Football, Prayers and Painting

Football and “Prayers for a New Age”

This post has been written by my lovely mother, Nikki Kinne, who is also a professional artist. You can check out her paintings and buisness here.

Time and again I’m gain understanding as to how everything is related to everything else. For instance, a truth discovered in the arts, on a spiritual path or in social sciences, is also a truth on the football field. A fundamental example could be to regard the neurological capacity a person is born with, there are those who are talented in physical endeavors, or an ‘easy’ nature that makes for popularity, perhaps talent in artistic expression, or early belief in spiritual things, these qualities are nothing unless the person couples it with study and a discipline within the area they are talented at.

On the hand, someone with little or no talent for football, but has a great love for it, is willing to make the sacrifices, and keeps trying will surpass the most naturally talented, but undisciplined player.My artist mentor, not a Baha’i, was pushing me to ‘play’ with the paint, just explore, fall in love with what watercolor could do. 4 years of studying under her and her repeating the same instruction for 4 years, I still wasn’t getting it. I also hadn’t figured how to take the Allau’Abha’s to something more than finger counting. Through a series of accidents the idea came to paint my Allau’Abhas.

Family

The math was quickly adapted, and other problems solved over the first week. The mentor, who I was co-teaching at a university campus on the Great Lakes was so excited by my private art that she had me present the process to the Christian based university group. I was out of my comfort zone to say the least, and it was like setting off a bomb in the middle of a revival meeting. But, all turned out wonderful.

Once I got home all I wanted to do was paint these prayer paintings that had no market, let alone a place to show. I saw them as like the art an Alaskan hunter painted inside his tool box 100s of years ago. Private! I had to start limiting the time on them because I wasn’t getting the ordered paintings done for the galleries.

While on Pilgrimage I sought guidance while in the Shrines regarding my art. The message was loud and clear

Bahji

that it was time to start painting the things really close to my heart, Baha’i subjects. It knocks the breath out of a person to tempt the visual images most sacred in the world. So, when at the Heights of Heroism meeting I was moved to shift the show in March to Baha’i images, the only way I could see even trying such a thing was doing them in the Allau’Abha painting process.

Discoveries while doing these prayer paintings have been profound both in understanding prayer and painting.