Waters of Separation, 1986

Graphite on on 100% rag Arches paper, 25 × 18 in. (63 ½ × 45 ¾ cm)

Gift of First Baptist Church, Vancouver

This drawing is one of seven in Grimm's Genesis Portfolio, in which each drawing corresponds to one of the “days” of creation in Genesis 1, seeking to convey the energy and meaning of God’s creative activity. In each, an outer rectangular image is suggestive of a general spiritual principle associated with each of God’s creative words, while a smaller internal square traces the contours of daily, creaturely experience. In this way, Grimm sees the particular, immanent, temporal phenomena of life participating in something beyond themselves. 

Just as Grimm’s imagery contemplates the genesis of all things through attention to everyday experience, her titles add further layers to this by invoking points of reference beyond the Genesis account. In some cases, the titles are scriptural: “Deep Calls to Deep" is a quotation of Psalm 42:7 and “Waters of Separation” is derived from Numbers 19. In other instances, the titles come from lyrical verse. Gerard Manley Hopkins pervades this series: “Warm Breast and Ah! Bright Wing[s]” is from his poem “God’s Grandeur” and “Fire-Folk” is from “The Starlight Night.” And “The Earth is Bread” is a lyric from Bruce Cockburn’s song “Gavin’s Woodpile.” In each case, Grimm’s subtle meditations on Genesis are conducted in and through the particularities and flux of daily life.