THYME Magazine Special Christmas Edition

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume VIII, Issue XXV

Glimpses into a World Unseen
The Amazing Photography of Alexey Kljatov

© 2013 The Kirchman Studio, All rights reserved. 
Photographs © Alexey Kljatov, Used by permission.

When I first saw the work of Alexey Kljatov, I was amazed. He takes these stunning images with a simple point and shoot camera rigged with an old macro lens and employing skillful manipulation of lighting. Snowflakes landing on his Moscow window reveal their full wonder and individual beauty through his sublime images. Mr. Kljatov graciously allowed THYME to share his amazing work. You can see more of his photography Here [click to view].

Just imagine the swirling dance of these beautiful shapes in a snowstorm!

























Glimpses into a World Unseen
Act II

The electron microscope further reveals amazing patterns.


Vertical section of the human dna.

Evidence of Divine Design, Great and Small
"The Heavens Declare the Glory of G-d;
The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands." -- Psalm 19:1


Moth wing pattern.

I saw this little creature outside my studio one morning. It got me reflecting on the creative wonder, both large and small, that surround us.


M 51 Spiral Galaxy, NASA photo from the Hubble Space Telescope.


Detail of the 'X Structure' in M 51, NASA photo from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The artist is amazed. So much beauty and wonder in the very large cosmos and in the very small things as well! Can a G-d who spins galaxies into being be concerned with things small and personal? Such order and grace in the extreme scales of our world, yet often what we see before us is chaotic and makes no sense.

That is why we present here Lee Strobel's Case for Faith and Case for Christ. If you had stepped into that Bethlehem stable many years ago, you would have not necessarily seen beauty and redemption. The smells of animals and the pain of labor and delivery would have overwhelmed contemplation. Yet Christians around the world will contemplate the wonder of that night; for what happened there ultimately made its mark on human history.

The Case for a Creator [click to view] by Lee Strobel
The Case for Faith [click to view] by Lee Strobel
The Case for Christ [click to view] by Lee Strobel

Creche at the National Cathedral
A Particularly Beautiful Representation of the Nativity


Photo by Kristina Elaine Riley Greer.

C. S. Lewis, Why He Matters Today

"When the Pupil is Ready, The Master Will Appear"


"Imagination is the organ of understanding." -- C. S. Lewis


“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” -- C. S. Lewis

Laney Riley to Head Up Mural Project

New Project for SAW Coalition for the Office on Youth


Staunton muralist Laney Riley discusses restoration of the Crozet Trestle Murals with Crozet artist Meg West. The restoration of the twenty year-old murals was done in May of 2012.

Kristina Elaine Riley (Laney) has worked on a number of large projects, beginning with Underwater Atlantis, a mural she painted at Lee High School. She partnered with me on the Journey to Jesus murals at Staunton Alliance Church and has helped me with a number of projects since, including the restoration of the Crozet Trestle Murals. [1.] She has provided illustrations for Core Knowledge Foundation's UK partner, Civitas Foundation, for What Your Year One Child Needs to Know. [2.]

Here She is Featured [click to read] on the Bridgewater College Website as she begins her latest project, designing and heading up a mural project for the Staunton Augusta Waynesboro Coalition for the Office on Youth. Congratulations Laney!

The Bridgewater College article says: "Sharing her artistic expertise with elementary- and middle-school children from broken homes and difficult situations, Laney is in charge of designing a mural to be displayed in a community classroom.
   
Laney’s role in the project includes creating the design and directing the children in painting the mural, as well as building relationships and serving as a role model for them."
___________________________________________________
 
"Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank." -- Proverbs 22:29

Spring is in the (Plein) Air

Miller School Event Draws Painters to Scenic Campus


Art Lesson.

Once again, Miller School of Albemarle hosted local plein air artists for their annual painting event. My daughter puts it on every year so I'm always invited. It is a great time, beginning with breakfast in Old Main where I enjoyed some art talk with my fellow painters.

Not feeling particularly inspired, I walked toward the lotus pond. All of my past visits had resulted in paintigs of the lotus pond, so it was time to expand my vision. A very round and red plum tree caught my eye.

Ordinarily one wants to avoid "lollipop" trees, but here was my challenge... my mission for the morning, as it were. I set to rendering the little plum and her majestic fellows. But the resulting painting was... er... plain, not particularly plein. It was time for some subtle glazing to try to capture the aerial perspective and lighting of the entire scene.

Then came the realization that much of the richness of the scene came from the play of light, not only in shadow, but within the eye. There was more happening here than the camera could record. I recalled the experience described to me by my assistant this past Summer, of being given a coloring sheet in Kindergarden: "Color the tree trunk brown, the grass green and the leaves green." the teacher said. Her reaction had been to paint the tree trunk green, the leaves orange and the grass brown... all colors that can be observed on those subjects in certain subtle variations. If I remember correctly, the teacher was not amused, and initiated a parent conference over it.

