Into Living Waters:
A Steel Crucifix for Life’s Last Crossing
A Sacred Commission
In 2023 I was commissioned to create a crucifix for a poignant context: to hang above the home altar of a hospice serving the residents of Community First! Village. In this home, our formerly homeless brothers and sisters, who have walked a hard and lonely road, will be known and loved as they finish their journey.
As I contemplated the design, it seemed right that the piece should depict death not as suffering or pain — the formerly homeless need no reminder of those — but as a tranquil, sacred transition into ultimate healing and rest.
Concept sketch for Hospice Crucifix
The final concept drawing shows Christ’s body in a pool of gently rippling water. He is positioned in a cruciform posture, but His wounds are empty. His form embodies both death and resurrection – possibly laying in repose, possibly rising in ascension. I wanted the image to elude a straightforward interpretation, allowing the viewer to experience the mystery, profundity and powerful stillness of Christ’s Passion condensed into a single visual encounter.
The process of developing this crucifix deepened my appreciation of baptism as a participation in death and renewal. Water can overwhelm and destroy, yet it sustains all life. It conceals its depths in darkness, but its surface reflects the light, rippling with glimmering halos. Though the floodwaters of death may be daunting, they become the living waters of renewal and peace.
Process: Chasing & Repoussé
To create this relief image in steel, I used traditional chasing and repoussé techniques. On a bed of pitch, I worked both the front and back of a section of sheet metal with a small hammer and a variety of handmade punches and chisels. Untouched by sandpaper or other abrasives, each detail and ripple bears the unembellished mark of the humble tools I used.
A Final Home
The crucifix was installed in the spring of 2024 and now hangs permanently in the hospice home at Community First! Village. It is situated above the home altar, at the end of the hallway between the rooms of the caretaker and the hospice patient.
I pray it fosters contemplation and tranquility for those transitioning into the life to come.
I am honored to have been chosen for the opportunity of participating in some small way in the holy work of this hospice, and look forward to contributing more artwork to spaces of prayer and reflection.
