I was raised Roman Catholic in an ethnic Polish family in Detroit, Michigan and went to Parochial School in the first and second grades, including daily mass. In my later teen years, I rebelled, and as an adult drifted away from the church. Now, as a senior citizen, I'm finding a new perspective on it all.
For one thing, in this highly political and changing world, I recognized in the last several years that my values most closely aligned with Catholicism, which is no surprise since I was so heavily influenced by it as a child. Yet I still remain a more casual Christian. In this, I think I am a very average baby boomer and have much in common with modern Christians. Most of all, I find great comfort and solace in my faith now. I am stunned at the prejudice I see against Christians and appalled at how little the world has been doing to protect Christians. Not only does my Cross Series help me respond to the atrocities going on around the world, I feel it honors my mother and father and the way of life in which they raised me. I have created secular art in many media, also. Please take a moment to browse through my other web site at www.artistpeggynbrewer.com Comments from others...A lifetime of pursuing art and refining technique, with practice
and wisdom a contributing factor. You just keep getting better and displaying incredible talent. Keep up the good work Peggy. You are fortunate to have talent and a mission in life, something which many people are not fortunate to have. It keeps one going. |
When we experience trauma, especially perverse acts of what we think of as evil, we are dragged down emotionally and spiritually to a dark and fearful place. Artists may not have any better intellectual grasp of why people do evil, but in their grappling with dark forces, they may speak to us through archetypal images, through color or marks that resonate. You have chosen the cross as your archetype. You, Peggy, don't present a message or a statement, but by using strokes and marks to represent chaos and dark forces and combining the lighted cross you present to the viewer an opportunity. We may choose to view the cross as sign of hope, as a validation of our own belief and faith, of an opportunity to choose the sacred over the profane.
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