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TENSION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
TENSION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 2010
This is the first painting Chuck and I created after he moved to Minneapolis to go to seminary. Somehow I expected us to paint like we had for the last two years, but it was a struggle. We spent weeks trying to get back to our normal painting process, and each other. We didn't get comfortable until our subject matter matched our emotional state. Finally with the help of the painting we dealt with the reality of the changes we'd experienced. It reminded me that reconciliation is a process and requires tending. Relationships between people, communities or countries need attention.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 2010
Tension when managed can lead to new discoveries. When left unattended can spin out of control and can lead to divide. This painting has been a dialogue of working through our tensions of creating together. Our process and each other needed tending and nurturing. Working through our process of listening, responding and creating again confirmed for us that holding in the tension can lead to something new. The risk being that tension left unbalanced can lead to destruction.
FORGED
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 60
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FORGED
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 2010
When we first went to Northern Ireland, tension in the neighborhood where we worked was high. People were constantly on edge and suspicious of those around them. The hostel where we stayed was locked and gated at dusk and the IRA and paramilitary were acting as vigilantes. People were divided, yet in the midst of the troubles there ran thin golden strands of hope holding everything together.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MARCH 2010
I don't think that I can put words around this image. It took a long time for it to emerge and continues to immerse me in contemplation.
PROCLAMATION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
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PROCLAMATION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2010
This was painted over Chuck's Easter break. The painting was part of the way we celebrated the resurrection and our reunion over the holiday. I kept asking myself what does the cross have to say to us today? How does the resurrection of Christ speak to us through time?
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2010
Peg and I were in the studio over my Easter break from Luther and found ourselves reflecting on Holy Week and Easter proclaiming the Good News through our art. I wondered if God experienced emotions of joy in restoring our relationship. We usually keep God as an intellectual, with less feelings, but I feel emotions and creativity are part of God's make up as well. I'm not sure you can explain joy as much as you feel joy. In the liberation texts of Zephaniah 3:17 I get a sense of this. "The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival." On this day of Proclamation it's God who sings.
Genesis: FIRST LIGHT
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Rev. & Mrs. Adam Hamilton
Kansas City, Missouri
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Genesis: FIRST LIGHT
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2007
Painting this piece was very experiential. Chuck and I wanted to create the idea of something emerging from the darkness and God break¬ing into the world. The fact that this painting emerged out of dark black, with layers and layers of washes made me feel the creation story on a variety of levels. It was also intended to convey the idea that the "creation" is not finished, and that we're always in the midst of the creative act. The continuing "act of creations" is represented by the cross that revels a hint of that which is to come. Our connection to the divine is provided by Christ and thus becomes the bridge in the paint¬ing to the hope that lays beyond and the creating waiting to emerge.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2007
The words from the Book of Genesis began to play out in me as we brought light from the darkness of the canvas. I was imagining being an observer of God's creative process. I also felt as if Peg and I were co-creating with God trying to visualize this story. The new creation in Jesus Christ emerges with the cross, forming four equal squares on the 40 x 40 canvas. The cross also connects the idea of the four corners of earth (or Kanaph in Hebrew), converging to form the cross and reveal the new in God's ongoing creation. By engaging in this continuous creation I faithfully move into what is yet to come.
Gracious Lord, may we be your instrument of light in creating this work. We pray for all who view it that they may find a passage to a contemplative space of comfort and joy. In Jesus name we pray.
BONFIRES
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Lt. Shannon Brusseau, USA
Savannah, Georgia
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BONFIRES
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2007
Bonfires in Belfast have served as flash points for violence and competition for many years. In the painting, the Bonfire also resembles a storm, dangerous but intriguing. We often watched an incoming storm from behind barbed wire. The gathering storm on the horizon wasn't always a meteorological event.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2007
Our time spent in Ireland and Northern Ireland has put us in the middle of the ancient Celtic culture. While I have much to learn about its history and intimacies, I find myself drawn to its spirituality and the land that gave birth to it. There is a yearly event in Belfast where they light Bonfires, fires that stretch for two city blocks or more. The fire has its primitive roots embedded in our souls, it was a source of heat for warmth and food and became a gathering place for ancient communities to share stories. Perhaps in the gathering of an ancient ritual a new story of community, living in peace, can rise up.
