Earth Tones

Somehow, these sand-covered anemones seemed to go with this quote I found tucked into my notebook. The words are from Stephen Cefalo, an artist who combines body with earth. He is discussing a particular piece called "Earth Tones"...

"'Earth Tones' embodies my interest in connecting the nude figure with the earth, its source and primal essence. We are made of earth— and depend on it throughout life to give us food — but spend our lifetime trying to rid it from the surface of our bodies and keep it out of our mouths."

Cefalo's words remind me of the Genesis account, "then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being." (2:7) We are dust— though one might argue that it is not our source and essence, this coming rather from the God who created dust itself, then formed it with creative hands and breathed in spirit life.

Still, I like Cefalo's final observation about our actions. This suggests that we deny our humble origins through an aversion to earth, soil, dust. His artistic attempts to make us remember may help us think more like God, who "knows how we are made; he remembers that we are dust." (Ps 103:14)

This remembrance is the beginning of life. As we place our dusty selves once again into the tender hands of God.