William Blake wrote:

To see a world in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palms of your hand

and eternity in an hour.

Art invites us to see the “world in a grain of sand” and “heaven in a wild flower.” This week in the Junior Primary chapel, we continued the exploration of faith through art that Dr Warner outlined in our last newsletter. Mrs Oldfield-Sammons led the reflection. The scripture reading was taken from Mark 4:35-41 and described Jesus calming the storm. When choosing the Bible story we took into consideration what the girls are learning in Art and where the different grades are in their journey of learning to read.

In her reflection, Mrs Oldfield-Sammons used sounds and images to help us imagine how we would paint a picture of the story. She also referred to the works of famous Romantic painters, like Constable and Turner, and explained how some artists created works of art to show and share their experience of God.

Through this, I learnt that art is about making physical and mental space for listening, searching and expressing. It can also be the still, small voice of the Lord who calls but will not force us to hear if we do not desire to listen. Most importantly, art gives us the space to pay attention, which looks much like prayer.

REVD RAKGADI KHOBO
CHAPLAIN