Gracious Lord, may we be your instrument of light in creating this work. We pray for all who view it that they may find a passage to a contemplative space of comfort and joy. In Jesus name we pray.
BORDERLESS WORLD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 30
From the collection of
Gary Marx and Pam Kelley
Kansas City, Missouri. Commission.
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BORDERLESS WORLD
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPT 2008
My vision for the painting centered around the dawn of creation. Symbols, language and possibility emerge from darkness, bringing light, carrying the potential for communication and creativity. The cerulean blues cannot contain the energy and strength of the written word and the symbolic languages burst forth with a spirit of their own. Creation truly imagines a borderless world of peace and inclusion. The painting for us has become a contemplation of creation in space and time, visually depicted for all to contemplate the ongoing formation of the universe, our hearts, minds and spirits.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPT 2008
The work brought me to the place of wonder and mystery of ongoing creation. Pam uses language to express and birth her ideas into the world, and all of these thoughts and reflections centered about creation coming out of darkness. This became the birthing of something new. The new hope for a borderless world, a new world that emerges in God's continuing creation. Letter forms stream from the light with the hope for new dialogues that bridge differences and change to a healthy, mutual world, celebrating diversity and the harmony that can be created together. The fact that the work was created for Pam's birthday has even more meaning. Birthing has been a reoccurring theme for us, so this painting takes on a sense of the mystical wonder of creation.
Lord God, may we be ever mindful of your continuous creation and that we each share a part in it.
SEVENTY SEVEN TIMES
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the permanent collection of
The Museum of Biblical Art
Dallas, Texas
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SEVENTY SEVEN TIMES
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUG 2008
I am mindful of how often I need forgiveness and how often I need to grant it. "What we have done and what we have left undone" are the small dark areas in this painting–seven on each side, that represent a need to forgive or grant forgiveness to one another. The marks are like nails pounded into a fence and then removed. Each nail creates a small hole that remains, even though the nail has been plucked from the wood. We cannot barge thru life "pounding nails" into one another, and then say, "I'm sorry" and expect no woundedness to remain. Jesus understands the ongoing process of forgiveness as he reminds Peter that there is no limit to the times we must forgive, for we will no doubt need to seek it more often than we give it. In the process of reconciliation I have realized that all of us indeed are wounded and have caused pain.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUG 2008
Forgiveness is a step in the reconciliation process. The first step is to hear another's truth. Being able to hear another's truth moves us to forgiveness and down the path of healing. In this passage, Jesus overturns the Genesis 4:24 verse for vengeance with finding forgiveness in our hearts. The canvas, for me, becomes my prayer that brings about social change through my own desire to forgive. The scars of my trespasses as well as trespasses against me are always present. My healing comes when I forgive others as I am indeed forgiven in Christ. The marks signify the wounds caused by the trespasses; the pattern simplifies the complexity and moves off the canvas to illustrate my ongoing need for a forgiving heart.
Lord, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Rick & Kitt Halterman
Kansas City, Missouri
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BETWEEN HEAVEN + EARTH
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2008
There is always tension at the intersection of forces. In this painting, heaven comes down to the earth and the earth reaches into the heavens creating a dialogue with one another, but remain two separate entities. It is Christ, represented by the orange red line that knits both forces together, understanding and being fully part of both.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2008
Seven days of creation is a theme for this work represented by the seven white shapes. What captivated me was the darker space between creating a dialogue between heaven and earth. I think of God breathing into clay and from that place life was born and for Peg and I, our creative voice. Red is the color for Pentecost and the Holy Spirit connecting creation.
