ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Mebane, NC, United States
My wife Emily and I currently live in Mebane, NC with our son Evan. I am actively accepting commissions at this time. You may request work by contacting me at artisservant@gmail.com. I currently charge $200 for 11x14 drawings and $150 for 8x10s. I sell prints of my work for $25 for 11x14 and $15 for 8x10. I hope that you will enjoy the works here displayed, and that you will contact me with your comments at artisservant@gmail.com - January 5th, 2015

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

SURVIVOR OF GENOCIDE, CHAMPION OF FORGIVENESS: IMMACULEE ILIBAGIZA


This drawing is the latest in a series of portraits I am completing of the keynote speakers who will be presenting at the Ignited by Truth Catholic Conference in Raleigh this February. This drawing, I can safely say, is of a beautiful survivor of an abhorrent atrocity. It is also a portrait of a hero of forgiveness.

Immaculee Ilibagiza is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. She and several other women were saved by a Protestant pastor who hid the girls in a small bathroom that they shared for four months. Immaculee's father and mother, friends, and many other family members were all killed. When hidden in the cramped little bathroom, she kept her sanity, her hope, and her faith by praying the Rosary over and over again, meditating on the life of Christ and of his Mother Mary. One day a man came with a group of thugs looking for more members of Immaculee's tribe. This happened often, but somehow the bathroom was always overlooked. The man who came that day explained (in earshot of the hidden women) that he was looking for Immaculee Ilibagiza, and had killed 399 people and his intention was that she should be number 400. Immaculee recognized the voice. It was a young man she had gone to primary school with growing up. Can any of us imagine the evil that she and her fellow survivors witnessed, endured, and still endure?

Immaculee chose in the course of her ordeal, amid thoughts of hatred and anger and vengeance, (naturally given the unspeakable trauma she was experiencing) that she would forgive those who killed her family and her friends. She found the grace to do this in her continual prayers, especially her meditations on the suffering of Christ and His Mother when the Savior was crucified. She says that she thought of how Mary and Jesus responded during the atrocity that was perpetrated on Christ himself : "Father Forgive them, for they know not what they do." She knew that the men killing her family and friends could not have a full awareness of the depth of evil they had given themselves over to. In fact, she faced her family's killer in prison, and told him to his face that she forgave him. She stated that when she saw him, he seemed "so confused" and misled. Compassion for a serial killer? Coming from the heart of a victim of his crimes? Truly she is a glowing witness to the Forgiveness of God.

I hope that you will watch this short clip featuring testimony from Immaculee herself:

1 comment:

WELCOME!

I appreciate your time and your interest in my work. If you are interested in knowing more about me and my philosophy of art, please feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page. I would rather spare those who have no interest in such things from having to read about me before looking at my work. God bless you :)

The Vocation of the Artist

I firmly believe that art is meant to serve others, especially in lifting the hearts of people, through "ephiphanies of beauty," (John Paul II's letter to artists) to the contemplation and the glory of God. The artist participates in a unique way in the inspiration of the Creator of all things, and knows something of His joy in the act of creation, for "the act of creation is an act of love."(The Agony and the Ecstacy) This act is essentially bound up with the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus, in which what had been invisible was made visible in His person, His life and work, and finally in His death and resurrection. The artist is exhorted by the very perception of his gift to its service. Art is not merely, nor should it ever be, a vehicle for selfish ends or cheap shock and awe, but it must seek to give joy to the lives of others. The artist is then in the end merely a servant of truth, beauty, and goodness, and his work must serve to convey these to a wider audience. "Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 15-16)I believe that the artist finds in the lives of Jesus, and of His foster father Joseph, essential role models, especially in their hidden life at Nazareth. Though very little is handed down to us in the Gospels or in tradition illuminating this period in Jesus' life, I believe that this hidden, simple, carpenter's life of "working quietly" (2 Thessalonians 3:11) can be a model for all artists, in which delight is daily sought in the manifestation of beauty in wood, paint, charcoal, dance, the stage, and music. This is a life of humility, where the artist freely accepts that this world, including his own work, "will pass away," (Matt. 24:35) but what it points to never will. Obedience to inspiration, especially as it is inspired by God's Word (itself the revelatory self-expression of God) is the artist's highest calling. This new site is dedicated to this higher calling of the artist, to this challenge.

You will find included in this site examples of my own work, as well as links to other sites which
celebrate the arts, and especially challenge the artist to reach the fullness of his own abilities
in the service of something greater than him or his work. I hope that you will enjoy this site, and
take full advantage of its links, especially the Letter to Artists of our Holy Father (of beloved memory) John Paul II. Thank you for your comments and your consideration of this website.

David Myers