Agate

Agate

Returning from a mini-vacation is, as usual, more work than I was prepared for. Don't mistake me, though - it was well worth it! My husband and I enjoyed just kicking back and exploring. We each found our 'treasure' in antique stores, and we found the most gorgeous country-side in southern Indiana! I found a leather electrical gadget case that I will transform into a purse, he found a new hood ornament and a guitar in sorry shape for our son, who has studied lutherie and will enjoy working on it.

Part of piece called Foundation Stones
6" x 6" acrylic on canvas panel 
ready to frame 

I am not sure that this painting expresses what I would like to express about the stone Agate. I remember looking for them when we were kids and we would go to lakes on the weekend. My dad (whose birthday is today) would help us identify our treasures, and veto any that were too heavy to carry back home. "Nothing that is too big to fit in your pocket," he would tell us. (We flew in small private airplanes when we went on these little mini-vacations.) I miss my dad. 

I wanted to show the fissure and the water, the strength and the clarity. I wanted to express brokenness and cleansing and beauty. 

Exodus 28:15-21 (New American Standard Bible) “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skillful workman... You shall mount on it four rows of stones; ... and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst..."

Matthew 6:21(Amplified Bible) "for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.