Artist Statement: Boats have long been a powerful archetype for me. Braving the sea signifies a spiritual or emotional rebirth. Boats are symbolic of overcoming long and dangerous journeys.
Becoming an artist, accepting myself as an artist has been a long journey. Retiring from ministry to fully enter my creative life has been a rebirth as well as a long journey. I could not make that transition without believing that art is also ministry. I have to know that God is in that boat with me, that it is God who guides my journey.
As artists I think we always fear that our work is never good enough, that the world of art is so large and so few can support themselves by their art alone. To count that fear of being overwhelmed I think of the opening to an old Breton fisherman’s prayer: “O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.”
In the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples are constantly getting in and out of boats, and they face many fears as they journey with him. Enya sings a song called Exile with the chorus:
I’ll wait the signs to come
I’ll find a way
I’ll wait the time to come
I’ll find a way home
And the final line is “Out of these dreams - a boat, I will sail home to you.”
My life as an artist is a part of my journey home to God.
Bio: Sally Brower is a retired Episcopal priest, poet, and passionate pilgrim whose work explores the intersection of art and faith, creativity and spirituality. A married mother of two, grandmother of eight, she lives in Mooresville, NC.
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