TUCKER'S STARRY NIGHT

“Tucker’s Starry Night” was small and broken clay
painted blues with green and gold, swirled and loose and free.
His efforts with a lump of earth were done with loving care—
Then in wrong hands, was broken. Who would even dare
To touch the heartfelt art of young, creative hands?
It’s difficult to realize that jealously demands
Negative attention, hidden from our view.
What someone meant for evil was soon turned into good.
We carefully removed the parts thoughtlessly left behind—
the broken edges remained, symbolic of the kind
of artist’s life we’re living in a broken, fallen world
But in the Master Artist’s hands new beauty is unfurled.
Re-created with new purpose and placed for all to see
Upon a tiny easel, a little gift for me.
“Tucker’s Starry Night” became a masterpiece that day
Reminding me from start to end we’re all just mortal clay.

Claudia Lowery
November 18, 2009

Tucker Barton is a fifth grade art student of mine. He made a little dish from leftover clay after his regular work was done. He painted it very carefully in a style similar to Van Gogh’s Starry Night. When finished he said, “There, I’m stopping because it’s perfect!” As it sat on his desk drying, someone broke off one side as he was cleaning up at the sink. Tucker was heartbroken. However, I told him to let me think about it and we’d do something with it. Two days later he asked what we were going to do and I said, “Do you trust me? I’m going to break it some more.” He said, “Yes,” and I proceeded to break off the rest of the edges, leaving a flat surface with his “Van Gogh”-styled design intact. We gave it a coat of Mod Podge and he signed it. Now it sits on a little easel on my desk. I like it even better than before. What a great message there is in the small things in life…God is re-creating us daily….and I am very thankful for that.