Each year, during our Create in Me retreat at Lutheridge, we do a community art project. This year's theme was "broken, but beautiful." For our community art project, we brought our broken things to add to a cross that my spouse had built. The sides are made of wood, with plexiglass attached.
We dropped our broken pieces in from the top.
A close up, as the cross fills.
Much of the cross was made up of broken pottery objects (and wine bottles and dishes). We have many potters who come to the retreat, and they welcomed the chance to put their less-perfect pieces to a different use. And many of us had fun with a sledgehammer as we made the pieces small enough to drop in.
Each year, I try a variety of arts and crafts, and this year, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed shattering objects and dropping them in. I loved seeing how they assembled themselves and reassembled themselves. I probably should have worn gloves--I got lots of tiny cuts.
Here are two different work-in-progress shots.
You can see how we filled in the sides, the crossbeam, if you will.
The cross will live at the labyrinth. The labyrinth itself began in brokenness. Once upon a time, long ago when people still played tennis, it was a tennis court, and off to the side, you can still see the mechanism that tightened the net. Then it was abandoned and the weeds filled in. About 10 years ago, someone (many someones?) transformed the tennis court into a labyrinth. Some day, I'll write a poem.
I love the symbolism of this cross. God can take any amount of brokenness and redeem it. God takes all our broken pieces and assembles a new creation. What amazing Good News!
6 comments:
In the late 70's I was around 11 yrs old singing in a group called The Burlington Boys Choir in NC. Every summer we went to Lutheridge for one week of choir training. I will always treasure those years. I remember one year I got to play doubles on a tennis team (even though I was no good .. lol!) but my partner was and we wound up winning second place on that court. breaks my heart to not see it being used anymore but at least it was put to good use. Thanks for the pics .... great memories!
Thanks so much for leaving your Lutheridge memories. My mom was one of the first counselors there, and she, too, remembers playing tennis--so there's some sadness about the tennis court, but some joy in a labyrinth and the tennis court finally being put out of its misery, since no one was using it.
Your welcome! :) Neat that your mom was one of the first counselors too.
Hello Kristin! Just wanted to update my post. This weekend we had a chance to go to Asheville and visit and I dropped by Lutheridge and drove around and took some pics and relived some of that youth. Wow, what memories! The pool, the shuffleboard courts and yes, the abandoned tennis courts. Loved reliving my memories. I was wondering "maybe" if you could answer I question I have though after revisiting. Across from the pool, I am almost "certain" I stayed in a cabin up at the top of a hill. There were even stairs going from the drive to the cabins. They were in a U configuration with the "open" part of the U facing the pool. It looks to me those cabins may have been torn down and the "Foundations For Faith" center built there. Just wondering if you could confirm that for me. I have a pic of those old cabins and stairway and was wanting to recreate that pic but noticed they must be gone. Anyways, hope you are doing well! Thank you! LOVED my visit back and the memories were WONDERFUL!
You are correct--the Faith Center now stands where that configuration of lodging that you remember once did. When I went there as a camper, in the 70's, that lodging housed high school students.
Ahh..memory isnt so bad after all. lol. Thanks for confirming that for me. Yes, I was there in the 1976-1978 range also. Do you know what year they were torn down? Just curious. Thanks Kristin!
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