Occasionaly I have had the opportunity to speak to school groups. One of my favorite opening questions is: "What color is grass?" Someone's hand shoots up and before it is recognized, a child will invariably blurt out: "Green!" Then the fun begins: "Do you see any OTHER colors in the grass?" and (if a large window is available) it is amazing to see how many colors the eager little minds actually see. Let's just say I've been surprised and educated by the words of the students.

I laid down a challenge for myself, to paint the glazes with the contrasting color suggested by the casting off of conventions, to achieve the lighting and mood of the actual scene. That is why I gave the top painting the title: "Art Lesson." A light green glaze went on the trunks (there was actual lichen there), orange and brown hues had to be used in the deepening of field and foliage.

As the morning passed into afternoon, I noticed a big oak's golden new foliage overlaying the windows of Old Main, Miller's grandest building. Now my challenge would be to render as simple as possible, a recognizeable portion of Old Main while avoiding "Architectural Rendering." The resulting painting is below.


Old Main.

Thoughts on the Arts and Worship

“In the Beginning G-d Created …”


Photos by Brandon Hylton.


Creating a painting during worship.

by Reverend Sean Peters, reposted from His Blog [click to read]

Genesis 1.1 reminds us that G-d, by very definition, is an artist.

Why then, I wonder, do we continue to have little to no place in the church for the artists among us? Oh, we try to accommodate by “allowing” them to sing or play their guitar every now and again; or perhaps we’re truly progressive and we include a “drama” into our worship service.

More and more churches have begun embracing the arts, and that is comforting, but we have a long way to go.

Artists have been shunned and dismissed by the church for centuries. Idolatry and worldliness are the primary sins artists are accused of committing; and yet I return again to the first chapter of our Bible: G-d is an artist: what do we do with that?

We live and move and have our being in a world saturated by the arts: film, television, theater, music, technology etc. Why does the church refuse to acknowledge that the people who sit in our pews on Sunday morning have been and will continue to be influenced by the arts in every other social circle that they travel in? Why are the arts not a part of what we do on Sunday mornings?

Andy Crouch’s brilliant study on culture Culture Making sounds a wake-up call to the church. Crouch argues that we have spent too much time bantering over which of Niebuhr’s cultural strategies is most useful for the church today. He suggests that we stop trying to figure out how to counter culture, and simply start creating culture. If Crouch is right, and I think he is, then we need to start looking around for the creative types in our midst, put them on our staffs, pay them a livable wage, and leverage their G-d-given artistic impulses to assist in creating the kinds of Spirit-filled, life-transforming Christ-centered worship experiences that will not simply compete with popular culture, but form an alternative culture.

This alternative culture that I imagine is one where the arts are used not as a means of entertainment to compete with pop culture, but to express true and genuine worship to the creator; it is one where performing artists use their gifts to remind us of our brokenness and sin, and then lead us to a place of forgiveness and hope; it is one where musicians are free to experiment and create music that honors the author of song, and where there are no restrictions with regard to the “styles” of music that are utilized or the types of instruments that are “acceptable;” it is one where painters and sculptors craft images that honor and glorify not the artist or the art itself, but honor and glorify the Master Artist and Sculptor of all things; it is one where storytellers can tell the Story of G-d with passion and boldness remembering that the Savior Himself “never taught without using parables …” (Mark 4.34 NLT); it is one where technology is utilized to its fullest potential so that the Message can be taught in the way that people are learning in every other sphere of life, and so that those among us with gifts in the area of technology: digital animation, video, graphic design etc, can feel that they have something to contribute to this alternative culture of Truth and Beauty.

I truly believe that this kind of culture can be created if the church is willing to embrace it. Some churches have been willing, and the fruits are evident.

Artists are looking for a place where they can worship G-d in the way that they are uniquely wired; the world is looking for a place where they can encounter G-d in new and fresh ways; and I believe G-d is looking for a church that is willing to take a step of faith, invest in the artists among them, and create a culture of creativity and beauty.

Are we willing?

Rev. Sean Peters is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Education and Asbury Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree. He is an ordained elder in the Alabama/West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Sean served as a worship leader and Assistant Pastor at The Grapevine UMC in Port Saint Lucie, FL from 1999-2005, as Worship Leader and Youth Director at Saint Paul's UMC in Tallahassee, FL from 2005-2007 and as Pastor of Emerging Ministries at Shalimar UMC, Shalimar FL from 2007-2011. Sean was also an actor and a public school teacher for 10 years prior to sensing G-d's call on his life to pursue full-time ministry. Sean is an avid 80"s fan, loves good coffee, good books and playing golf. He is currently the pastor of The Journey Church in Crestview, Florida.

You Can't Go Home Again, Or Can You?

A Journey Back in Time through Crozet


Monacan Indians and their way of life are depicted on the Crozet Bridge Mural. Can you guess what the woman with the basket is doing?


