God Among Us

A Commission of Emanuel’s Lutheran Church, Seguin, TX

Photo by: https://www.bilsullivanphotography.com

In the beginning:

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When asked me to write an artist statement for the sculpture, I said yes without blinking an eye.  My understanding was, I would go through the genesis of the sculpture in explaining the experience of my journey while carving the flesh of the wood.  

The reality we foresee this day is difficult to explain because the work is based on a strong feeling of faith.  From the conception to the finished artwork, I tried to capture a moment in its eternity.  The  artist in me created something that she does not fully comprehend.  The sculpture is the fruit of the changing seasons of my roots from soils of many cultures.  It is also a strong belief in the divine rather than a proof in itself.  I am just an instrument in His hands.  This being said, I consider it is more important for the artwork to speak for itself without intervention or explanation. 

Ideally, a two-way avenue of communication flows between the Creator and the viewer allowing his mind to wander in prayer.  The visible is something different for everyone.  While my explanation can be useful to the viewer for exploration and consideration, it can also limit or constrict the possible responses.   

Progress:

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Completion:

God Among Us

Photo courtesy of Matt Chase Photography

Unveiling at Emanuel’s Lutheran Church, Seguin, TX.:

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The Story of Marika and a Small Texas Town

The Holidays: Central Park, Seguin, TX

The Story of Marika and a Small Texas Town

A woman from Haiti by taking mallet and chisel to wood, and a small town are writing a Texas story.  Five years ago, Marika arrives in Seguin with her tools, wood, and sculptures.  Something beautiful happens.

Folks meet her and soon thereafter she is speaking before civic organizations and church groups;

The Seguin Main Street Program appoints her to the Advisory Board;

Texas Lutheran University hosts a solo exhibition;

For the new maternity wing, The Guadalupe Regional Medical Center commissions a sculpture;

The Seguin Oakwood Art League sponsors the Haiti Benefit Art Auction “in honor of sculptor, friend, and member Marika Bordes;”  and

The Seguin Heritage Museum schedules a three-month exhibition for Marika and her students for Fall 2010.

Her love for sculpting and the desire to share this life-changing passion places her before diverse audiences:  Rotary International, The Shakespeare Study Club,  Zonta International, Wesley-Harper Vacation Bible School and other venues.  The topics vary.  Always, the theme is the importance to both the individual and the community of hard work, discipline and the creativity within us.

Shortly after joining the Main Street Advisory Board, Marika accepts the mandate to develop a plan for promoting and supporting the arts in Seguin.  Though her efforts and others, the City of Seguin now has an Arts Commission.

Marika’s passion for sculpture and giving to others shines through when she teaches sculpting.  The artist wants the story to continue.  A story that begins with the carvers of Africa, then to the carvers of Haiti, and now to the carvers of Seguin.  In a small Texas town, from the rising of the sun, until the rising of the moon, mallet and chisel ring out against the intrinsic beauty of wood.

Photo: www.BilSullivanPhotography.com