Thumbprint in the Clay: Divine Marks of Beauty, Order and Grace

by Luci Shaw

"The thumbprint . . . is for me a singular clue to human identity. . . . Just as each human thumbprint is unique, its pattern inscribed on the work of our hands and minds, the Creator's is even more so―the original thumbprints on the universe," declares poet Luci Shaw. We worship an endlessly creative God whose thumbprints are reflected everywhere we look―in sunsets, mountains, ocean waves―and in the invisible rhythms that shape our lives, such as the movement of planets around the sun. And this creative and ever-creating God has also left indelible thumbprints on us. We reflect God's imprint most clearly, perhaps, in our own creating and appreciation for beauty. A longing for beauty is inherent to being human. We don't create things that are purely practical; we desire them to be aesthetically pleasing as well. Beauty is also powerful, in its redemptiveness, generosity, inspiration. In reflecting on the role of beauty in our lives, Luci Shaw writes, "Beauty is Love taking form in human lives and the works of their hands." So come, join Luci Shaw as she ponders through the beauty of poetry and prose the places, sometimes unexpected, where she encounters God's fingerprints, and let it help you learn to see them in your life as well.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Memoir, Christian, Faith, Spirituality, Religion

205 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2016

About the author

Luci Shaw is a Christian writer of poetry and essays.

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luci Shaw ages and writes with grace. I lingered in this book and turned down many pages (but did not take time to type quotes in -- I'm an undisciplined reader, I know). She talks of our Lord and His imprints on creation, and more specifically, His imprinting on human hearts. She, of course, includes poetry in her prose and poems themselves. I love that Luci Shaw asks questions of God and shares those questions with her readers -- we all have questions and too many Christian writers give the impression of either not having questions, only answers for others; or if they have answers to their own questions, they barely mention, let alone explore the questions with their readers, but leap right into presenting the answers. I wish I could meet Luci Shaw. I would thank her. I would tell her that I admire her ability to live so much and lose much too and process all of this life while waiting for home -- I'm not sure I have this grace inside of me and frankly, I'm fighting aging and change and losing loves to death. I am challenged by Luci Shaw to imprint my years with God's grace -- since I have no ability on my own or within me -- to imprint my years for Him by not marking time but by marking His goodness and sharing that with those He keeps in or brings to my life.

[Saphraneet · Rating 5 out of 5]

i actually could not decide on the stars, but it was more five-ish than four-ish to me. Although this author has been around for a while and I have heard lots of praise for her poetry, this is the first time that I have ever read anything she had written. This book did contain some of her poetry, but mostly it was her prose writing which I found filled with beauty, grace, wisdom, and honesty. It was delightfully satisfying to read. I will have to try a book of just her poetry someday soon.

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautiful, thought-provoking book by Luci Shaw.

[Barbara A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved Luci Shaw’s poetry since I was a teen, so this collection of thoughts on beauty and creativity gave me insight into the poet’s mind. There are poems in the book I hadn’t read, even though I own all her volumes of poetry.
I especially enjoyed chapter 12 where she recounts her friendship with Madeleine L’Engle, and includes a beautiful poem to the writer.
I took a long time to read the entire book because there is much to absorb; it is one I’ll refer to again and again.

[Marlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose one could read this book cover to cover in a few sittings over a week or so, but this is a book I read slowly over months when I was feeling the need for nourishment. Sometimes meandering, always thoughtful and beautiful, it reminds me of how good this life is, even when it’s difficult. There is always beauty and a chance to grow in God’s grace, to be humble and allow His fingerprints on us to make their mark on others as well.

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Partners in Revelation: Bringing Beauty into View




If it is true that, as we age, we become even more of whatever we have been all our lives, then Luci Shaw is becoming more and more difficult to “shelve.” A poet and essayist well into her eighties, she continues to tackle topics ranging from quantum mechanics and the incarnation to the haecceity** of things and what it means to “doubt faithfully.” Thumbprint in the Clay examines these themes and more within the context of Luci’s decoding of the rich presence of purpose, design, and beauty in the universe in which we see God’s fingerprints and His invitation to become part of the creative process.

