" The Restoration of Grace,"by Marcella Bije'n Rose Copyright © Marcella Rose Love Heals by Marcella Bije'n Rose This is my story. A true story. Everybody's story. It really doesn't matter what we do for a living, or where we live, or what the daily news has to offer outside of ourselves. What matters is our intention, our focus, our integrity, and staying true to ourselves, our creative spirit, even though it appears as if the rest of the world doesn't support our path. We are all artists. The artist in us is merely the expression of the creative spirit of the universe...the source. Where there is art, there is healing, where there is healing there is peace. That's all there is. There is only love. Love heals. We are here to heal and transcend old wounds that will heal ourselves and the planet ultimately, simultaneously. I believe what is needed now is a restructuring of value, faith, trust and acceptance of the very process required for this transcendence or leap into the unknown. Today, it is no longer a choice; it is inevitable. We must change our structures if we are to recover and survive as a human race. It is messy, uncomfortable and horrifying, however undeniably inevitable. Spare change for NYC People all over the U.S. are spending countless hours discussing the tragic events in New York City on September 11. Everyone feels pain. Everyone wants to help. Everyone says that nothing will ever be the same again. I believe that is true, but I also believe that nothing has really changed. Why? Because I believe that change only occurs at a personal level. I can't make you change just like you can't make me change. We can, however, both choose change. Of course, we can behave differently, but that is not what I mean by experiencing true change. Change is a funny word. It's what's left over after you pay the price. It's the part of the transaction that actually undergoes the transformation. It would be the title of the book if someone were to write about my life, because my life has been constant change. I grew up on a farm in Minnesota in the 1960s. Conformity was the norm. There were rules to follow and lines to color in. It never felt right. When things don't feel right, we either give in or change. I chose change and have never looked back. I left the farm to attend art school and became a commercial artist. I married, moved a few times and spent many years in Phoenix working for a large corporation. My career was a success, if you count success in large sums of money and awards. Something still didn't feel right. Better make a change, better make a move I thought. So I moved -- new city, new job... new awards. Still not right. Next city, next job, next award. The feeling that something wasn't right just seemed to get bigger. It was a hole that I couldn't fill. I turned to various addictions, trying my hardest to "give in and avoid change," but still the hole grew. A divorce and several moves later, I finally realized that the hole was my heart and only by honoring myself as an artist could I fill it. It wasn't about external changes, it was all about me. I had to heal myself. I left the corporate world, the fat salary and the awards behind. Nothing has been harder, nothing has been better. Challenge after challenge, I have learned...Enhance life. Transcend boundaries. Overwhelming urge In 1997, I was reading the book, The Healing of America, by Marianne Williamson. Suddenly I was struck with the overwhelming urge to jump out of bed in the middle of the night and paint an image. The result was the painting The Restoration of Grace. A visionary image of the reconstruction. The fact that I was reading a book about healing America explains the self-portrait of my own personal healing, a mirror of my own inner transformation -- the granting of freedom to my holy child...transmitted through Universal Icons. I knew immediately upon painting the "Restoration of Grace" that it was originally intended to be used as a fundraiser for our children in crisis. Notice the anguished child rising up from the ruins. Notice the Statue of Liberty -- Venus -- the mother figure or giver of food, spiritual food -- and remember that this was painted four years before the World Trade Center tragedies. Then remember that I cannot make you change. The painting cannot make you change, but maybe it can make you see. Maybe if you see what I see, you can then feel what I feel. Maybe the painting will help you change yourself and if you change, someone else will change and then someone else and someone else and someday our country could experience real change. That is what the painting is about -- change yourself to change your life. Change yourself to change your country. Change yourself to change the world. Can't see that yet? Look closer -- at the painting and yourself. The monument crumbling over an anguished child, with torch in hand at heart level, rising up in forgiveness from the sea of emotion while simultaneously Liberty appears as the venus she has always been, still holding the declaration of Independence...further emphasizing this reconstruction. This is not only a picture