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Beauty is not pasted over suffering but grows out of it—like the proverbial shoot from parched ground. Bruce Herman

Artists

Mosiman, J.D. - by Michael Carter


J.D. Mosiman: Trust the Seed

Fellow Climbers

 

by Michael Carter  

Rock climbers understand the importance of trust. Their life depends upon it. Climbers place trust in ropes, equipment, ability, but more importantly, climbers place trust in their team members, fellow climbers. 

Trust the Seed is about the journey of faith, a journey that J.D. Mosiman sees as a climb alongside fellow climbers. “Trust the Seed was produced as a corporate word to the Church. By being in a group you minimize risks. We can be more as a unit than we can as individuals.” 

J.D. Mosiman is a conceptual artist who prayerfully considers the materials he incorporates. For Trust the Seed he chose clay to represent humans, each uniquely formed by the artist from clay found on his property. The beads symbolize relationships and containers in transition and transformation. The lower beads are opaque, shifting to transparent glass as they ascend through seasons and passages of life. The black beads contain things we hold onto. The piece is divided into lanes with a central avenue and an outer lane. Holes are provided as doors of opportunity for climbers to pass-through, allowing the outer climbers to join others in the center. Hidden in the top is a light, providing illumination, direction, and hope to the climbers. And just as there is a wideness in God’s mercy, the top is wider than the base. 

William Blake said, “In the universe there are things that are known and things that are unknown and in between there are doors.” Our lives are inundated with door-moments of truth and hope, veiled unfortunately by fear and doubt. Trust the Seed reminds us that “two are better than one and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.” 

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J.D. Mosiman: Trust the Seed, 2011, 18.5” x 24;5” x 8”, re-purposed wood, glass and metal beads, acrylic paint, drywall compound, LED, and clay from the artist’s property. 

J.D. Mosiman has owned and operated Elite Décor Painting and Decorating for 27 years, specializing in unique finishes and restoration techniques. 

Michael Carter has been involved in education for the last twenty years, from curriculum design and classroom teaching to speaking at national conferences. Currently Michael and his wife Teresa are managing partners of Art House Artisans: a studio devoted to teaching, training and mentoring individuals and offering seminars and workshops in group settings. See: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/368-michael-carter.html.