Although religion is as forbidden on METAR as politics I will share a psalm that I have written and illustrated. Please feel free to pass it by.
I have felt creatively blocked since my open-heart surgery in November 2024. I’m overjoyed that I can finally create again.
A Psalm of Wendy
True and precious are these words to us, Adonai my God.
You created the entire universe.
You exploded Space-Time in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago,
Creating all matter, all energy, all dark matter and dark energy (whatever they are).
Subatomic particles fused into atoms.
Elements forged in generations of stars.
Stars gathered into galaxies anchored by black holes.
Galaxies strung on webs of dark matter like jewels on a necklace.
Neutron stars collided, kilonovas flinging heavy elements, gold for my earrings.
Were you surprised when molecules coalesced into life or was that your plan?
Were you surprised when chemists repurposed matter into forms impossible in nature, like plastics?
You slam black holes together, rippling gravity waves through space-time for billions of years.
You live outside of Space-Time which you created.
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד
I will be what I will be forever and ever.
Yet you are always with me, listening, responding to my questions and prayers.
[end Psalm]
The illustration of the psalm is highly symbolic.
At first I planned a black background but I want to live with this painting and I would hate a black mark on my wall. Instead, I chose to symbolically represent the red-shift of deep space by using a violet (short wavelength) in the distance and a blue (longer wavelength) foreground.
The explosion represents a kilonova caused by the gigantic collision of two neutron stars. The only way for the element of gold to be created is by the titanic forces in a neutron star collision which ejects gold atoms and also a gravitational wave (both of which are represented in my painting). All the gold on Earth was created in a neutron star collision billions of years ago that was collected by gravity during the accretion of our solar system.
The other symbol in my painting is the white oval in the lower left quadrant. This represents a Portal into our universe through which God is speaking. In traditional psalms, the singer communicates with God. In my psalm, God opens a portal and answers. The phrase “I will be what I will be” is God’s own revelation of his name to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
The painting is 22" wide X 16" high.
Wendy