James Christensen - "Sometimes the Spirit.." Porcelain

The limited-edition porcelain

"Sometimes the Spirit Touches Us Through Our Weaknesses"

and

the limited-edition print

"After Clouds, Sun."

The outside dimensions of the print (white border) is 11x14 and the image is 8-1/2 x 12-1/4 inches. The print is numbered (#1048/1950) and is signed by James Christensen. The sculpture and print have the same number (#1048/1950).

BOTH are lower than the original issue price!!

WOW!!

From August 1999 --

Limited Edition Porcelain "Sometimes the Spirit Touches Us Through Our Weaknesses" with Limited Edition mini-print "After Clouds, Sun", original retail $275.  Note: Porcelain is mint with original box, hand/wrist is perfect with no pealing paint.  (TWO limited edition items)

Based on the 1994 print of the same title, this poignant sculpture portrays the hunchback who is Everyman, and as Christensen says, “The hump is his burden. We all have burdens. The angel touches that symbol of his weakness to remind us that most growth comes through dealing with adversity. If you pray for strength, God sends you a set of weights.” The hunchback sits on a box that says literally, in Latin, “after clouds, sun”—the equivalent of “look for the silver lining”—and that idea inspires the accompanying print. “The spirit,” the artist assures us, “will lift us up and lighten our burden.”

This image is the sequel, if you will, to "Sometimes the Spirit Touches Us Through Our Weaknesses." That work shows a hunchback, an Everyman, being visited by an angel and receiving the message that we grow through adversity -- we can make our weaknesses into strengths. The hunchback had been seated on a box inscribed with a Latin phrase that translates literally as "after clouds, sun" -- the equivalent of "look for the silver lining." In this follow-up image, the same character, lifted skyward by the spirit, smiles as he sees that lining. His burden, like all of ours, will be lightened.

About the artist

Inspired by the world's myths, fables and tales of imagination, James C. Christensen wants his work to add up to more than a beautiful - if sometimes "curious" looking work of art. Having taught art professionally for over 20 years, he likes to think of the world as his classroom. His hope is that through whatever he creates-be it a porcelain, fine art print or book-he can convey a message, inspiration or a simple laugh. He believes that teaching people to use their imagination helps us find solutions to sooth the stresses of everyday life-or get a little lift to help us keep going. In short: all things are possible when you share Christensen's philosophy that "Believing is Seeing."

Christensen was born in 1942 and raised in Culver City, California. He studied painting at Brigham Young University and, for a while, the University of California at Los Angeles before finishing his formal education at BYU. Since then, he has had one-man shows in the West and the Northeast and his work is prized in collections throughout the U.S. and Europe.

 Christensen has also won all the professional art honors the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention can bestow, as well as multiple Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. Christensen has been designated as a “Utah Art Treasure,” one of Utah’s Top 100 Artists by the Springville Museum of Art and received the Governor’s Award for Art awarded by the Utah Arts Council recognizing the significance of Christensen’s artwork to Utah’s cultural communities. He was inducted into the U.S. Art magazine’s Hall of Fame and is an Honored Alumnus at Brigham Young University for his contributions to fine art and education. James and his wife Carole, co-chair the Mormon Arts Foundation. He is a frequent guest lecturer at Brigham Young University, and has also given workshops to large companies and organizations on the subject of creative thinking, including the California Art Educator’s Association, Hallmark and Intermountain Health Care.

In addition to his fine art limited editions on paper and canvas, Christensen’s work can be found in five acclaimed books and a series of interactive journals, and in three dimensions in porcelain and hand-crafted, limited-edition bronze sculptures.