Today we gather to celebrate Cliff's amazing life.
Smiley...What do you call angels without wings? Friends.
The story continues.....
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After sculpting the sad, emotional “Seven weeks” sculpture of Candace’s demise, I had the opportunity to show it at a few art shows. This made Candace’s experience seem so final, her life coming to a sad dead end, which for me and my family was not the case at all! We all knew there was more, much more to her life.
So, I sculpted, “Project Angel” a piece that looked like “feathered hands.” Project Angel was the name the police had given our case in their murder cases filing system.
The sculpture has hands that have become wings, wrists becoming free of bondage, the rope falling away, as she ascends like a bird, ushered by angels to her eternal reward! Freedom without pain and filled with joy! Even more joy than she would have experienced with her best friend on that weekend
She had the comfort of a faith that turns evil into good! It gave her the assurance that saying “no” to and angry evil man would bring about a legacy as if she’d lived a fruitful human life to the end! She defied death knowing that her story and memory would continue to live on!
It was a sculpture of a successful escape from death, torture and pain! She had a secret; she was still alive! She had escaped the clutches of suffering to a life where all tears are wiped away!
It was a great thought and inspired me, but my first attempt at this particular sculpture failed!
Due to an errant air pocket, one hand exploded when in was fired in the kiln! I seriously considered keeping that one, trying to fix it but decided against it.
My second attempt was a larger sculpture of Candace’s hands turning into wings! The ropes of torture are falling away as she begins her journey upwards to freedom, joy and everlasting life.
Today, 38 years later we can celebrate the good that has come of this tragedy!
There are several legacies a pool in her name at Camp Arnes, helping found Child Find Manitoba (now The Canadian Centre for Child Protection), the formation of the charitable Candace Derksen Fund and, most recently, the creation of Candace House a place for victims and their families to gather and rest during trials, located a short distance from the courthouse in Winnipeg.
Families that stay at Candace House come away much less angry and distraught as a result of the atmosphere this house provides suffering families.
I could go on and on about the tremendous emotional and loving support of the Winnipeg Community! My wife and I often meet well wishers as we move about in Winnipeg. We love Winnipeg!
Love in the end – sets us free to fly with angel wings.
Smiley...What do you call angels without wings? Friends.
The story continues.....
****************************
After sculpting the sad, emotional “Seven weeks” sculpture of Candace’s demise, I had the opportunity to show it at a few art shows. This made Candace’s experience seem so final, her life coming to a sad dead end, which for me and my family was not the case at all! We all knew there was more, much more to her life.
So, I sculpted, “Project Angel” a piece that looked like “feathered hands.” Project Angel was the name the police had given our case in their murder cases filing system.
The sculpture has hands that have become wings, wrists becoming free of bondage, the rope falling away, as she ascends like a bird, ushered by angels to her eternal reward! Freedom without pain and filled with joy! Even more joy than she would have experienced with her best friend on that weekend
She had the comfort of a faith that turns evil into good! It gave her the assurance that saying “no” to and angry evil man would bring about a legacy as if she’d lived a fruitful human life to the end! She defied death knowing that her story and memory would continue to live on!
It was a sculpture of a successful escape from death, torture and pain! She had a secret; she was still alive! She had escaped the clutches of suffering to a life where all tears are wiped away!
It was a great thought and inspired me, but my first attempt at this particular sculpture failed!
Due to an errant air pocket, one hand exploded when in was fired in the kiln! I seriously considered keeping that one, trying to fix it but decided against it.
My second attempt was a larger sculpture of Candace’s hands turning into wings! The ropes of torture are falling away as she begins her journey upwards to freedom, joy and everlasting life.
Today, 38 years later we can celebrate the good that has come of this tragedy!
There are several legacies a pool in her name at Camp Arnes, helping found Child Find Manitoba (now The Canadian Centre for Child Protection), the formation of the charitable Candace Derksen Fund and, most recently, the creation of Candace House a place for victims and their families to gather and rest during trials, located a short distance from the courthouse in Winnipeg.
Families that stay at Candace House come away much less angry and distraught as a result of the atmosphere this house provides suffering families.
I could go on and on about the tremendous emotional and loving support of the Winnipeg Community! My wife and I often meet well wishers as we move about in Winnipeg. We love Winnipeg!
Love in the end – sets us free to fly with angel wings.
Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply.
You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause.
When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken.
But that should not hold you back from loving deeply.
The pain that comes from deep love
makes your love even more fruitful.
It is like a plow that breaks the ground
to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant.
Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice.
You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.
- Henri Nouwen
You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause.
When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken.
But that should not hold you back from loving deeply.
The pain that comes from deep love
makes your love even more fruitful.
It is like a plow that breaks the ground
to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant.
Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice.
You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.
- Henri Nouwen
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