About Me
My photography and paintings below.
HI, I'M AN ARTIST AND WRITER, VERY INTO BIBLICAL STUDIES ALSO,
THINGS OF JUDAISM AND MESSIANIC STUDIES, IN PARTICULAR, VERY INTO GOSPEL,
AFRICAN AMERICAN GOSPEL, AFRICAN, ARAMAIC, & PALESTINIAN STUDIES AND THE
ANCIENT ROOTS OF JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY.
I'M AN OIL PAINTER, PHOTOGRAPHER, WRITER, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST.
I'VE DESIGNED AND RUN ART PROJECT FOR PERSONS WITH HOMELESSNESS IN
SKID ROW, LOS ANGELES FOR 8 YRS. GOD HAS BLESSED IT.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO WEBSITE OF RORY'S ART
Below : my art, beginning with an in-progress pencil drawing :
"Rachel in Ramah".(DETAILS FROM DRAWING. IN PROGRESS.) :
photo I shot of my dear friend Sa'ada (Shahida) Zechariah:
Below: Praying Hands.
Below : A drawing I did 27 years ago.
Another of my drawings, below : (some of my oil paintings and photos are in my PICS on this myspace page).
Recent photo in studio, below :
I'M AN ARTIST....
(oil painting, etching, relief sculpture, photography)
and writer (expository, surreal prose, epic blank verse poetry)
SOCIAL ACTIVISM :
I also have the passion to work with persons marginalized by
mental illness and homelessness in the hard pressed SKID ROW
district of Los Angeles.
(highest concentration of homeless persons in the United States).
I run a program called the Lamp Art Project
( built a website for it 100+ page Skid Row LAMP ART PROJECT WEBSITE ).
Designed and implemented it for a larger program called
Lamp Community in Skid Row.
Worked on this for the last 8 years.
Below : a photo I took of my God Daughter, Kirdy, and our friend, and oft time model,
bard of the streets, Wanda, at my Skid Row art project.
BELOW: MY PRAYER PARTNER ROBIN AND HER FAMILY
..
BELOW: Me in Skid Row Store Window Reflection
I LIVED IN BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA, for many years, but felt the calling,
(I warned you I'm into Christ), to come and work in the inner city.
BIBLICAL STUDIES :I am very into my biblical studies,
I'm very devout in my own imperfect way
But I have HUGE DISAGREEMENTS with MUCH of contemporary Fundamentalism...
This might seem particularly ironic as I consider myself a literal believer of scripture.
That is I believe God parted the Red Sea and, well, the whole thing.
Where I DISAGREE with fundamentalism:
Example : I am against the targetting and, basically, persecution
of vulnerable groups of difference such as Gay people,
while ignoring greater issues of the entire Bible
such as not turning our back on the poor and oppressed.
I believe that we have been programmed to focus on a few tiny verses in
scripture referencing homosexuality, and meanwhile ignore the thousands of
verses of scripture talking of the weightier things of God, Justice and Mercy,
and the Godhood of a Messiah who offered up the ultimate Passover Lamb,
to cover us.
While many fundamentalists rightfully focus on Christ, His Godhood
Redemptive Death, and Resurrection,
the manner in which much of "Christianity" turned its back on the victims
of the AIDS epidemic, is similar to the same evil apathy
taken by "the church" toward the Jews in the Holocaust.
(The Protestant as well as Catholic Church, on the whole
turned its back on the Jews in the Holocaust)...,
This is similar to the years "Christianity" condoned slavery, and
specifically the enslavement and holocaust of millions of Africans, not to mention
the condoning of the ongoing "glass ceiling" in our society, and
countless other "alive and well", aspects of oppression.
While I agree with churches' focus on God, His Messiah, and scripture, I DISAGREE with
ideas that the United States is somehow God's chosen country, for example
excusing the military agression through which we acquired California
from Mexico, and now blame "immigrants" for hurting "our" economy.
I do love the United States and its people, but feel
speaking out is key to freedom.
although all humans are imperfect with failings, I look up to people like
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.., and also Mother Theresa, who put their lives into their faith.
Yet I believe in grace, not works. (YOU figure it out).
I love Oscar Wilde, who in writings such as "The Selfish Giant", "The Nightengale and
the Rose", "The Ballad of Reading Gaol", and "On the sale by Auction of Keats' Love
Letters" showed much comprehension of the compassion of Christ.
PLEASE NOTE : there are some photos of my art on this site under
my "View More Pics" ... you can also see my art at
CLICK HERE TO GO TO WEBSITE OF RORY'S ART
Hope you take the time to experience the paintings and drawings and photographs.
There are 20 pages, click on image icons to go to the full pages of the artpieces...
Also you can Click
HERE to see large website and images on the art project i run in Skid Row.
Peace and Love rory
