{he has put eternity in man's heart}

VCE Art Unit 3 Final Project, in quadriptych with oil and ink on paper.

This four-part set of artworks, entitled {he has put eternity in man’s heart}, embodies the spiritual seasons faced by every soul who has walked the earth. They participate in a dance of praise in every moment, unified by the cycle of the human heart’s condition and held steady in the strength of the Spirit.

{L’été} is a birch dryad seeking high things in her fresh green, with a spirit of creation and purity, childhood innocence, and a closeness to the Divine. In {L’automne} the maple dryad falls, billowing in all her auburn and gold, as she descends into trials and temptations, turns from the Holy Spirit, or grows lukewarm in her faith. {L’hiver} is a faded cherry wood-nymph with her fallen leaves gone dry, slowly enduring the cold, dim months of fatigue, detachment and solitude, as hidden in her heart she holds firmly to the hope of change. In {Le printemps} a blossoming plum tree wood-nymph rejoices in the wonder of renewal, resurrection, redemption. She is stronger for her suffering, and her joy is all the more real for the pruning she has endured.

Hard times pass, as do the times of joy, but praise for our Lord is present in every season if we choose to give it to him.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to mankind.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-13