For the young (and the young at heart) the phrase, “Once upon a time” contains the four most magical words in the English language. Children know when they hear it that they are about to be transported into another world for an adventure that will take them beyond themselves. The young at heart know the imagination is a place for stories, and that human beings need stories if we are to make sense of life. That is why Jesus told so many of them. Stories embody our deepest values, ideas, hopes and fears. I may believe in heroism as a general concept, but it is stories of heroes that let me dream about being one and desire the character and virtue required to be heroic.

Seeing the quiet, imaginative magic of story is one way to view the lovely, whimsical artwork of Shawna Gilmore. It’s as if she has found a way—equally magically—to capture “once upon a time” in paint.

© Pictures are copyrighted and property of Shawna Gilmore. Use is prohibited.

In Gallery at Cross (Sept – Nov 2019) Gilmore exhibited for the first time a set of paintings she calls “Mulberry Street.” “Mulberry Street is a fictional neighborhood,” she says, “with a series for each home. Just as homes within any neighborhood vary in style and substance, so do the homes on Mulberry Street.” By sharing the paintings with us she invites us to meet the neighbors and imagine their stories.

One set consisting of two works introduces us to “George the Spaceman.” In the first we see George in his living room. Crafted with the painterly skill and mature style Gilmore brings to all her work, the background seems normal: a couch, a dog, a lamp, houseplants, and pillows on the furniture. The details are a bit dated (the late 50s or early 60s) and yet believable. It’s the sort of living room I’d expect George to have. On the wall is a picture of a sci-fi spacecraft and far off planet. We know something about George even before looking at him. And when we do, we see a happy man carrying a briefcase about to step into a bottomless hole. The title: “It Wouldn't Be The Last Time George Forgot The Giant Space Hole In His Living Room.” (Gilmore’s titles are as imaginative and fun as her paintings.)

When I first saw the painting it made me smile, and then when I thought about it for a moment, I realized I could relate. So often there are surprises that overtake us in the unlikeliest of places. And it is in the ordinary things of life—in family and home, for example, and in nature—that we suddenly catch hints that there is more to life, meaning and reality than the mere here and now. We take a step and suddenly experience far more than we expected.

And if we wonder if George’s hole opened into tragedy or enchantment, Gilmore allows us to see him again: “Everyday Was The Perfect Day For George's Space Suit.” Now the starry glimpse of deep space seen in the mysterious hole is reflected in George’s suit. Instinctively we know that whatever adventure he had when he dropped out of his living room was worth it. Some surprises in life, interruptions that disrupt our time and deflect our attention do not lead to tears but to a deeper sense of fulfillment and human flourishing. Meeting the extraordinary, the transcendent in the midst of the ordinary and routine is a grace that transforms.

As with George in his living room, Gilmore often depicts her characters wearing invisible clothing. And she is correct: we are more than our clothes, our resumes, our toys, our exteriors. The neighbors we meet on Mulberry Street are all unique and each home has its own narrative and flavor. Gilmore gently erases the hard boundary between nature and home, a line we need now but that will someday be unnecessary when, finally, in the hopeful vision of the ancient prophet, the lion lies down with the lamb and is led by a child (Isaiah 11:6).

Shawna Gilmore’s lovely art invites us to slow down and imagine, a deeply human experience that is in short supply in our busy world. “The story does what no theorem can quite do,” C. S. Lewis wrote in “On Stories.” “It may not be ‘like real life’ in the superficial sense, but it sets before us an image of what reality may well be like at some more central region.”

For more information: To see or purchase the works in Mulberry Street and more of Shawna Gilmore’s art visit her website (https://www.shawnagilmore.com).

Once Upon a Time: The Art of Shawna Gilmore

Church Life