Lord, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
ACROSS THE DIVIDE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 50 x 50
From the collection of
Roger Samuel
Kansas City, Missouri
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ACROSS THE DIVIDE
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUG 2006
When listening to people in the midst of conflict, we usually hear stories of similar pain on both sides. The weight of that pain almost always feels equal on our hearts, and is represented that way. People and groups put up barriers of all types to protect themselves from that pain, both seen and unseen. For these walls to be breached, it usually requires a sharing of those painful stories. The commonality easiest to hear is that of similar wounds. I find it ironic that the stories of heartbreak and pain are often very the thing that are able to cross lines of division and begin to knit people back together.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUG 2006
Our time on the peace line in Northern Ireland brought us to the walls that stretch 30 feet or more into the sky. The walls that separate people can reach much higher with the wounds of suffering and pain becoming the bricks that divide. Our prayers, reflections and stories bring us to that tension and search for the common ground, the connections of truth that overcome the divisions.
Lord, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Genesis: CREATION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 30
From the collection of
Fr. Josef Venker, SJ
Seattle, Washington
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Genesis: CREATION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - OCT 2008
I like to imagine the first primordial soup of creation. In this painting I can almost hear it more than I can see it…the darkness is beginning to give way to light and the whisper of life beginning to be coaxed out of the chaos.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - OCT 2008
I have enjoyed the Lectio divina of Genesis and the story of creation, especially in the constant dialogue of evolution. The Genesis story has taken a different path for me by doing this series. It is like a long caravan of humanity. I feel connected to that caravan of creation that somehow transcends time. Perhaps in that caravan we have evolved and are enlightened in God's ongoing creation.
Lord, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
SPRINGFIELD ROAD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the juried biblical arts exhibition
White Stone Gallery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Genesis: SPRINGFIELD ROAD
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2006
I found that peeling off the resist to reveal the "fencing" in the painting, was just like experiencing the barbed wire in Northern Ireland. In the painting, the wire gets in between the observer and the "landscape" and it becomes the object. What's on the other side becomes distant and unreachable unknown. Our goal in the peace process is to remove the barriers and allow the unknown to be known.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2006
This work, like our first trip to Northern Ireland, felt like a journey into the unknown. Peg and I had a spiritual framework and remained open to the people and the experiences. The mission itself was to listen, learn and be present to the people of Northern Ireland. Perhaps I see the lines we created with a block out medium in the early stages of the painting as our spiritual framework. As the work developed and took many different turns, its essential story began to evolve. Our experiences, feelings, prayers, observations and reactions became part of the history on the canvas. When we removed the medium, the invisible structure re-emerged from the painting to alter and frame the creation. I found that living intentionally, fully experiencing all of creation in a given moment reveals a truth. Even in my wonderings into the unknown, there lies a spiritual structure that connects us to our common story throughout time.
When we look upon the destruction, we wonder why you have forsaken us. May we be ever mindful that you are ever present bringing us up from our ashes.
CROSSING THE DIVIDE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 2 - 30 x 30
Auctioned to raise funds for water wells in Kenya, Jacobs Well
Kansas City, Missouri
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CROSSING THE DIVIDE
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DEC 2006
Two equal sized shapes – taking up the same amount of room, different but similar. They can stand-alone but are strong as a pair – strong boundaries keep the colors from sliding off the canvas and blending into each other. A common spirit runs through both paintings. The paintings look like two simple blocks from a distance. If you look closer, you want to see what is going on inside them. Upon closer look examination one discovers all this complexity and wonder. The paintings are united not only by their similar shapes and color weights, but also by their wounds. In Belfast, we found that people and groups could find connection through their similar pain perhaps more than their commonalities.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DEC 2006
Each of these two paintings have their distinct individual boundaries, yet are connected with continuous movement. Each are unique, but together make something bigger. I have come to the realization that we are created as individuals, unique in the eye of God and all are part of the divine creation. With this understanding I can work to build bridges to form community and creatively expand with the universe. This has come not without its apparent difficulties as I am bound in the healing wounds of sacrifice. What is it that I need to give up in order to gain insight, wisdom, and peace? How am I part of this creation story and where am I called to help build the kingdom of God?
