Barry K Snyder Studios
Medium: Cast Bronze
Artist: Barry K. Snyder
(“Bluesbearry” 2010)
This work was inspired from a song by “Casting Crown’s” reference to “God knowing just how far the East is from the West -one scarred hand to the other”; and after hearing these beautiful lyrics 30 times over the image of the sculpture was “envisioned”, but not quite identified!
Piece by piece the clay was applied to the armature. Knowing it would be two unbalanced hands, he “grasped” its necessity to be “firmly anchored on a solid foundation” in order to stand at all!
“He brought me up…… out of the miry clay, and He set my foot upon a rock” Psalm 40:2-5.
One by one, different races, creeds, gender, adults, children, religions, the figures came to be. Each time the artist applied more clay, another struggle was revealed.
All of mankind, struggles to climb life’s pinnacle, some helping each other, indifferent ones not, many left standing alone, unaware of their next step, whilst others have fallen.
A comparative few with “faith persevering in trial” rise up and start over, again. Some are identifiable, others hold no identity whatsoever, (just as the Creator is not finished with us yet). Some remain with us, others “absent in the flesh, but present with God.”
Ultimately, even “the least of us” is VALUED!
As the “hand of man” reaches out of broken Earth toward the heavens, holding the “Lamb of God”; who in death took away the sins of the World, and grips strongly onto us from above; the unprecedented hand of the “Risen Christ” touches all who search steadfastly for the TRUTH!
The artist’s image of “brokenness” is from The Word: “Behold, I belong to God, like you; I too have been formed out of the clay!” Job 33:6.
One may interpret this how they wish, reflect on the wonders of this life, and conceive nothing exists on this Rock by accident! Daniel 2:34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet (armature form), of iron and clay, and broke them into pieces.”