Earthen Vessel

Earthen Vessel

In the works for months, this painting is an expression of some recent thoughts... 

The painting is acrylic on a panel, and has so many layers that I have lost count of them. I have tried over and over to work out a painting that I like from the start of this one, and it always needed work, or maybe even to be started all over again! Of course, each time I restarted it, some of the previous marks remain, even though I cover the entire work with a fresh coat of paint. 

Today, I think this little painting is ready. The colors and textures remind me of denim and pottery, of ordinary surrounding extraordinary. The shapes also make statements and I love the things that the painting says without my words added. 

Just yesterday, a new friend and I started a discussion about worth and brokenness. The layers and scars still show through in her life. She wants perfection, and sometimes feels like the only solution is to start all over again. But part of our discussion included the idea of our Heavenly Father using our ordinary brokenness to communicate HIS glory. This verse from the New Testament seems to say it best.


2 Corinthians 4:7 (New American Standard Bible) "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves"

 I especially like the last phrase as it is translated in the Amplified Bible... "that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves."

5.75" x 5.25" acrylic on panel

(rounded corners)