Lord, heal the wounds that divide us...
DUALITY
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 2 - 50 x 50
From the collection of
Robert Hoffman
Dallas, Texas
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DUALITY
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2006
This painting looks like simple blocks of color from a distance. Upon closer examination, one discovers all this complexity and wonder. A small slit runs through the painting. Often our wounds divide us, but they can also be the common ground necessary for reconciliation. In Belfast, we found that people and groups could find connection through their similar, painful stories of loss and division.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2006
The thing that strikes me about this painting, is that like us, we have our personal boundaries. We are created as individuals, unique in the eye of God, yet we build bridges of understanding and creatively expand with the universe. Not without its apparent difficulties, we are bound in the healing wounds of sacrifice. What is it that we each give up in order to gain insight, wisdom, and peace and build the kingdom of Christ in our own collective lives? How are our wounds healed in the process?
Genesis: BEYOND THE WORD
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Beisly
Kansas City, Missouri
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Genesis: BEYOND THE WORD
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DEC 2006
In the process of reconciliation, language often becomes a barrier. In this painting we used the most ancient symbols and pictograms on the edges of the work. As one draws closer to the light, the symbols and letter forms progress through .Phoenician and Hebrew, Greek and Roman until close to the center there is no language. The light gathers us to a place where no language is necessary.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DEC 2006
The name comes out of a class that we created and facilitate. We start with scripture and word, develop symbols and move to images. This work moved beyond words into light or perhaps returned from light into the word. The ancient letter forms of the ages move into Hebrew and into the light. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the waters. And God said: 'Let there be light'. - The Torah
My thoughts and prayers reflected on my own life and mortality and living in the promise of returning to the light of Christ in paradise.
When we look upon the destruction, we wonder why you have forsaken us. May we be ever mindful that you are ever present bringing us up from our ashes.
LUMINAE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the permanent collection of
Luther Seminary
Saint Paul, Minnesota
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LUMINAE
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPT 2008
When I imagine God breaking into creation I am also mindful that God is creation as well. Most often when I think of God, light is the visual in my head. Bringing that light to the canvas, and God's light shining into the four corners of the earth, helps me to remember how God permeates the cosmos. The small white symbols at the center of the light represent "the word" always present with God from the beginning.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPT 2008
I am not sure that this is where I thought this work would go. The layering of pigment became an exercise of patient contemplation. In the many layers reside my thoughts, prayers, reflections, hopes and a whole stream of consciousness of the days and time standing before the painting. The color became more soothing with each addition of thin films of color. The light is still revealed in the intersection of the divine (vertical) and humanity (horizontal). This is the intersection where Peg and I seem to reside. While simple in its final form, this was a very complex path to simplicity.
When we look upon the destruction, we wonder why you have forsaken us. May we be ever mindful that you are ever present bringing us up from our ashes.
ONE TWENTY ONE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Edgar Brenninkmeyer
San Francisco, California
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ONE TWENTY ONE
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JAN 2009
We have been working with these colors for quite some time now. They are still vibrant and striking for me. The color seems to work in both harmony and tension. Peg and I moved pretty freely about the canvas and in no time had the work blocked in. The fragile connectors of similar color are always bordered by the other. How do we live connecting to the familiar and moving into the unfamiliar. When we felt we had arrived at the end of this particular creative dialogue, we realized our conversation centered around celebrating the uniqueness of diversity. We also realized that it was inauguration day and felt the ushering in of the President Obama era was the beginning of a path of reconciliation amongst American's and in our world. We aptly named the work One Twenty One.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JAN 2009
In the beginning this painting felt like we were stitching fabric pieces together. Red representing one point of view or experience and the yellow representing another – side by side, woven together. It wasn't until it was done that we realized it resembled the American flag and we had finished it on the eve of the inauguration of President Barak Obama.