of our cultural crisis and the healing of a nation or my own personal healing, but a reflection for each and every one on this planet. The reclaiming of our feminine principle. The raising of our collective creative consciousness. It is meant to give strength, guidance and hope. Before September 11, most people found the painting difficult to look at, frightening, unintelligible. Since then, I have watched people standing speechless in awe with tears rolling down their faces. I believe that they are not crying for New York, but for themselves. The healing is beginning. The painting is like a dream. Our psyche wants us to "get it," but we need images that we can understand. We know that things don't feel right and we have attempted to fill the hole. We couldn't do it. Not even $550 million could fill the hole. We need real change. We have to face the filth and stench of decay and death. We have to make our way out of the rubble. With this death can come renewal. Then and only then will the victims not have died in vain. This painting is a reflection of past, present, and future -- personal, cultural and global all inclusive. The big picture. What now? So what do we do now? If it's all about personal change, what happens to community? Isn't that important, too? I think it is. Recently we, as a country, celebrated a Day of Mourning. Grief is a necessary and important part of the process. We have to acknowledge what was and can no longer be, but then it is time to move on. Perhaps what we really need is a day -- let's call it The Middle of the Night Day -- where everyone in America gets up to paint. Well, not everyone has to paint, but they just have to jump out of bed with unbridled passion to do something. Let loose. Create. Get wild. Can you imagine the entire country releasing all those creative juices simultaneously in the middle of the night. Now that's real change! What would happen? I haven't a clue, but I sure would love to find out. Using the painting to raise funds for the children directly affected by this tragedy is my intention. I have created along with the Northwest Woman Magazine [www.nwwoman.com and and click on Donate Here, and Subscribe Now] the Restoration of Grace&Mac250;Memorial Fund. Net proceeds go to the widows and children from New York City. Several nurturing memorial products adapting this image are currently in product development stages with a major giftware manufacturer, with proceeds benefiting the fund. Giving back My goal in life is to give back to society in a big way. My dream is to create and fund art centers for children. The centers would be in every major city in the country, and all children would be welcome to go there to explore the creative process in a safe and nurturing environment. My intention is to give humanity a powerful image to hold onto in these uncertain times, to give peace, to remember that only Love Heals, and assist in reshaping our lives. The internal healing I have received from this work of art has far exceeded any monetary value that could ever be placed on the art itself. I can only hope it will do the same for others. This enriching journey of creative exploration helped me define, embrace and expand the very essence of who I am. Following this guidance has been the hallmark of my transformation and the impetus behind the Restoration of Grace painting, a series of 13 images called Eternal Dance, and many more co-creations. This visionary art is rooted in a power so great that it fills me with a passionate desire to share all that comes through me. I am donating the original 4' X 6' oil-and-gold-leaf painting to the people of the world, and particularly to the city of New York, the rightful home of the statue of liberty...to be displayed in a public memorial center. Preparation and planning for its final and temporary destinations are currently underway, and the painting is currently being displayed at the Hotel Lusso's Fugazzi Dining Room here in Spokane, Wash., where I live. In my own personal search for truth and illuminated vision I have come to realize that the force behind my own healing has always sprung directly from allowing spirit to express itself through my art. The petals open as does my heart. Unfolding from the peaceful center...there is Grace. There is Truth. There is Love. We are all on the same journey -- just at different places on the path. Surrounding ourselves with beautiful things reminds us to celebrate the way. Like raindrops we transform ourselves and everything. Remember the rose. Marcella Bije'n Rose is an inspirational artist whose visionary paintings emerge directly from the souls deepest memories, celebrate life, love, and sacred unity, reflecting each and everyone of us. A native of Minnesota, Marcella's art career moved her to Phoenix, Kansas City, and today, she resides in the Inland Northwest, where she feels she is finally home. For more information on Marcella Rose visionary art, for purchase of original works, prints or licensing, contact marcella@marcellarose.com. Copyright © 2001 Marcella Bije'n Rose |
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