Art

Art is meant to reflect our attempt to capture the divine. Often I have found that art, good art, that is, springs from confusion, questioning, and the artist's attempt to answer the basic Gospel questions of who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. 'Search for truth' infuses the artist's work with passion and feeling. Of course, the obvious problem for a man of faith is this: I know the answers to these questions, my 'search for truth' is minute within the light of the Gospel and the source of answers is developed through my relationship with my Heavenly Father, not my work. SO, back the the thesis statement - the way for a man of faith who is at peace with his surroundings to still find that passion and feeling in his work is a burning desire to not only appreciate the works of God but to reach out in earnest effort to imitate them. To recreate the heavens and the mysteries of the earth. We may know the answers to the 3 big questions but we don't know what they look like, sound like, FEEL like! I want my art to explore those worlds that are just beyond our reach knowing that I can never truly recreate their beauties, but, if for only a moment, I can touch them then I have accomplished what art is truly supposed to do - elevate us beyond the mortal.

Bird's Nest Soup

Aunt Dee gave us a copy of the Planet Earth series (BBC version for aficionados) and we just watched the cave episode. Yikes! Above and beyond all the gooey, creepy, crawly stuff was the description of cave swift. More particularly, the cave swift's nest and 'the measure of it's creation.' First of all, the nest is made from saliva. Yeah, bird spit. THEN people harvest it for a Chinese delicacy called bird's nest soup. Truer to its name than I had ever imagined. And, yes, we did eat this while we lived in Singapore...and I loved it! Don't vomit on your keyboard here but I have a sick desire to taste this once again now that I know what it's made of. That's right - bring on the bird's spit and bless the crazy Chinaman who thought "I bet I could boil that bird's house and eat it."