 Resources for Churches, Organizations, Laity and Clergy of the Diocese of California
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Thoughts While Looking at the “SF Love Apple” |
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Written by PCN Print Edition Writers
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Monday, 06 December 2004 |
"The heart is between the church and a maze," commented Daisy, country
music singer and daughter of artists Carl and Marie Dern. "How
appropriate."
The Derns' shimmering green "SF Love Apple" is installed at Grace
Cathedral in the plaza next to the labyrinth. As a member of St. Mary
the Virgin Episcopal church, and a friend of Carl and Marie's, I find
this particular heart installation, to benefit SF General Hospital, a
wonderful expression of the connection between love, nature, and
spiritual practice in San Francisco.
Marie and Carl came to San Francisco in 1960 just married and looking
for new beginnings. Raised as Mormons, they studied with an
Episcopalian priest for a time, but found their spiritual home in
Buddhism. Practicing for over 20 years, the Derns study and meditate
weekly with a Zen Community near their Fairfax studio. They spend their
weekends in Stinson Beach tending to hundreds of roses, walking their
aging dog "Billy" in the sand, making cookies for grandchildren and
friends, playing the piano, and embracing the fog as it decides to stay
the day or eventually make room for the sun. This routine of study,
meditation, and intimacy with nature shapes their life together and in
turn their art.
Rollo May states that being and creating go together: both take a large
heart. The artist strives to find inspiration from the divine within
his or her own heart. They then create something that brings the divine
out to the community. Art becomes a conversation between lovers:
between artist and the internal, between the artist and the divine. In
the words of Black Elk, a Native American mystic: "The true artist
draws out all from his or her heart. The good painter is wise, God is
in his heart. He puts divinity into things: he converses with his own
heart."
The act of creation flows from the divine, through the human heart, to
the world. We all have the potential to create art and beauty, whether
through our work, children, or relationships. The key is to structure a
life that allows us to find that divine inspiration. As artists, we
need to establish a routine that allows for work, study, meditation,
and intimacy with the natural world.
Many times, the "maze" or chaos of life overwhelms us. We cannot see
where our path leads us. We cannot find our way. We are lost. We become
like Dante who opened his Divine Comedy with:
"Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
che' la diritta via era smarrita." ("Midway in the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost.")
At these moments, we need to find our places of the heart, quiet
ourselves to find our divine inspiration, our guiding light. We are all
made in the image of the divine, and have the gift of creativity. Like
the Derns' apple, we can be inspired to create glimmering fruit from
our labors that can be shared with the community. But first, we need to
find the divine inspiration within our own hearts.
I invite you to go sit by the "SF Love Apple," between the maze and the
church. Gaze out at our City. Gaze into your own heart. Find your
divine creative light and realize the art it can bring forth.
We can all find our way to be a heart between the maze and the Church in the City.
—Martha Jennings, the Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Unplugged Service, San Francisco.
With special thanks to Carl and Marie Dern: www.dernstudios.com, and www.junglegardenpress.com.
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