Cogs 2

I did this sketch a few days ago. I used an 18" x 24" sheet of sketch paper (Canson, I think...). The drawing was sketched initially in light, bright yellow using a woodless colored pencil (Prismacolor Art Stix). I developed the image with additional colors of woodless colored pencil before touching up some of the finer details using regular wood-ful colored pencils. The final touch was my cog stamp. For the stamp ink I used an archival-style ink pad and daubed the entire pad on my stamp (which I created using the design shown in a previous post (see "Cogs")).

I think this fits nicely with the idea I was trying to communicate in the "Cogs" post. Apart from wondering about the reality of a 'Jesus,' I think someone might try to fabricate a second coming of Jesus, and might succeed in convincing a frightening number of the masses. Either way--historical or contemporary, in application, Jesus is just a cog that people use to achieve their ends. The 'Jesus,' or messiah, or god, or gods are all just means to the ends to which certain groups and/or individuals work.

While discussing the idea of the cog with my father, his response was interesting and frustrating. I don't like the idea that someone else is deciding what I will do, what I'll produce, to which end I will work. The idea of an engineer or machinist using me as a cog profoundly bothers me. Having mentioned the idea of someone outside the machine, his response of, "Oh, like a Grand Designer?" showed me a different interpretation of my work. However, I want to be the engineer of my own existence. I decide what my life means, to what end I strive and my relationship to everyone else on this island in space.