In four places in Scripture, God is identified metaphorically as a potter, and, made in His image, we also delight in the creation of useful and beautiful things. This response to beauty should not surprise us, for it is a “mark of the Maker,” and Luci Shaw has concluded that “beauty doesn’t reside simply in what we observe or the fact that we can see and take note, but in how we perceive and distinguish with all our senses.” The glory of this is that as seers, we become “partners in revelation to bring beauty into view.”

A collector of pottery through the years, Luci invites her readers to consider the beauty that results when something is imprinted or stamped upon clay — or upon a life. Impressions are made and influence has its “in-flowing” way with us and we are changed. As reflectors of the image of a creative God, all believers (and artists in particular) are called to reflect that image authentically so as to impact culture. By way of illustration, Luci shares a heart-warming story in which she helps a homeless woman, and the happy-ever-after just doesn’t come true. The help of one person was not enough to fix the “sad, smeared print” of a whole life, and yet out of that untidy tale of disappointment has come a more informed community of believers who are working together to help the needy.

Luci’s generous sharing of the sting of inadequacy (“Oh, God of living compassion and tender mercy, what could we have done differently?”) gives me courage to view my own failures with more grace, perhaps as part of God’s marking and molding of this lump of clay. Certainly God used various methods in Scripture to mark His people: Jacob’s limp from wrestling with God never left him; Miriam was marked with leprosy and Moses with radiance in direct correlation to their demonstration of faith; Zechariah was stamped with a nine-month silence.

Most joyful and inspiring is Thumbprint‘s underlying narrative of Luci’s own yielding to the Potter’s shaping and molding. Her heritage of “missionary blood” with all the baggage and expectations that cling to it, her wrestling with faith and doubt (something she reminds me that one cannot do from a distance), and her ever-curious approach to life through travel, outdoor adventures, and asking the questions have all marked her. Poems sprinkled liberally throughout the pages serve to document her progress and to pull me into the quest for fresh ways of saying the ancient Truth. I’m challenged by this observation about words and The Word:


“. . . we must be prepared to open our eyes, to move from what has become a well-worn bit of dogma in our minds to a vivid picture vigorous enough to freshen a relationship with God.”

I can just barely imagine the experience of being present when THE wardrobe from C.S. Lewis’s home arrived at the Marion E. Wade Collection in Wheaton, of finding his coat still hanging inside, of looking for tufts of Aslan fur. Insights into Luci’s formative relationship with Lewis scholar Clyde Kilby and Luci’s creative collaboration and friendship with Madeleine L’Engle are a treat for those of us who have followed Luci’s career (and say that we want to BE Luci Shaw when we grow up!).

“Generativity” is a word that shows up in one of Luci’s books, a word about growth and pushing forward into the future, and the reality of that word emanates with blazing brightness from between the lines of Thumbprint in the Clay. Having been imprinted by Christ, the questions to His followers hang in the air like a challenge:
•Can we live in awareness of the rich evidence of purpose, the fingerprints of God upon His world, and then invite others into the creative process?
• Can we listen and respond to the voice of God as He speaks Truth to the world (and directly to our searching hearts) through beauty, order, and grace?
•Can we view the circumstances of our lives (whatever they may be) as the continual reshaping and remaking of our Potter God?

//

** I never read a Luci Shaw book without gaining a new word. Naturally I had to show this one off. It literally means “thisness”and refers to “the essential unique quality of every created thing.” The idea was proposed by 14th century philosopher John Duns Scotus and is demonstrated well in the poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

This book was provided by IVP Books, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Luci Shaw's writing. Her life and creativity continue to inspire me, especially as I get older. I felt like this work meandered somewhat, moreso than other things I have read by her. But I came away encouraged nonetheless.

