Metaphor Maker Press is devoted to the use of symbolism (through the visual arts, poetry, creative prose, and short instructional pieces) to bring healing to the deep places of the human heart.
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew; as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.” (NASB from a song of Moses)
What is a Metaphor?
A metaphor is a figure of speech that literally means one thing, but is used to represent another. Examples would be “teaching that drops as rain” or “speech that distills as dew.” It is also commonly found in terms of endearment when a person is affectionately referred to as “my rose” or “my dove.”
Why Use Symbols?
Because a picture is worth a thousand words. There is a reason why a person in search of healing and freedom can read a self-help book (or even listen to a sermon), gain a lot of good information, and walk away unchanged. Too often truth is delivered as a set of abstract concepts that remain at a surface intellectual level and never touch our core.
Many of the wounds people have sustained happened when they were very young. Did you ever wonder how a child with limited language skills (or too young to have any verbal ability at all) stores memory? Through sensory data. The five avenues through which we naturally perceive, process, and record life experiences are visual, auditory, taste, touch, and smell. Truth cloaked in healing imagery that employs the senses becomes a powerful key for inner healing because it bypasses our defenses and captures our emotions before our minds can make rational sense of it. When poetic words are portrayed through beautiful illustrations, the combination becomes even more powerful.
Dragonfly Denny, lavishly illustrated in pen and ink and watercolor, was crafted by Denise Rowe and Violet Freeland with such a vision. May you enjoy its journey and be inspired.
The Voice of Rachel Weeping applies the same creative vision to access the deep places of the wounded spirit. A tapestry of testimony, teaching, and creative imagery is woven to both validate and facilitate the challenging road to recovery…and to ensure that the cries of the heart have been heard.