When we look upon the destruction, we wonder why you have forsaken us. May we be ever mindful that you are ever present bringing us up from our ashes.
IN BETWEEN PLACES
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
From the collection of
Elizabeth Krolak
Rochester, Minnesota
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
IN BETWEEN PLACES
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
This is a painting about living in the "in–between places". I have experienced some moments, or even some days, of clarity and wisdom. But more often, I reside in the place between those moments of clarity, trapped, in a way, with a feeling of not belonging and not understanding God's will, unsure of where I am going. I most often experience this "in–between place" when I fail to live in the moment. I can no longer live in the past, the future has not yet been revealed. I remain suspended between. Reconciliation can be like that too…the past is painful, the future is unsure or scary, so we stay trapped, unable to live in the moment and move forward. So we wait and we wait. We trust that we are not alone and we will know how and when to move forward, confident that God is with us.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
This is a theme that has resurfaced with me. I find myself reflecting on the "in–between places" after moving back to Kansas City. There is a contemplative, spiritual reflection that is occurring individually and between Peg and I. The "in–between" places us where we seem spiritually stuck, but this is a time where non-movement is actually movement, just on a different time continuum. This piece is a sort of labyrinth that leads us in and holds our attention with the non-movement and awareness. But if we become patient, quiet ourselves for reflecting, a new path will emerge. I tend to want to run to the next "feel good" experience when what I really need is to contemplate, gather wisdom, slow down, reflect, and then move on, one step in front of the other. This Holy ground is restorative for me.
Grant us the patience Lord to be still in the uncertainty in life. Center our hearts and minds to hear your Holy wisdom.
HEALING
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 60
From the collection of
Dale & Diane Wassergord
Kansas City, Missouri
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HEALING
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
Healing the wounds of division is a slow and arduous process that takes time and tending. In places of violent conflict, the wounds run deep and cross generations. Even when progress is made and people resolve issues, there still remains evidence of pain. Scars that that reveal wounds, that even though they are healed, still reflect a story of suffering.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
In this work I once again wrestled with the tension point of divide. Where our space or boundary finds the boundary of another. The prayer and the contemplation reflected upon the healing that can occur when there is sharing and most important, the listening to the story of the others boundary. The gift is to listen without judgment and in so doing I believe that our own boundaries are not diminished but expanded. So the learning from this painting and prayer for me is to not resist the new boundaries that God seeks to expand, building a new community of peace.
Grant us the patience Lord to be still in the uncertainty in life. Center our hearts and minds to hear your Holy wisdom.
UNRAVELING
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 60
From the collection of
Dr. Barbara Anne Keely
Blaine, Minnesota
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UNRAVELING
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2008
Peace is tenuous. It requires vigilance by both sides. Even in our marriage, our relationship, which usually seems to be sewn so well together, can fray at the edges and begin to unravel. It doesn't take long for unattended seams or relationships to split.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOV 2008
The tension of two equal parts rides along the boundaries of each part. In reconciliation, the progress towards peace can quickly unravel when dialogue and trust breaks down. Building a community with dialogue, sharing of stories, working through issues will keep things from unraveling during the tough days. My time on the peace line in Northern Ireland brought me to the walls that stretch 40 feet or more into the sky. The walls that separate people can reach much higher with the wounds of suffering and pain becoming the bricks that divide. The recent violence in NI has thus far united people rather than divide. The constant community dialogue is holding on both sides. Our prayers, reflections and stories bring us to that tension and search for the common ground, the connections of truth that overcome the divisions.
Grant us the patience Lord to be still in the uncertainty in life. Center our hearts and minds to hear your Holy wisdom.