[Christy Dunning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve started and stopped this book more than I want to admit, the writing & poems touched me deeply. Not every one but the ones that did helped me to reflect on my own marks, scars and Gods thumbprint in it all.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked this book, I think my standard for Luci Shaw may be quite elevated,so I’m giving it three stars. It was thoughtful and interesting, though the thumbprint theme felt a bit forced at times. Still, such a lovely collection of her thoughts and words.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t what I expected-filled with essays, with only a handful of poems...I think I would have liked it more if it were merely a collection of Shaw’s poetry.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good thoughts from Luci Shaw. She is a poet I have long admired, but this was my first book of essays by her. Thoughtful and deep.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A series of reflections, including some of the author's poetry, on the "marks of the Maker" evident both in creation and in our lives.

True confessions. My wife is not a fan of most Christian writing. She finds much of it tedious, repetitive, and stylistically poor. And so when this book came in a shipment of books, I passed it along to her, being familiar with some of Shaw's other work. This book passed "the wife test"! Not only did she read it through, but she kept talking about different ideas, and wanted me to read it so we could talk about it together. And we did. This does not happen often.

The basic idea of the book is a series of reflections considering the "marks of the Maker" that we see both in the creation around us and in the unfolding of our lives and relationships, marks of beauty, order, and grace that reveal something of the Maker's character. She introduces this by speaking of a collection of mugs and other pottery around her home and how they are reflections of the artists who made each piece:

"Each piece, whether it’s a mug, a mixing bowl, a milk pitcher, a vase, a turkey platter, a serving dish, is the result of combining earth and human eye and muscle with individual design, skill and intense heat. Some of these treasures are hand built, some shaped on the potter’s wheel, many bearing the thumbprint signatures of the potters themselves or their names or logos scrawled on the mug handle or the bowl base. Having that personal identifying mark makes a piece of pottery memorable to me. It’s as if the maker is proclaiming his unique identity, saying, 'Don’t forget! I impressed this mark in the clay before firing to let you know it is authentically my artifact, and it will always be personal, from me to you.' ”

The book reflects her wide travels from her home in the Pacific Northwest on Bellingham Bay to cathedrals in New York City to the desert landscape of the American Southwest. She sees these marks in both the beauty and majesty of nature and in the great works of human artistry. There is a physicality about this book that ranges from pottery to mountains and the love of physical books, to the capabilities and frailties of the author's body. At one point, she recounts a revelatory conversati0n with Fr. Richard Rohr, who says, "I could sit for hours and simply contemplate that tree. Those leaves. Even that one leaf in particular." I found this resonating with my own experiences of spending a couple hours looking at and sketching a single flowering Columbine plant.

The book traces an arc moving from physical creation to our lives, which also bear unique and distinctive marks of the Maker's work, marks that point to his forming and molding, sometimes through pain and suffering, that make us both unique creations and reflections of the Creator. Perhaps one of the most moving chapters was toward the end as she recounts the powerful impact of Clyde Kilby, Wheaton professor and C. S. Lewis scholar in recognizing, encouraging, and defending her emerging calling as a writer against her father's aspirations for her of mission service. At one point he told her father, "Dr. Deck, excuse me, but I believe that is your vision not your daughter's."

The writing moves in a bit of a "stream of consciousness" mode around the chapter themes, with some of the author's poetry interspersed. These are reflections, not an exposition. They allow us to walk alongside a deeply spiritual, keenly observant, long time spiritual pilgrim, and wise woman. At first I thought that this might be a good book for older fellow pilgrims that might give words to their journey, and indeed, this is so. But I also think that for younger pilgrims, particularly those of an artistic bent, this could be a great book for seeing what the life of faith looks like after a lifetime, what a life is like that has been "imprinted" by this way of seeing over sixty, seventy years or more. For all of us, it can be more helpful in opening us up to seeing the ways the great Artist has left "thumbprints" all over that reveal the wonders of the Artist, as well as what the Artist has made.

[bumblethunderbeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this "unassuming" book at a workshop where hundreds were set out. I had given myself permission to buy one and this is what I left with. Initially, I wondered if I had chosen poorly despite my admiration for Shaw and her close compatriot, L'Engle. At times the chapters felt a bit random even with their overall structure clear from the table of contents. But the musings are detailed and resonant. Her words transparently reveal a deep authenticity. Then occasionally her thoughts will be punctuated by 1 or 2 sentences that pierce through everything, words glaringly true but that I could never have pieced together on my own. Here's one example.

But the obligatory piety of the Victorian age, the 'death of God' movement, the deconstructionism of Derrida and Foucault and the related postmodernism, the commercialization of the sacred, the pluralism of belief or unbelief, the degrading of moral values, the democratization of excellence, and the erosion of what used to be called "absolute" have all effected shifts in human understandings of meaning. The result: the significance of the sacred sometimes seems like a ravaged parchment or a garbled, coded memorandum without a key...(112)

I like the questions Shaw raises, the way her words expand my vision and re-consider even the simplest things like a prism or a handmade mug. Despite its small size and accessible language, this book holds some vast ideas.

[Amanda Rogozinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did not really begin to speak to me until I went out into nature this last weekend, hiking up to Tahquamenon Falls in Paradise, MI and ferrying across Lake Huron to walk the clear beaches of Mackinac Island. It was there I realized how much Luci Shaw’s Thumbprint In the Clay had infiltrated my perspective. Everywhere I went was like a scavenger hunt, looking for Divine marks on the landscape. Beauty does something to your heart; listen to Shaw’s arresting definition:

“Beauty…the appearance of something of such supreme worth that it begins to make sense of all the breakage, the heartache and distress of our world.”

Finding glimpses of beauty, evidences of God’s presence and His goodness, ushers in a hope and healing that has the rare ability to push through the muddle and despair we so easily fall prey to. I, at least, cannot separate finding beauty from finding God.

Continued at TheWillowNook.com. You are welcome there!

*Review copy courtesy of InterVarsity Press*

[Terri Wangard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luci Shaw ponders the places where she encounters God's fingerprints. Just as each human thumbprint is unique, the Creator’s is even more so—the original thumbprints on the universe.

That sounds like a delightful book. I loved her way with words: “Dandelions, small sunbursts on every bank, wanton and innocent, without evil intent, uncanny in their abundance, feeling no need to justify their existence.” Her essay on beauty is stirring.

At times, though, I felt adrift. Where was she going with her thoughts? Hiding bread crusts under the table as a child? My mind would wander and I’d lose the point. I had expected more poetry, or maybe I didn’t recognize it in the kindle version.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of essays is meditative and poetic, not quite stream-of-consciousness, but sometimes rambling and reminiscent of a river's wandering path. I found some of the early essays in the collection too dense with description. I wanted the one page poem that pointed the way rather than a several-page segment that carried me up the trail.

Shaw has an eye for beauty and making connections. I appreciated her insights and will look for her other works, but overall this book doesn't invite me to return and rest in it's pages - it's more of a one-time trip for me.

Review PDF received from NetGalley

[Tanya Marlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been savouring this beautiful book. Luci Shaw, best known as as a poet, writes an extended meditation on what it means to be made in the image of God, and where God’s imprints can be found. I read it in the garden, which was the best place to read it because it weaves so much natural beauty and aspects of creation into it.

The prose works as an overture for the climactic poem in each chapter, and quiet often I was unexpectedly moved to tears by the worshipful, heart-ful words. This is a book to be read slowly, preferably outside – recommended.

[Cara Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like it more than I did, but the same seems to hold true: I like her poetry more than her prose. Is it too stream of consciousness for me (and therefore loosely organized)?

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stirrings of an elder soul fit well in my life at this point. To hear of her college days, meeting and making friends with like minded ones almost sounds like Utopia to me.