My son poses with the Monacans.


Here we are inspecting our work in November of 1993. Photo by Tom Loach

This week began with a mad push to deliver an architectural model to Charlottesville. On the way home, my helper and I decided to have lunch at the Crozet Dairy Queen. We lived in Crozet for sixteen years before moving to the Valley and one of the more enjoyable things we did as a community was the Bridge Mural. The Crozet Community Association asked me to come up with a concept. We enlisted the help of students from Western Albemarle High School's art program and set out on a mission.

Crozet is known for the Central Virginia Railroad and that had to be part of the mural, but there was also the Big Survey Settlement [settlers migrated into the area from the Valley through Jarman's Gap, then known as Wood's Gap]. There was also the relatively recent discovery of Monacan settlement along Lickinghole Creek. In the end all three periods were included in the design of the mural.

We funded the paint in a novel manner. Everybody in town paid $5.00 to have their name painted into the painting. For $10.00 you got your whole family mentioned. We did some thinking to avoid it looking like Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, hiding names in the foliage and using them to enrich the background.

Crozet has really grown in the past ten years. We sat in the Dairy Queen for twenty minutes and then walked around under the bridge... I didn't see a soul I recognized. On the way out of town my cell phone rang. It was a Crozet number so I answered eagerly. It was Lady Keller from Field School who had no idea I was actually in town... just needed to ask me a question. I teach an art unit for them every year and this year I think we'll get the boys down to look at the mural.

Evidence of Divine Design, Great and Small

"The Heavens Declare the Glory of G-d;
The Skies Proclaim the Work of His Hands." -- Psalm 19:1


Moth wing pattern.

I saw this little creature outside my studio yesterday morning. It got me reflecting on the creative wonder, both large and small, that surround us.


M 51 Spiral Galaxy, NASA photo from the Hubble Space Telescope.


Detail of the 'X Structure' in M 51, NASA photo from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Natural Inspiration

Creativity is Best Learned in Creation

This morning I was listening to Harvey Yoder on WNLR radio out of Churchville. He was discussing a book by Richard Louvs: "Last Child in the Woods." He repeats the often observed problem of kids who simply have no contact with nature. He goes so far as to say one should choose where to live in order to be close to woods, hiking trails, agriculture.

Diane Gordon writes:

"Richard Louv is convinced that such early nature experiences are essential if we are to produce tomorrow’s creative thinkers and change agents. To help prove his point he asked his teenage son, Matthew, to look up biographies of those he calls “the famously creative.” What a wonderful eclectic list he compiled: Science fiction author and futurist Arthur C. Clarke, whose budding cosmic consciousness was awakened by childhood bicycle rides under starry skies: a two-year-old Jane Goodall, sleeping with earthworms under her pillow; Thomas Edison who, as a very young child was found sitting on a clutch of goose eggs, hoping to hatch goslings; and the young Cesar Chavez, inspired by the land, soil, and waters of Arizona’s Gila River regions. Others who made Matthew’s list were Samuel Clemens, T.S. Elliot, John Muir, and Eleanor Roosevelt. "

But that is not news to me. My youth was spent in the woods for as much time as I could get away with. Even as a young child I was able to wander a lot of wonderful wooded places. Perhaps the abundance of such places close at hand was more of a blessing than I will ever know. I'm trying to imagine young Thomas Edison trying to hatch goose eggs.

At The Edge of the Village [click to read] there is a world that each of us, if we are honest, longs to explore. Supressing that longing may be far more dangerous in the long run than indulging it.

Hard Lessons of Wilderness

The men and women who created this Nation and our way of life were largely close to the land. They had learned many lessons there that are all but forgotten in our time. When one considers the mortality rate of settlers like the Pilgrims and the Jamestown settlers, it is clear that nature had provided them with lessons in the unique resourcefulness that built our society.

"It is nearly impossible for modern man to imagine what it is like to live by hunting. The life of a hunter is hard, seemingly continuous overland travel... A life of frequent concerns that the next interception may not work, that the trap or the drive will fail or that the herds will not appear this season. Above all, the life of a hunter carries with it the threat of deprivation and death by starvation." -- John M. Campbell, The Hungry Summer

One has only to visit a cemetary that's existence spans a few centuries to see that survival and reliance on one's wits were important. One's own skills were not enough to guarantee results and faith in the Divine became far more important. A man's atheism was likely to be cured long before he ever saw a foxhole.

Perhaps our greatest loss in an era that considers itself "secure" is the natural destruction of that false confidence that we truly cannot fail. Such hubris seems evident in the recent financial crisis, our continued dependence on foreign oil and our current plans to spend ourselves out of a recession. History shows that we have faced graver challenges in the past, but men came out of our mountains who knew risk and were willing to endure hardship because they had learned it on the edge.


Sunlight in the forest.