From Hannah - April, 2008

I’m off on a retreat this week-end with a small group of women who are friends and artists. We’ve decided to call ourselves ‘Women at the Well’ and are exploring a commitment to meet twice a year for an extended time of art making.

When we gathered in the fall, we created ‘altered books’ by literally re-making a used book into a personal story. It was a powerful experience as I worked with a children’s book, giving voice to a lament in my soul for an end to the Iraq War. At the time of the retreat, I was just a few months away of welcoming my son, David, back from a 15 month deployment in Baghdad. The opportunity to create art in community was a powerful one. Not only did I uncover the wail of a lament, but I was able to share it with my sisters in Christ who surrounded me with comfort and prayer.

It lifted the burden of waiting for David to return home safely. I knew I was not alone.

When I was finally able to wrap my arms around him in November, the sweetness of the moment was as dear to me as the day I gave birth to him twenty-five years ago. Other family members celebrated with us in January as David married Lisa, a patient and persevering woman whose own lament was as alive as mine during his absence.

I still turn to the altered book of lament from time to time and honor the voice that it uncovered for me as an artist in community. The lament is no longer personal; it is communal. I join with others whose children, spouses, grandchildren, fathers and mothers have died in a troubling conflict that we continue to engage at staggering expense.

I wonder what will emerge this week-end as I gather with the women at the well? We are planning to make trip-tychs this time. What three-fold images will emerge from my soul and inform me for the next step of the journey with a risen Lord? How will being in community shape me into a more faithful and alive woman? In what ways will the art connect beyond myself to intersect the lives, voices, life experiences of others?

This month, take time for your own artmaking. Consider inviting a friend or a group to join with you. Bring oodles of materials and set aside a few hours. Pray and create!

With blessings for your journey,

The Rev. Canon Hannah P. Anderson
Artist & President
The Blessing Cup