Family Portrait III — Art and the Creator
Once, when we lived in Urbana, Dot mentioned to me why the area above their fireplace was decorated with objects from nature. She said that they wanted their home decor to honor the Creator. Tom made this display of bits and pieces from God’s creation. I think it is a beautiful tribute to the handiwork of God. It has been there now more than twenty years.
God creates beauty, and one of the ways I can see that Tom and Dot are created in His image is through the beauty they create and display. They replaced their little kitchen window with the largest one they could find in its style so that they could see the backyard. Dot’s nature photography is displayed nearby. Upstairs is this fine horse painting by Tom.
In his basement office is a portrait Tom painted of his father which Tom once gave to his father as a birthday present. In the den are two self-portraits Tom painted for an art class he took at a community college after he retired from teaching architecture. One is only a copy because the community college purchased the original.
This love of creating very good art is a family trait. Also on display in their home are paintings by Tom’s mother and intricate pen drawings by Tom and Dot’s daughter.
In the guest room where we stayed was a wonderful pencil drawing by Tom’s nephew — who is, by the way, Dr. Looney’s son, the Dr. Looney I told you about a few weeks ago. I knew that the psychiatrist we heard speak at our church when we were newlyweds was somehow connected to Tom and Dot whom we met ten years later. While we were there, we were reminded that Dr. Looney married Tom’s sister. “Small world” is an overused phrase, but it certainly feels true sometimes, doesn’t it?
Lying casually on a table in Tom and Dot’s home was a Mother’s Day letter, beautifully illustrated and handwritten to Dot by one of their homeschooled granddaughters.We were blessed to see multi-generational talents and multiple generations using those talents to the glory of God.
For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes,
His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen,
being understood through what has been made . . . .
Romans 1:20