Journal of Sacred Work

   She was one of those rare people whose presence was so dazzling that the moment my sister Ann introduced me to her dear friend I knew: Gretchen Minnhaar was unique.

   She was an Argentina-born architect who changed the face & the feeling of her adopted Grand Rapids. And she was an internationally known artist whose paintings live in homes & buildings around the world. 

   I hate using the past tense. Gretchen died suddenly June 29.

   The news of her passing is hard for Ann to absorb. The two were so close for so long: nearly five decades. She designed Ann's house & even created a work of art out of plaster in the entry hallway. Of course, her paintings hang there as well. 

   So often, our friends are our caregivers. They show up when things are tough. They let us cry on their shoulders. They help us celebrate weddings.

   Ann's & Gretchen's friendship was often healing for both. For Gretchen's husband Luis, a world renown heart surgeon, the loss is incalculable. 

   As I have written in prior Journals of Sacred Work, great artists give us Radical Loving Care. Look at how Liz Wessel's art, seen here each weekend, comforts you.

   Consider the way artists decorate our lives: They bring beauty that makes us love our eyes. Sometimes they provoke (Picasso, Max Ernst, the photoartist Man Ray) by changing how we think. Often they heal by painting what we cannot express. 

    It is not fair to say Gretchen was like Evita Peron just because both were from Argentina. But it is true that Gretchen's powerful persona put her in a league with people that are classic strivers: ones who are compelled to create (and have the talent to do so), to make things happen, to spice up our existence. 

   We can thank our lucky stars for all artists that have worked courageously (& often suffered) to venture into unknown realms to bring before us bits of the holy grail.

    Many of us squander our gifts & our time on earth. We are more unwilling than we are unable.

   Life was not wasted on Gretchen. She embraced it, drank its champagne, painted it the color of Argentina (she seemed made of color), changed a city & impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands.

   Heaven is glad to have this new resident. She is already at work decorating some new clouds. 

-Erie Chapman

Photo from online archives