God is Good

I've been using this motif of a "hand of God" reaching out of a border of clouds or smoke for a couple of days now. I'm finding it an intriguing motif in that as I juxtapose it with other images, it's meaning or message becomes open ended and highly suggestive. I think my recent interest in God or religion was initiated by what I've perceived as a foray of religious groups into politics. I've noticed this locally and it hasn't been very overt, but as an example, it has been as simple as, in one case, a kind of self made Christian "Church" here in Belfast planted a whole bunch of american flags around their building. What was the message there? My worst interpretation, personnally is that God loves America and that he supports our troops. I guess that's fine as long as he does not condone the use of military force, for if he does then that means that God could accept the concept of collateral damage, which in my book makes God an unlikeable entity.
Anyway, my interest in using this motif will be to stretch the possible interpretations in directions that are not so predictable while at the same time challenging what I feel are deadly myth based actions.

Show me your money!

This morning I chanced upon creating this motif of a figure being offered cash, within a frame of smoke or clouds. The frame of smoke/clouds part I've been working on for a month or so, and the "corporate arm" with cash has been around for quite some time (2003? there is a drawing somewhere in my stash that is the official "first corporate arm"!), but this particular combo happened today. My original idea for this series, of which these drawings are being created as a way of building ideas, is to use music lyrics within clouds of smoke. But I haven't really gotten to that yet! I want to have the lyrics surrounded or infiltrated with other imagery such as the "corporate arm", etc., thus these portfolios of "idea builder" drawings.
In my day job as a carpenter I've often spent all day listening to classic rock stations, generally due to the consensus of my co-workers. After years of this I've come to sympathize with my captors and even go so far as listening to "lite" rock when working alone. There is a certain horror I've come to feel in succumbing to this. (I do listen to cool music at home!) It's almost as if the world is crumbling around us while muzak eternally plays on the radio. And that, folks is the genesis behind the "While Rome Burns" series!