Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for web/projection

• A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit Info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

FROM THE ARTIST:

In Johnʼs cosmic, mysterious creation narrative, the description of the “Word” that particularly sparked my imagination was in verses 3 and 4: “All things came into being through him. . . . in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” How does one image a concept so abstract and consequential to the Christian tradition? I find myself asking this question a lot. The words of the text themselves stretch to their limits while attempting to encapsulate the breadth of who Jesus is.

As I considered visual metaphors that might illuminate this text, I thought about a prism. I remember the first time I used this seemingly magical, transparent stone. I held it to the light, which I could not see, and to my surprise the light was broken down into the vibrant colors of a rainbow. It was natural for me to think the stone was creating something that wasnʼt there, but this medium revealed the complex truth that light is in fact made up of all the colors in existence.

In my image, Jesus is a prism. The light that is life that comes from the Creator shines through Jesus, and it is through him that we can see the fullness and beauty of who God is. It is through him that all of Creation came into being. I decided to paint the colors of the rainbow in the order I learned as a child: ROYGBIV. It was when picking paints that I realized there are seven colors in a simplified rainbow, and

there are also seven days of Creation. In this block carving, each of the days of Creation is referenced through simplified patterning in each of the colors of the rainbow. It is through Christ that all things came to being, and it is through him that we experience the abounding saturation of God, who chose to dwell among us.

—Lauren Wright Pittman

1 I realized when creating this image that I was subconsciously inspired by an image by iconographer Kelly Latimore called “Christ the Light.” In Latimoreʼs image, Jesus is the light, and the Holy Spirit is the prism. Iʼm grateful for his influence and hope you will also check out his work: kelly-latimore.pixels.com.
2 An acronym for the order of hues in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.