The Accidental Ecologist & Blessed Iconographer

 

I came upon an image by Pembrokeshire, Great Britain artist, Liza Adamczewski, and I was immediately smitten. She and her husband have been rewilding a farm property as a nature sanctuary and she creates these Garden Icons, as she calls them. She describes herself as the Accidental Ecologist, a wonderful moniker. 

Traditional Christian icons have been created for centuries  for the purpose of contemplation and veneration of the saints. The act of bringing them into being is a form of prayer. The notion of including non-human creatures is brilliant, in my estimation, and I love these. 

Apparently Adamczewski has been criticized by some Christian gate-keepers who see her work as blasphemy rather than a widening of the circle of these creatures who inform our sense of wonder and appreciation in Creation. I have no real idea of her religious convictions or aversions, but I delight in the spirituality of these paintings. So original and powerful -- a blessing. https://x.com/lizaadamczewski/status/1949385275706102170

I wrote this blog on a Sunday morning and while we would usually be in church we were instead kayaking on the Bay of Quinte with herons and egrets, ospreys and kingfishers all around us. This tweet, or whatever it's called now, was certainly appropriate. 

Liza Adamczewski or the accidental ecologist

@lizaadamczewski

Sunday has arrived again. The day of rest. I hope wherever you are, you can stretch yourself out like a hare on a sunny day and take time leisurely to contemplate the world and your place in it. Just to sit and do nothing is a luxury. So if you get the chance, take it.