One of Those Weeks

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19607_10150561253524956_1804358799561093639_nHave you ever had one of those weeks? You might know what I am talking about here. There are weeks when a lot of things decide to happen together. Last week was one of those weeks for me when so many great things happened together that I am still trying to recount them all. I am so thankful for each one of this blessings. Among all those blessings, I had the opportunity to teach three nights, three different subjects: basic computer skills, painting, and sculpting. Of course, on each one many other teaching opportunities came along.  My wife says that no matter what I am doing I find the chance to teach something. I can’t stop myself from teaching something, because I learn through teaching.

11073071_10150564957424956_9088131320696504778_nBeing an educator is a challenge but it is also an amazing blessing. It doesn’t matter what the subject is. In ancient Greece the concept of subjects was technically the concept of branches of practice but it came from the three of knowledge and had to be connected to its trunk and rooted in practical life. Subjects were not isolated concepts. Specializations, so to speak, had a purpose in service. Switching subjects was a continuum. Math and music could be having a discussion together, and philosophy could assist the conversation inviting science to share its point of view while a poet put to rhythmic speech the historical account of the piece of art being created with the brush or under the chisel.

I see knowledge as one unlimited supply of interconnected events, points of views, interpretations, results from experience and experimentation, explanations of our surroundings, assumptions of what we don’t know based on the things we do know, and abstract descriptions of an idea. As I explained to one of the participants: “Everything we see, hear, and say is an abstraction of an idea”. Letters are the abstraction of the idea of a sound that we translate into a symbol, but that sound itself is an abstraction of the idea of that particular sound. Objects are abstractions of ideas producing symbols we get attached to. The object perish, and the symbol changes its value based on time and context, but the idea remains. Sadly, humans attach themselves to so many perishable abstractions instead of taking hold of the idea. Even more so, we often forget to rely on the source of life who put the idea into visual and palpable realization with just speaking.

11150225_10150566159194956_8952423942549070099_nOn that thought, I begin my week still in awe and spiritually refreshed after witnessing how 43 individuals made a profession of faith last night through baptism at City Church. It is such a fulfilling experience to hear each story towards transformation. It is also great to share this experience in community with a bunch of strangers that become family in Christ. This week we just began can be one of those weeks too if only we focus on being thankful, on keeping the faith with patience to see the fulfillment of the promise of God.

April is almost coming to an end but there are still things to do and classes to teach. I continue the computer class at The Literacy Center of Milford, and if you are missing on all the fun of the painting and sculpting parties, we are going to be sculpting at The Grove in New Haven, Friday, April 24. The events for the month of May are listed also so you can RSVP with time. You can also request private sculpting and painting parties, as well as art lessons.

Teaser Trailer

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Reviewing the book makes me feel like I’m working on making a movie. Years before the movie comes out in theaters they give us hints of what the movie is going to look like. Today I want to share with you something like a teaser trailer of the book. Seems like this concept emerged during several conversations in the past few days and I would like to make you part of the conversation as well. You are more than welcome to leave your comments as always. Like in a teaser trailer, I can’t give away too many details or the context in which the scene develops in order to create interest and expectation.

In the garden that bond between God and man, and between man and nature grew. The woman came along and made the bond stronger, adding not only a companion, the perfect help, and a lover, but also camaraderie. Man and woman shared the human experience. They walked with God in the garden. They talked to Him. They worked together to rule the earth and manifest the authority given by God. Paradise was not just a place. It was a place where people enjoyed the perfect relationships with God, nature, and among themselves.

Things changed drastically when man and woman fell for the oldest lie of all: “You can be like God”. Hiding and covering with leaves of shame, making believe they are covering their nakedness, both man and woman face a new reality. Their nakedness remained. Being naked was not an issue before. Why is it an issue after the fall? Why being scared of that voice they knew so well? That voice comes from the One who walked with you in the garden. In the confrontation all bonds were broken. Humans decided to focus on their own selfish desires rather than preserving the relationship they had with God, which gave them also the opportunity to maintain the perfect relationship between them, and with nature.

I hope you enjoy this teaser. I’m looking forward to your comments. I honestly can’t wait to complete all the details for this book and to present the art collection with it. I am having fun already.

The Creation

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Please, allow me to share with you a portion of the book I’m writing. Technically I finished writing it. It is now going through the first revision. I waited a week from the time I finished writing it to the first revision. That helps me to see it like it was the first time. I don’t consider myself a writer but I am truly having fun with this. I wanted to share this with you:

We all know the story. In the beginning God created heaven and earth, then the creation story continued. God spoke the word and it was created. That is the real deal when it comes to voice recognition, voice-activated systems in action. Creating man was different. God spoke to himself and formed man from the dust of the earth creating a bond between man and nature, and moreover, a bond between God and man as he breathed the breath of life. Man was not only formed in God’s image but also received the essence of God inside. Why is that so fascinating to me? Sculpting!

Sculpting the figure allows me to feel like I’m sharing the moment of creation with God. I’m creating a bond between the figure and the material I am using and providing life, in some sense, to something that had no life. I am sure that a lump of clay on the table is not going to form itself. I form the figure. I decide the shape and thickness of the muscles, the proportions, and each curve means something. It all makes sense. The process of sculpting is physical and it is spiritual. Each sculpture shares my DNA and the RNA of the material, but it also shares part of my essence.

It is going to take almost a year to complete the sculptures that are included in the book. I honestly can’t wait to see it all together with the pictures and be able to read it surrounded by the sculptures. I hope you enjoy this sample.

Merry Christmas!

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Today we wake up early. Well, the little one (not so little anymore) wakes up early and makes sure we wake up too. We love watching the kids unwrapping their gifts. Although we like when family stays over, it is great when we can share this time together just the four of us.

The rest of the day we just sit back and relax. My wife might deliver cookies or brownies to some friends. I just like to stay home. There is something special for me about spending this day home relaxing and meditating in the miracle of grace. God made himself man. The promise of God with us through Jesus Christ. That’s all I need.

I hope you have a great day full of blessings. Merry Christmas!

Studying the Figure

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Figure Study Collage

Figure Study Collage

My interest for studying the human figure began back in high school. I saw the work of Boris Vallejo and it caused a great impression on me. Even before I decided to pursue a BA in Fine Arts I began drawing the figure. My style and use of the line began developing as my interest for understanding the intricacies of the human body.

Working with live models in college opened a new vision of the nude figure. As year passed I continue the process of understanding the connection between how we see the human body and our spiritual nature. The first clay nude sculpture ever created was made by God in the garden of Eden when He created the first man. Being able to sculpt the human figure is for me like partaking in the experience of creation with God.

Interestingly, it was the fall of men that changed our vision of the body and so it began:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Studying the figure also gives the opportunity to study human behavior. The way we look at the naked body is an indication of a spiritual condition deeper than skin. Each perspective is possibly an indication of a distorted truth, a life changing experience, scars and issues of the past. I don’t pretend to justify my art and how I represent the body in my work. Nevertheless, I hope that your encounter with my work helps you consider your own condition. “Where are you?”