CREATION DAY II
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 50 x 50
From the collection of
George & Linda Robbins
Kansas City, Missouri
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Genesis: CREATION DAY II
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
This painting was commissioned by a couple we know that are immensely generous. They have hearts as big as the sky. This represents the creation story on the 2nd Day, when the waters are separated and the sky is created. The painting imagines the fiery participation of the Creator and the story is told in tiny Hebrew letter forms that weave in and out as the waters begin to make room for the expanse, or sky to form.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
Painting this commission piece was both challenging and reflective. The storytelling of how the cosmos was created is a beautiful narrative that I enjoy reading. In painting and contemplating Yahweh's creative act of calling forth the waters I thought about the beauty of creation and our role in caring for it. George and Linda were brave in letting us work with this theme and have learned from the creative process.
Grant us the patience Lord to be still in the uncertainty in life. Center our hearts and minds to hear your Holy wisdom.
MARKED BY YELLOW
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
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MARKED BY YELLOW
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2009
Walls, whether they are built to protect or divide, bring a constant reminder to fear what's on the "other side". The walls in Northern Ireland were meant to mitigate violence between the Catholics and the Protestants but the net result is to maintain division. Chuck and I have been working to bring down the walls in Belfast as we watch them being built between Israel and Palestine. This painting was a reminder that the oppressed nearly always become the oppressors.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2009
A wall can be defined as a "thing perceived as a protective or restrictive barrier either physical or as in a wall of silence." Our experience in Northern Ireland brought us in contact with physical walls that both protected and divided. If you have not experienced this sort of setting, it can be a challenge and a threat to achieving a sense of community. I can't really judge the short term merits of building a wall, but I know at some point you really can't build them high enough. There is a perception that building walls will either keep others out or keep them in depending on who controls the power. Those that perceive the control of power will oppress those that don't, breading fear, hatred, hopelessness and desperation and are marked by the atrocities. Sooner or later the oppressed become the oppressors and another barrier is built on our collective conscious. Perhaps we can learn that listening and creative dialogue can build mutual bridges of trust and hope.
THE CROSSING
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
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THE CROSSING
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2009
In the peace process, bridges have to form before a true sharing dialogue can begin. They are easiest to build on issues or in places where opposing sides come closest together. This painting resembled that part of the reconciliation process more than Chuck and I would have liked. We painted lots of different "crossings" before any actually worked to draw the sides together. We finally settled on "bridges of light" that crossed the chasm representing the divine intervention that is so often necessary.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2009
I find myself in very uncertain times. My path has lead me to a place where I am confronted with a life changing course. My passion and calling has always been at the intersection of art, faith and reconciliation. Now I find myself on a crossing into an unknown territory. I continue to trust and follow my calling and passion, trying to walk in faith. Whether it is a community crossing or a personal one that I find myself on, my prayer is for wisdom of the Holy Spirit, the ability to discern the way and the strength to follow. I trust that the divine will illuminate the crossing of the dark divide.
INTERCESSION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
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INTERSECTION / INTERCESSION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JAN 2008
Chuck and I have an ongoing discussion about the naming of this painting. I thought we named it "Intersection", so that's what I was painting about–the intersection of things human and divine. I still call it Intersection and am not reconciled to the name Intercession.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JAN 2008
There is a tension that is held along the border of these two different forces. The force can be physical, visual, emotional or a mental state, but are closely aligned with the human spirit. We all participate in this tension and I find myself, at times, comfortable leaning into it, other times it seems overwhelming and feel the gravitational strain. That's where the intercession of prayer on behalf of another can give comfort from the strain. I too, can become stronger when I enter into this divine realm, having empathy and compassion for another, even in the tension. What I am trying to make apparent is how the metaphorical succinctly but quietly manifests itself in our painting. My hope is that I may offer a visual prayer of intercession as you contemplate this work. Peace be with you.
