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David Orth

Chapel Furnishings for Seabury Western Theological Seminary
Bronze, Hand Wrought & Patinated

After decades of craft work, I find myself pondering the inner, spiritual aspect of working with wood and metal.  I now read the opening salvo of Genesis much differently than I used to.  I am struck that in these old lines of dense text God does not seem to be correcting the darkness and formlessness as much as considering them carefully—coaxing and arousing something in them: "The Spirit of God hovers over the waters."  Also, "Let there be light" sounds less & less to me like omnipotence on display as we classically understand it, and more like a wish or a great longing—full of God’s own patience and amazement.  In these three chapel items I hoped to express something of this more organic inner strength—and the quiet, patient amazement that I associate with the Creator and the ongoing process of Creation.

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