Reflections on Finishing a Sculpture

How does it feel to be done? I won't really feel done until the installation is complete. But at this point I feel a little like a parent whose son or daughter is driving across the country to college–a little nervous about the drive, sad to see her leave, and excited about her future. Like raising children, we parents have a profound impact on shaping their character, but when they become adults we must release them to fulfill their calling. So it is with our art: we mold and shape the clay, imbuing it with meaning, and then must release it to the world to fulfill it's purpose.

My prayer is that this sculpture will lead people to contemplate the mysteries of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection symbolized in this sculpture.  Gregory Wolfe said it so well in "Beauty Will Save the World": "...culture and art can become analogues for the Incarnation. In particular, art is like a sacrament. A union of form and content, the inherence of divine meaning in the crafted materials of this earth." I'm humbled to be able to participate in the creation of something that becomes a vehicle for God's grace.

The "Holy Family" was crated on Monday, November 5, and picked up at the foundry in Burbank, California to make the long journey to Paducah, Kentucky, where it will be installed in a prayer garden at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on November 16.