RECONCILIATION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
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RECONCILIATION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
Sometimes I get glimmers of the elusive concept of reconciliation, but most of the time it remains shrouded in mystery. For me, this represented a threshold that we cross when we move into another place or mind set, willing to engage in the ongoing process of reconciliation with another.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
Sometimes it becomes difficult for me to find new ways to express myself in words about reconciliation. Images and feelings are more bountiful. Reconciliation is an ongoing process that needs constant tending. It's not a one time sit around the table and everything will be fine sort of thing. So the theme of reconciliation allows me to visually look at what this means from many points of view. The creative process allows me to search inward, bring what I discover out, and share in collaboration with Peg, an outward manifestation on the canvas. In so doing, I hope to evoke dialogue with the viewer. Recently I had a conversation with a friend who viewed this painting and immediately asked if it was 911. That was not the initial intent of the piece, but certainly gets at the deeper meaning of reconciliation. Our prayer is that we can birth images into the world that offer deeper meaning, discussion and healing that is far greater than ourselves.
RESURRECTION
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 20 x 20
From the collection of
Dale & Diane Wassergord
Kansas City, Missouri
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
RESURRECTION
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2009
This study of color and line turned into rising hope somewhere during the painting and meditation of this work. There were so many washes of blue on the canvas that there was plenty of time to settle into a rhythm of meditation, gratitude and hope. The "language" represents those prayers, all rolled together, rising above all the concerns that usually hold us back.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2009
This began as a study of color, light and prayer. As in other paintings we have created, this image has many layers of thin washes. I suppose it would have been easier and faster to put down a couple of thick coats, but I don't think it would have the same contemplative quality. Each layer in the creative process brought a prayer of joy or concern. Meditations about job loss, family, friends, economic stimulus packages, war and rumors of war, hope, faith and life. These meditations rise up over our community and world. They celebrate our differences, while holding together in prayer, our common humanity.
THE THIN VEIL
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
THE THIN VEIL
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
My Dad died a few years ago and he is still very present with me. While I don't see him, I still feel his presence as though he were in another room. The thin veil seems to separate me from my Dad, but I have this sense that he is closer than I know...surely just beyond that veil.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
I have been contemplating this term for quite some time, mostly in the context of the veil that separates me from this world to the realm of the next. Sometimes I think my spiritual life has been a series of thin veils that I pass through and as a result, my life changes. There is mystery beyond the veil. The veil obscures and at times disguising what lies beyond, but ever drawing me closer whether I am comfortable with the unknown or not. This painting in it's labyrinth design of positive and negative space holds me in the moment to contemplate the hope that lies ahead in that mystery.
STUDY I
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 20 x 20
From the collection of
Dale & Diane Wassergord
Kansas City, Missouri
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
STUDY I
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
We painted this study as a prayerful contemplation for a future work.
PENTECOST
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
PENTECOST
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
Quite often we paint to the rhythm of the church seasons such as Lent or Advent. I find comfort in the anchoring of seasons whether they be of nature or of the church. We painted this in the days leading up to Pentecost–when the Holy Spirit comes into the world.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
I love the story of Pentecost. It is such a visual story that is filled with hope and passion. Violent wind and tongues of fire not only offer the visual metaphors, but forever change those who are truly present. Fire, the symbol of the Divine presence, comes to the community. No walls can stop the change the Holy Spirit brings, as it enters our inner most room and brings forth new voices of hope.
STUDY II
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 20 x 20
From the collection of
Dale & Diane Wassergord
Kansas City, Missouri
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
We painted this study as a prayerful contemplation for a future work.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
LENT
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
LENT
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2007
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAR 2007
We painted this work as a prayerful contemplation during the time of Lent.
PSALM 19
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 54 x 54
From the collection of
David & Kelly Sisney
Kansas City, Missouri
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
PSALM 19
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 2009
This painting is based on a portion of Psalm 19 and is for me about joy and radiance It was created for a couple celebrating their anniversary. The fields of color represent what each of them brings into the world. It honors the way that their likenesses and differences work together and how they allow God to speak through their lives.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 2009
David and Kelly commissioned us to create a painting to honor their wedding anniversary. They were leaving it open for us to do our own imagining. We asked them to do some writing about themselves and think back to their wedding day. After talking and reflecting on their words Peg and I chose to work with Psalm 19. It seemed to capture the poetry of their relationship as well as their strong faith in their creator and a strong commitment to one another. We were honored to be part of celebrating their union.
