Apples of gold in settings of silver

A word aptly spoken is like APPLES OF GOLD IN SETTINGS OF SILVER (Prov. 25:11).

A cabinetmaker or carpenter will choose and inspect the wood very carefully before starting on a piece. Wood with knots and burls is rejected… In this piece, gnarled growths have been gathered as treasures in a bowl of etched zinc. I deliberately chose to give what has been rejected and cast aside an important place. That has to do with the image in the Bible of Jesus showing compassion to people in comparable situations. When these people, restored by Him, speak, their word will be valuable because it comes from lived experience.

Dimensions: (l x w x h) approx. 60x40x15 cm
Material: etched zinc, beech wood

The second photo is a variation on the same theme. The spheres you see are burrs that you often come across by chance on tree trunks. These are still untreated. The bowl is a bucket pulled apart that spent a period in the ground. The enamel has flaked off, weathered ‘to the bone’, you might say. That reminds me of the Qumran scrolls; an important message and confirmation of an ancient story, written on parchment scrolls, which were hidden in jars to be found by later generations… That happened not so very long ago, in 1947. All of this to inspire us and to teach us what times we are living in…