by PAT McCARTHY
Wood carvings of the wounded hands of Jesus, by Auckland artist Bill Verryt, have been combined with reflections by Beate Matthies in a 20-page Stations of the Cross booklet.
“The concept of depicting the Stations of the Cross through the suffering of Jesus’s hands has been percolating through my brain for many years,” said Mr Verryt, who had a career as a graphic artist.
“I have always worked with my hands in a creative way, and I guess that led me to think of the consequences of damage to them, and thus, Jesus’s hands.”
He began by sculpting a few as clay tiles, but then began working with wood – “plain old pine, even-grained, soft, easy to carve and available”.
“The minute I picked up a slab of wood with a creative mind, the inspiration was automatic and inevitable. Each of the 14 stations took me two to three days to complete.”
Mr Verryt presented his artwork to parishioners over morning tea at Maria Assumpta parish, Beach Haven, and fellow parishioner Ms Matthies felt drawn to it.
She wrote reflections and prayers for each station and, with photographs by Barry Noel, published the booklet as a project of her Titipounamu Study & Joy website.
The A6 booklet, in English, German or Samoan, may be ordered from www.studyjoy.nz/ for $7 (including postage within New Zealand).
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