Canada. “My maps for Ukraine”

When it explodes A war in your homeland, About 6500 kilometers away, what do you do? Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, many Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians alike have been targeting c.Provided for humanitarian assistance Volunteering at the front line, collecting essentials, sheltering refugees, signing petitions or raising funds using all the skills at their disposal.

In my case, like Ukrainian-Canadian artistI have chosen Explain and sell different designs The proceeds will help those fleeing to neighboring countries and those staying in Ukraine.

As a Christian, My sense of responsibility as an artist is even stronger. After all, art is the answer to life. An artist responds to his surroundings, And art has the ability to illuminate that environment in a new way. As a Christian who is an artist in this regard, I feel a deep desire and a serious responsibility To share the truth with confidence and to establish our view of the one who is the source and true of my faith.

In his book Armed beautyDon Julián Carrón writes: “… in the situation in which we live, helping each other to see reality as reality is the first sign of friendship to face the needs of the world and live as human beings”.

When the war was in its infancy, I began to see in the news and on social media many stories of Ukrainian civilians and civilians facing the invasion and military occupation. I have decided to do A drawing In one of these stories, in A woman approaches a soldier He told him: “Keep these seeds in your pocket so the sunflower will grow in your grave when you die.”

This story has now become a myth that people have explained in various ways, and I have chosen to represent it in a way that sends a message of hope rather than fear. I do not want to hide the suffering Because of this woman, as Don Coron says, Friendship is about helping one another to see each other as true. And it includes both good and bad.

So, I wanted to bring Focus on the reality of hope This story reflects that. Golden sunflower rising from the earth soaked in blood. Blossom life from death. Because hope does not just mean hope. Hope is the horror of beauty, yet can be seen Thanks to Christ for the possibility of redemptionWhat he did and continues to do.

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This hope will help you to face evil and laugh. For example, the role of many political cartoonists is to illuminate the lies and corruption in our world, not to illuminate horror. To remind you that evil has no last word. I once heard of a useful quote: “The devil uses a gun, but he has no bullets.” We know that through the death and resurrection of Christ, death and all its allies were defeated. As Christians, and as comrades who are walking with the suffering in Ukraine at this time, let us remind one another of the limits of evil and the reality of hope.

First published Love moves Magazine