Rane's painting describes a moment of heavenly healing.  A figure kneels in the shadows, his arms stretched taut as he strains upward to the Savior, whose touch radiates the healing light of heaven. By focusing on this moment of miraculous healing, Rane deemphasizes Christ's body, which appears to the right as a mere suggestion of form, in deference to His authority.  Further, a sharp black stripe of paint separates the Savior's head and hands from the kneeling man, to help the viewer contemplate the actions--rather than the physical form--of the Savior of humankind." 

 

Here is another piece from an art show I perused this week. Michael Malm titled his piece "Focus on Joy." Christ's joyful expression is what caught my eye, along with the rich colors and lighting. From a statement next to the painting:

"In this image, Malm emphasizes Christ as the source and exemplar of joy. Radiant light behind the Savior's head illuminates His amiable countenance. The light surrounds Jesus's head in a halo form, a traditional Christian symbol of holiness that here seems to underscore His divine power and an aura of hope. Malm painted this image as a Christmas gift for his family.  He wanted to create a focal point in his home that echoed prophetic counsel to center our lives on Christ."

 

David Dibble

"Sanctuary"

David Dibble remembers the experience of walking home through the fields with feelings of exhausted contentment at completing another day's labor.  This barn, framed by the setting sun, becomes a meditation on the sanctity of work.

When I saw this piece in person this week, the color of the sky was stunning.

 These pieces from Jay Bryant Ward are beautiful!

"In Humility Our Savior"

"Away in a Manger"

"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief"

"I Will Comfort You"

 

The painting at the top is titled "The Nativity," while the painting at the bottom is titled "The Christ Child." Both are exquisite pieces by Sharlotte Andrus. I really like the lighting in the paintings and the expressions on the faces.  Wow! Beautiful!

A painting of Jesus Christ by Heinrich Hoffman

Thomas Monson first had a print of this painting in his bishop's office and later he took it with him to Canada, when he served as a mission president.  He had the same print in his office when he was called as an Apostle, then moved it from place to place until, finally, it hung in his office when he was President of the Church. 

"Look at the kindness in those eyes.  Look at the warmth of expression.  When facing difficult situations, I often look at it and ask myself, 'What would He do?' Then I have tried to respond accordingly. I feel strength in having it near me."

"I have tried to pattern my life after the Master. Whenever I have had to measure the request to give a blessing against the endless demands of some of my paperwork, I have always looked at that picture and asked myself, 'What would He do?' I can assure you the choice has never been to stay and do paperwork."

(Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Thomas S. Monson, pgs. 45, 46)

 

These marvelous art pieces by Caitlin Connolly make me think, and I wonder what she was thinking when she drew them. I like the lines, colors, and subject matter.

Open Hands Receiving

She Wore It On Her Sleeve

Leaning On a Mother

Her Arms Grew Tired as She Held the World in Its Place

A Busy Mind

Letting Go of Some Sorrows

Lifting Up a Woman

Leaning Against Something Unknown

 

Aren't these paintings lovely? They are pieces from the collection of Granville Redmond, an American landscape painter. Granville lived from 1871-1935. After contracting scarlet fever as a young child, he was left deaf. A close friend of Granville Redmond once said of him: 

"Sometimes I think that the silence in which he lives has developed in him some sense, some great capacity for happiness in which we others are lacking. He paints solitude as no one else can convey it, and yet, by some strange paradox, his solitude is never loneliness."

A. V. Ballin, "Granville Redmond, Artist," The Silent Worker, Vol. 38, no. 2 (1925), 89.

 

I like seeing art created by artists using unusual mediums.  This picture of Christ was made by Jen Raine Smart using Legos. It is unbelievable to me!  I found this art displayed at a Lego display at the BYU library. I will share a few other creations, pictured below.  Thousands of Lego pieces were used to create these Salt Lake buildings.

 

 I attended an art show titled "Certain Women" in Provo yesterday.  Here were a few of my favorite pieces.

"Careful Mending of the World" by Paige Anderson (two pictures above) 

"I love to think of creation, in its many forms as repeated acts of healing repair.  It is a hopeful thought that though my efforts are meager when compared to the magnitude of the suffering I see, somehow, someway, my small acts of creation, are able to reverberate outward--contributing to a greater wholeness."

 

 

"Measure of Life" by Annette Everett (above).

"The woman who stands with the veil lifted is a protector and a guide.  A guardian angel? An ancestor?"

 

 

"Be" by Morgan Casey (above).

Measure me?

My Mother Eve.

The Mother of Humanity...

Her power passed down generationally.

Divinely anointed,

Irreplaceably appointed,

I am Her posterity.

How can one attempt to measure femininity?

Life is created in my BODY.

GENERATIONS are held in my BELLY.

WORLDS of before and after, my eyes SEE.

I am the portal,

the gatekeeper,

the in between.

Can mere words be used to define all of feminine divinity?

I am

Immeasurably

Incomprehensibly

Eternally

EVERYTHING

I need 

To BE.

 

"Lift Up Your Voice and With Us Sing" by Lisa DeLong (two pictures above).

"We now are separated from our divine home, yet we intuit that there is more than the hazy shadows we see in a darkened glass. We see patterns of the heavens above echoed in the earth below. We are hungry to know, to remember more."

This book was worth the read for these written gems and art:

What do women hold? 

The home and the family.

And the children and the food.

The friendships.

The work.

the work of the world.

And the work of being human.

The memories.

And the troubles

and the sorrows

and the triumphs.

And the love.

Men do as well, but not quite in the same way.

Sometimes, when I am feeling

particularly happy or content,

I think I can provide sustenance

for legions of human beings.

I can hold the entire world in my arms.

Other times, I can barely cross the 

room. And I drop my arms. Frozen.

then

I am brought back to my grandmother,

my mother, my aunts,

my sister, my daughter,

my granddaughters,

my cousins,

The women who are my friends.

We have spoken to each other

for thousands of hours.

It is hard work 

to hold everything

and it never ends.

You may be exhausted from holding things

and be disheartened.  And even weep if

you are very emotional. Which would be

anyone on any day. With good reason.

But then there is the next moment

and the next day and

 

hold on.

(Maira Kalman, Women Holding Things)