Image of the Week: Healing Hands
© Durga Yael Bernhard
As an illustrator working for many years with Christian publishers, I was repeatedly commissioned to illustrate the theme of the triumph of spiritual riches over material poverty. I had to find different ways to convey this concept visually. In this rendering, the riches lie hidden in the roots of salvation, which in turn support the healing hands of divine intervention.
It just so happens the same theme broadly manifests in Hinduism – a culture which fed my mind, influenced my art, and yielded a Sanskrit name back in my twenties. Hindu art is infused with a unique, vibrant energy that I wanted to emulate. Even when painted, the figures seemed to be carved on a lathe. Colors shimmer against each other, sometimes with clashing hues that are sickeningly sweet. Plus, I had fallen in love with gouache paint – ever since I picked up a small boxed set in a tiny art supply store on the left bank in Paris – yes, this was my twenties! Imagine my delight when I discovered a whole genre of miniature Hindu storytelling scenes painted in gouache. It was love at first sight.
I was also steeping myself in Jungian psychology at the time, and tended to think in terms of dualities – dichotomies which easily morphed into images, such as this one of the solitary Self in the hands of the All.
I was secretly pleased by all these influences that trickled down into my illustrations, including the Christian ones. Pourquoi pas? My publisher liked bold, vivid imagery and creative symbolism. Let it be spicy and earthy, I thought. Let the woman be coffee-colored, curled up in the cinnamon hands of Life. Let her find healing and fulfillment in those hands, with their riches within. So went my train of thought – or something like that – as I worked up sketches. Sarah, my editor, granted her artists free reign. It was up to me to come up with the symbolism.
After I submitted my sketches, Sarah would provide feedback, and I'd be struck once again by her uncanny insights and observations; and I'd tell her again that she missed her calling as an art critic. Then I'd make a few adjustments according to her wishes, and the final "illo" – painted in gouache, a choice medium for illustrators even today – would be a little better for it.
I worked with Sarah for 24 years – always in springtime, and always a pleasure.
Blessed is the true Self, for your reward shall be in heavenly, healing hands.
A good week to all!