Inspiration

Folio 27, Lindisfarne Gospels, British Library

You may know this is from the Lindisfarne Gospels, which most researchers place toward the end of the seventh century ad.  I include it because this manuscript and the Book of Kells are the two sources of inspiration I refer to most.  Much of the inspiration is visual, of course, but another contributing factor is the dedication and thoughts of the makers.  The Lindisfarne Gospels are one of the few artistic achievements of the time where we know the creator, Eadfrith, who became bishop of Lindisfarne after completion.  But for almost all other art of the time , the artists are unknown to us.

It is difficult for an artist today, myself included, to consider not signing a piece he or she has completed.  Yet ornate and glorious pictures and illuminated manuscripts were completed by masters unknown to us.
Only toward the Renaissance did artists sign their work  and gain individual recognition outside their immediate circle.

One of the reasons I create crosses is to do homage to those nameless artists who created such items. Would I be willing to devote myself so completely and not want to claim ownership of my artistic craeation? Then there is the power of the symbol itself.  I was surprised at how many people were drawn to the power of the image whether or not they were believers.  I was surprised that how the image made others categorize my beliefs without ever talking to me.

I have been lucky enough to go to Jarrow and Lindisfarne and read Bede's Ecclesiastical History and other translations of works by his contemporaries. I try to gain insight and hope I give some sense of the dedication of those artists whether I am doing a cross or secular design. Of course, the viewer is the real judge.