My Quaker Way Has Opened Through Art

by Mary Pugh Clark
Montclair Meeting

I am a visual person. I make sense of things by looking. Words, ideas, decisions—all grow from what I see. I let what I draw or paint, or photos that I take, help me clarify my thoughts. This process of mine has informed and deepened how I have practiced Quakerism. How I have made my way. And sought to grow into integrity.

As a child I was encouraged to refrain from challenging older people. Complaining and voicing fears were especially discouraged. I remember being told to follow the example of the three wooden monkeys my grandmother had: “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.” I found the advice confusing but I kept my mouth shut.

Fortunately, no one objected to what I drew and painted. I could plop dark clouds with black raindrops on paper or swoop choppy waves around little boats on canvas as I wished. I could paint mean cowboys getting away. When I did my art I could feel clearly even if I did not have words.

Much later for a class on journaling I wrote a piece called “My Life in Ten Pages.” I made chapters based on what I considered “telling” photos for chunks of time. Then I described the memories that were attached to each chosen photo. And so I identified challenges and achievements.

At the time I was working on this project I was experiencing abuse in my marriage. I took to making small drawings featuring a Mary character who could do things on her own. I also sought refuge in worship at the Quaker meeting near where I lived. I knew some about Quakers’ testimony of equality and thought, if there was a God, the notion that there was that of God in every person, was a good one.

When I finally left the constraints of my marriage my artwork expanded. I could take all the photos that I wished. And I could curate the walls of my new place without the risk of having things mocked or taken down. Joyfully I arranged photos, postcards, album covers and prints up and down the walls salon style. My unarticulated purpose was to find a purpose and direction. That seemed akin to continuing revelation.

Later once I retired from teaching, I began making clear links between my art and my spiritual practices. Walking in NYC I took a photo of my feet pointing to graffiti on the sidewalk. My heart was drawn to the words, “Become Your Dream.” I was excited to be finding words to describe what I saw that meshed with what my heart felt. I titled the picture “Self-Portrait, Courage."

When I had the good fortune about 10 years ago to buy a small ranch house, the well-lit rooms invited me to work at composing “messages” by the way I put things on the walls. One section in the dining room celebrates my ongoing desire to work for equality. For me this means valuing all voices while also changing the structures that give some privilege and others limitations.

Here is a detail showing one of my more recent Mary character drawings.

My bathroom door points to how I make arrangements. I link what feeds my soul (my Meetinghouse fireplace, the ocean, and my cat) with behavior I want to embody. My tee-shirt shows I have hope.

By adding Keith Haring’s take on the three monkeys I affirm that I can see, hear, and speak true. In these ways I believe I am filling my home (and myself) with integrity.