Through A Glass Darkly | Joni Eareckson Tada's Art Series

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]I haven't seen this in a long time it's been in storage and I'm really pleased with it it's quite a it's quite a beautiful piece I remember it as being darker than it was but there's a lot of light in it and I'm happy with [Music] it I call this unusual watercolor and pastel pencil render ing through a glass Darkly and it is inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:12 now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror ah but then we shall see face to face now I know in part but then I shall know fully even as I am fully known you see we we live down here on Earth such smothered lives such restrained lives and even though we are followers of Jesus it is hard for us it is so difficult to break free of those things that bind us that hold us back hold us down so how could I show this in a painting well I put us under glass our Spirits if we would but heed the call tell us oh you were you were made for so much more than a stuffy ordinary mediocre mundane existence Christ just made you free but the clear crystal glass under which we live may as well be dark right and you can see this in my rendering those little butterflies are seeing life through a glass Darkly they're just pinned there my painting also shows a mirror in which we now see a poor reflection of ourselves ah but we also see outside the window two butterflies Fully Alive fluttering among the flowers and beckoning you belong out here with us come play you can't quite see the butterflies outside they're somewhat mitigated by the the haze the brightness of of light and mist and Dew and and they're among the flowers but yet in that mist you can see rainbow colors again lightly coloring the Spectrum and even in the mirror you can see that you can see this the color spectrum in this glass Dome you can see it the light that gives the outer edge definition I did not so much draw it as I let the light and the color Define it it Sparkles up at the top I think that was one of my favorite things to do see the flash of light that kind of blinds your eye but even in that flash I'm looking at this closely I can see that I outlined it in colors of the rainbow to give it a sense of not artificial light but natural light I had fun playing with color and light on this one I don't want to be those butterflies under that glass I'd rather be the butterflies outside the window oh but now we only know in part right and there is coming a day when we shall fully know the Glorious freedom to which Christ has called us and then we shall take flight and fly to Worlds unknown no longer smothered and restrained by Earth then we shall be free indeed