A creative life well lived

The world lost a creative soul recently. Donovan Walling was an example of someone who truly embraced every facet of his innate creativity. He was an educator by profession, one who traveled during his lifetime between the classroom and the scholarly world. But all the time, Donovan found the time to create.

I had the pleasure of touring his home once in search of artwork for an ekphrasis (writing about art) project I was doing with our congregation. The home he shared with his husband Sam is filled with paintings he created throughout his life. Earlier works were more geometric — including one above the living room fireplace that is six feet tall and was created on his garage floor. More recent work, such as Peace Like a River, are looser and more flowing. Donovan was never afraid to try something new. “I can always paint over it,” he insisted.

Donovan Walling. Peace Like a River. Acrylic on canvas. Installed at First United Church, Bloomington, Indiana.

Donovan wrote about his inspiration for Peace Like a River:

Peace Like a River was inspired by the hymn of the same name. My sense is that peace is a complicated concept. From a distance, the stylized blue river in this painting is a placid stripe against a neutral background. But when you look closer, the river of peace flows across a backdrop that is nuanced and chaotic, just as every life, close up, is more complex than it seems from a distance.

He wrote poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Because of his professional work, he developed publishing skills which he used to produce self-published volumes that he generously shared with his friends. Last fall he invited me to co-produce a volume focussing on justice issues with the congregation of First United Church, Bloomington. (You can read my contribution in this post.)

His creativity was fueled by every part of his life, some of which I had the pleasure of learning more about during his convalescence at home. Donovan was creative is the best way. He didn’t consider whether something he created would find a home with someone else or not. He was compelled to create as a way of sharing the honest details of who he was as a person, inviting others into his life. His was a creative life well lived.

 

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