DABHAR
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 72 x 72
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
DABHAR
CHUCK HOFFMAN + PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - AUG 2009
Dabhar is the Hebrew (Aramaic) word for ‘word'. The Hebrew concept of ‘word' is far more dynamic than the Greek conception. Dabhar is the word that is the divine creative energy. All of creation contains the living wisdom of Dabhar with the creative energy flowing through all things, all time and all space. In Genesis, the story tells us, that God spoke and then the powerful beings of creation–light and darkness, sun and moon–into existence. Dabhar, which is translated as ‘word', implies deeds and actions, not just words. This creative energy or word of God we believe is still active today–it is constantly creating and inviting us (all beings) to participate in this continuous process.
WALLS
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 40 x 40
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
WALLS
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
This was the first painting we did together in our studio after returning from Belfast in 2007. It was really an invitation to the viewer to come along on our journey of peace and reconciliation. It represents an incident where a petrol bomb had ignited a school. It is meant for the viewer to consider what is happening and how they might be playing a role in the violence by standing by.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
This painting took a long time to resolve itself. It was challenging subject matter. It was our first painting we did together in our studio after finishing a commissioned piece in Belfast. We experienced a fire bombing of a school. There was a lot of chaos on the street that night, but thankful that we didn’t hear about any injuries. Burning buildings didn’t offer the challenge for me, it was tending to the people.
THE OPPRESSED
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 60
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
THE OPPRESSED
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
From the beginning, this painting about oppression had this isolated box in the middle of the canvas. It was very uncomfortable from a design sense. In good design, the pieces all "play well together" and integrate. In this painting there is not much interaction between the field of red and the center. Yet, if you look closer the "oppressed" certainly have something to say.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
We have been painting the subject of reconciliation for over a year. The subject has been about division, balance and tension. This time we have contemplated what it is like to be oppressed. How does it feel to suffer hardship by the hands of another? We have all experienced some version of oppression, be it age, gender, race or faith. What would it be like to be surrounded by physical walls and not be able to move about freely, or to be kept from opportunities to make a living and the ability to support a family? We have met people where horrible life circumstances have been transcended with prayer and creativity. They have become valuable lessons to me as I transcend my own walls.
GRACE MARGINS
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 72
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
GRACE MARGINS
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
While in Northern Ireland working on the interface, Chuck and I were painfully aware of the divisions in our own communities at home. The Catholic / Protestant conflict began to look suspiciously similar to divisions Chuck and I were still witnessing in Kansas City with poverty being the driving force in both. Grace margins was an attempt to imagine our community without the invisible walls we erect to perpetuate social injustice.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - FEB 2007
We began working in Kansas City with Grand Avenue Temple and Church of the Resurrection on the feasibility of connecting the affluence of Johnson County with the homeless community at this downtown church. We have learned much from this journey that was full of doubt, uncertainty, hope and faith. The paradox in the differences had to be from God. While we began this painting well before the presidential election primaries got under way, I believe our work in the Grace Margins began to reflect the collective consciousness.
FISSURE
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 30 x 60
FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES
FISSURE
PEG CARLSON-HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
I painted this thinking of a friend of mine. He had worked for many years to help his mother reunite with her family in Southeast Asia. After all the hard work, travel and joy of re-connecting with their homeland, differences began to arise and caused cracks in that reunion. Even when done with love and care, reconciliation also brings the unexpected. It is an ongoing learning process about yourself and others.
CHUCK HOFFMAN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APR 2009
When I'm not as aware as I should be, I can find myself separated from someone or something. I need to work at noticing the subtle beginnings of division and work to heal with intentional dialogue. It can be exhausting, unending work, preventing the divides to grow too vast. Sometimes these fissure's grow at a very fast rate and before too long I find myself in need of re-connecting. When this crack occurs, I need to work together to carry our burdens, offer as well as receive forgiveness, and build a bridge of reconciliation.