There is a "before" Cliff - and now an "after." In both - Cliff is still a voice - an influence.
Smiley….
A local cartoonist studio had burnt down. Police say the details are sketchy.
The story continues…..
********************
When I was sculpting the “Throne of Swords” I was planning to put King Saul into the seat of that throne as the embodiment of evil!
Rather than describe evil with words, for me it becomes more real and relatable if I create an image.
Saul was technically Israel’s first king - anointed by Samuel - he is described as being tall, dark and handsome.
Fairly early on in his reign, it appears as if Saul was not mentally stable and had periods of deep manic depression which is why they brought in a young man named David into the Kings’ court to play soothing harp music that temporarily restored the Saul’s sanity.
One of the most famous events in Saul’s life was the stand-off with the Philistines in the Valley of Elah where the giant Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days until a David defeated him with his sling shot.
This was a win for Israel but a threat to Saul. After that, David was seen as a strong military leader in his own right becoming a hero with his own hit song. “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This sent Saul into an uncontrollable, murderous rage trying to kill David at every opportunity.
The final years of King Saul’s life brought a general decline in his service to the nation and in his personal fortunes.
Among the many mistakes King Saul made the most heinous was his command that all the Priests of Israel should be slain thinking they were helping David hide from him. The Priest’s were held in high regard as representing God in Israel. No one would ever consider hurting a Priest! Yet, here a King of the land was commanding that every priest of the day and their families be murdered! It was unthinkable!
Rather than consolidating and growing his country, King Saul spent most of his time, energy, and expense trying to kill David, and because of this the Philistines sensed an opening for a major victory over Israel.
He destroyed his own country.
Everything he did was motivated by evil.
So, to emphasize the evil aspect of him, I planned to put a wolf head on him!
Then, to my surprise, I discovered that the alpha wolf is considered a great model of leadership and is used by respectable organizations as an example in “leadership education” as a model of great team-building leadership!
So what kind of head should I put on this supposedly evil figure on the throne? Suddenly, I had an idea, check into Werewolves! Sure enough, turns out, at least in my books, that they are the embodiment of evil!
Mythical, werewolves are normal people by day, but at midnight turn into evil beings, out of control, rampaging, attacking unsuspecting humans, usually killing them as they suck their blood, till morning light, when they change back into humans to live normally, unaware of what they had done during the night!
Ok, that was evil enough for me! That was it then, I would make him a werewolf
But then, in my excitement, despite careful measurements, I’d omitted consideration for his clothing around this bad King’s hips! After he was bisque fired in the kiln, I took him over to the thrones and guess what, he would not fit! I had not compensated for the clothing I created over his hips! He was now too wide!
He was now a “stand-alone sculpture,” depicting murderous evil! I gave him a box to sit on.
Even if he didn't fit, I was still glad I had made this sculpture. There are two types of evil, the positional represented by the throne of swords and relational, represented by the werewolf.
Why make images of evil? Why spend the time? To remind every one, and myself, that evil exists! We need to be aware of its existence to know how it can influence us, inhabit us and control us, like Saul, so that we can stop it and deal with it.
It's easy for me to see the jealous murderous Saul as the epic evil - and forget he wasn't that when he was chosen to be King. It came first as an irritation, a negativity towards something as innocent as David playing a harp. Remember the story, he threw his spear at David for playing therapeutic music. From that his anger grew till it killed everything.
The secret is to recognize evil when it still is just a resentment, a complaint, a negative thought - before one become a raging, drunk-with-anger trucker.
Smiley….
A local cartoonist studio had burnt down. Police say the details are sketchy.
The story continues…..
********************
When I was sculpting the “Throne of Swords” I was planning to put King Saul into the seat of that throne as the embodiment of evil!
Rather than describe evil with words, for me it becomes more real and relatable if I create an image.
Saul was technically Israel’s first king - anointed by Samuel - he is described as being tall, dark and handsome.
Fairly early on in his reign, it appears as if Saul was not mentally stable and had periods of deep manic depression which is why they brought in a young man named David into the Kings’ court to play soothing harp music that temporarily restored the Saul’s sanity.
One of the most famous events in Saul’s life was the stand-off with the Philistines in the Valley of Elah where the giant Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days until a David defeated him with his sling shot.
This was a win for Israel but a threat to Saul. After that, David was seen as a strong military leader in his own right becoming a hero with his own hit song. “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This sent Saul into an uncontrollable, murderous rage trying to kill David at every opportunity.
The final years of King Saul’s life brought a general decline in his service to the nation and in his personal fortunes.
Among the many mistakes King Saul made the most heinous was his command that all the Priests of Israel should be slain thinking they were helping David hide from him. The Priest’s were held in high regard as representing God in Israel. No one would ever consider hurting a Priest! Yet, here a King of the land was commanding that every priest of the day and their families be murdered! It was unthinkable!
Rather than consolidating and growing his country, King Saul spent most of his time, energy, and expense trying to kill David, and because of this the Philistines sensed an opening for a major victory over Israel.
He destroyed his own country.
Everything he did was motivated by evil.
So, to emphasize the evil aspect of him, I planned to put a wolf head on him!
Then, to my surprise, I discovered that the alpha wolf is considered a great model of leadership and is used by respectable organizations as an example in “leadership education” as a model of great team-building leadership!
So what kind of head should I put on this supposedly evil figure on the throne? Suddenly, I had an idea, check into Werewolves! Sure enough, turns out, at least in my books, that they are the embodiment of evil!
Mythical, werewolves are normal people by day, but at midnight turn into evil beings, out of control, rampaging, attacking unsuspecting humans, usually killing them as they suck their blood, till morning light, when they change back into humans to live normally, unaware of what they had done during the night!
Ok, that was evil enough for me! That was it then, I would make him a werewolf
But then, in my excitement, despite careful measurements, I’d omitted consideration for his clothing around this bad King’s hips! After he was bisque fired in the kiln, I took him over to the thrones and guess what, he would not fit! I had not compensated for the clothing I created over his hips! He was now too wide!
He was now a “stand-alone sculpture,” depicting murderous evil! I gave him a box to sit on.
Even if he didn't fit, I was still glad I had made this sculpture. There are two types of evil, the positional represented by the throne of swords and relational, represented by the werewolf.
Why make images of evil? Why spend the time? To remind every one, and myself, that evil exists! We need to be aware of its existence to know how it can influence us, inhabit us and control us, like Saul, so that we can stop it and deal with it.
It's easy for me to see the jealous murderous Saul as the epic evil - and forget he wasn't that when he was chosen to be King. It came first as an irritation, a negativity towards something as innocent as David playing a harp. Remember the story, he threw his spear at David for playing therapeutic music. From that his anger grew till it killed everything.
The secret is to recognize evil when it still is just a resentment, a complaint, a negative thought - before one become a raging, drunk-with-anger trucker.
Of one thing, I am sure.
Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive.
Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity and receiving the satisfaction I so much desire,
the result is always the opposite of what I tried to get.
A complainer is hard to live with,
and very few people know how to respond to the complaints
made by a self-rejecting person.
The tragedy is that, often, the complaint,
once expressed, leads to that which is most feared:
further rejection. . . .
Joy and resentment cannot coexist.
– Henri Nouwen
Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive.
Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity and receiving the satisfaction I so much desire,
the result is always the opposite of what I tried to get.
A complainer is hard to live with,
and very few people know how to respond to the complaints
made by a self-rejecting person.
The tragedy is that, often, the complaint,
once expressed, leads to that which is most feared:
further rejection. . . .
Joy and resentment cannot coexist.
– Henri Nouwen
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