Psalm 8 - "You Are" My LORD - THE ARTWORK OF S. JEWELL S. MCGHEE

Psalm 8 - "You Are" My LORD

11/21/2014

“You Are” my Lord
Psalm 8 By S. Jewell S. McGhee

  Your name is one of the greatest gift that you have ever given to us.   “I will be what I will be,” “I am,” “You are”, and you are my Lord.

Exodus 33:19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Exodus 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”… 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

       Your strength is enough, all by itself, so that you can choose any vessel, any person, no matter how weak or vulnerable, in which to establish your stronghold against your enemies.

       When I think of what you could do, what you have done, your power and your awesome works, I am humbled and awe-struck that you choose to use me-- so insignificant!--that you have chosen me and your choosing makes me significant.

       You have given me so much good work to do , so much to enjoy. You begin every day with the sunshine and end every day with twinkling starlight.

     “You are,” You are my Lord and I stand with joy and awe in the midst of what you have done.

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About the Artist
S. Jewell S. McGhee likes to call her art “painting with pencils.” She first started using colored pencils to help her mother write names on lunch bags for school. “My mom would pick matching themes for the names on our bags; all balloons, or sunrises, or sometimes just geometric shapes. She always made them so beautiful; a plain brown bag lunch was, all at once, a love note, a story, a hug, and simple colors to enlighten us for the rest of the day.” These bags also became a constant reminder that art was simple, attainable, and a necessary part of every day.

“I always start with a story.” Every time you hear a story you have a physical (tears, a chuckle, or a smile) or mental (confusion, contentment) reaction which is unable to be explained in words alone. “I like to use abstract art as a medium to dive deeply into the complicated mess of a story and discover something more about it and about myself.” She follows the flow of a story and finds the shapes and colors that express its fundamental emotions and questions.

Jewell uses her art to interpret the stories of Shakespeare, the newspaper, the Bible, and her own life. “As I grapple with Hamlet, I see lines-sharp and violent-cutting through relationships and into love. There is red: obviously for blood, but also for love (a riddle itself). A golden crown, a golden son; a golden sun breaking through ghosts, clouds, and lives to reveal blackness and blood.” How black is the blackness of hate? What texture is grace? What shape is confusion, or desperation, or promise? These are the questions these pieces ask.