Beauty

Tea at Dusk

 Beauty can be seen almost anywhere.  Images can capture our imagination and draw us in to a deep appreciation of life, people, and God.  Art is something to behold, to inspire, to challenge, and of course to appreciate.  I once was a student of art, well I minored in it. . . I can draw more than stick figures anyway.  But studying it in high school and college was beneficial, it fed my creativity.  I enjoy looking at other people's work, even the work of young children who may or may not ever be artists in the formal sense.  I guess I just like to see what human beings can create.  God has given us to much to look at, so much beauty to spark our creativity that I am thrilled to see what people come up with when the creative juices are flowing within them.  I think it's a reflection of God's creativity, somehow, some way.

I can't explain it but ever since I first saw the work of Austrian born, Israeli artist Itzchak Tarkay I have LOVED it!  I actually acquired a print that now hangs in my living room but if I could have more I would fill my whole house with them.  It's not that I am being greedy, just that they do something to me.  The colors are so vivid, they jump out at me and invite me into the scenes of friends gathered around the table for socializing and companionship.  And yet, there's something else in them that haunts me. . . no one ever touches another person, no handshakes, no pats on the back, no hugs and even the faces of the sitting ladies are non-commital, expressionless.  The images draw me in, entice me to look at everything- every beautiful outfit, vivid background, hairstyle or hat; I wonder what each lady is thinking as she sits there.  In each piece, even though it draws me in there is a mystery that cannot be quite figured out.

Little Round Table

We see beauty all around us- if we are looking that is.  It can draw us in, remind us of the Creator's wonderful imagination, and yet there can be something very mysterious, even haunting about such beauty.  If we stop to notice each leaf, each pine cone, each set of animal whiskers then we see something of the creativity and perfection of our God.  The patterns that are present, the repeating sequences of lines and swirls and fractals all point us to the beauty and majesty of our heavenly Father.

May you notice things in a way that you have never noticed them before.  May you look for a long time, taking it all in, wanting to miss nothing.  May you appreciate the Master Artist's work all around you.  Amen.

Cafe Marina

Images are from http://www.parkwest-tarkay.com/ex_gallery/