Exodus Mixed Media (Watercolor, Acrylics, Extra Heavy Gel, Sand, Pastels on Heavily Textured Watercolor Paper)
This piece of artwork is mixed media in its truest form. Mixed media simply means that more than one medium has been utilized—I used quite a few. It requires the planning of the layers and extra drying time to ensure the final work will have structural integrity.
Exodus is based on the concepts of our journey to the Promised Land, overcoming obstacles, deliverance from bondage and most of all faith. The yellow symbolizes the scorching sun in the desert. It’s the paralyzing heart when life’s hardships are overwhelming and where nothing can grow. The three pyramids stand for Egypt—the place of enslavement, where what matters most to each one is taken away. The waves are high, dangerous and threatening to swallow one up. It is the moment the choice between hopelessness and faith is being made.
So, why did G-d have to part the sea? On land, everything is visible and open. You can easily recognize trees, animals, mountains and people. So it is with our visible strengths like talents, abilities and character. The sea, on the other hand, is a big blue expanse of mystery. Although the sea is teeming with life, when you look at it you can’t identify anything; it is all hidden beneath the surface. It is like our underlying talents like inner strengths and abilities that are yet untapped. Things that we might not know we have and are still undiscovered.
The Israelites were cornered with only two options: despair or faith. Logic and reason demanded that they give in. There was no possible way out of their predicament. But faith demanded that they keep marching to the Promised Land—sea or no sea. It was at that moment, when hopelessness was countered by faith that the impossible happened. The sea opened up and became dry land. The most daunting obstacle dissolved into nothingness, without a struggle, just with faith. The people became empowered exactly when they acknowledged G d as the only true power. By surrendering themselves to a higher force, they discovered the force within them through faith. Thus God’s parting of the Sea revealed that regardless the barriers one needs to overcome by faith you keep on marching toward the Promised Land.