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“At First Light” Arts Exhibition

CD Arts ExhibitionWelcome to the “At First Light” Arts Exhibition!

The exhibition below was created to celebrate the launch of our two CDs “At First Light” Volume 1 in February 2013 and Volume 2 in June 2013.

Volume 1 contains 20 short quotations revealed by Baha’u’llah, put to lively music so that young children can have fun memorizing them.  Volume 2 contains 20 Baha’i prayers.  Each CD also gives the instrumental tracks for each song so that families and children’s classes can have singalongs.

mp3sFeaturing over 50 pieces of artwork, from artists ages two years to adult, the 10 countries represented in the exhibition are: Australia, Canada, Croatia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

To read the requirements for submission, please click here for Volume 1, and here for Volume 2.

Three artists were chosen at random after each exhibition to receive a copy of our CD, and all artists received a free MP3.

The pieces of art have been inspired by the following quotation, which also inspired the title and creation of our CD:

[quote]Every day at first light, ye gather the Bahá’í children together and teach them the communes and prayers. This is a most praiseworthy act, and bringeth joy to the children’s hearts: that they should, at every morn, turn their faces toward the Kingdom and make mention of the Lord and praise His Name, and in the sweetest of voices, chant and recite.  These children are even as young plants, and teaching them the prayers is as letting the rain pour down upon them, that they may wax tender and fresh, and the soft breezes of the love of God may blow over them, making them to tremble with joy.[/quote]

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 139)

Volume 1 Submissions

Elham – Adult (USA). A child represented as a young plant wrapped up and surrounded by light and prayer. (beeswax, walnut shell, and colored pencil)
Điego and Samuel – Age 5 (Finland). The picture shows the children turning to the morning sun for prayers.
Leanna and Son Age 3 (USA). Focus on the rising sun and the echoes of music in the morning air. I think the cow stamps were meant to go along with that “morning in the country” vibe 🙂
Iman – Age 10 (USA). The prayer “O God guide me” inspired me.
Eliot – Age 2 (USA). This is the sun and the mist.
Ruby – Age 11 (USA). This is a picture of 3 children praying at dawn.
Ruhiyyih – Age 11 (Australia). My picture is about the children turning joyously toward the Kingdom at first light.
Anoush – Age 4 (Australia). Mum and me praying.
Hannah – Age 9 (USA). This is our morning circle time and up there is the Kingdom of God, all high above us, inspiring us to do better today than we did yesterday.
Nika – Age 4 (USA). Parts of the Kingdom with rain, children and plants; the black spot is a prayer book.
Roya – Age 3 (Canada).
Karen – Age 9 (New Zealand). I drew the sun as it is a source of light to the world. It gives life to so many things from plants and animals to people, the air we all rely on and even the great oceans – and everything that lives in them.
Kamal – Age 6 (France). The act of praying bringing joy to children and parents hearts, the hearts on the bodies represent joy. Daddy teaching son to pray is letting rain pour down upon them, and allowing the plants to grow.
Theo – Age 6 (USA). This is about the first light of dawn. The sun is rising over a mountain near China’s Li River, with rice paddies below. The children are like young plants or tender saplings that are growing.
Jamilah – Age 8 (USA). When I pray I see the rainbow in the sky and flowers swaying in the wind.
Katie – Adult (USA).
Saara – Age 4 (United Kingdom). This is Saara, singing prayers, in her rainbow dress. The other little people are us – mommy, daddy, baby brother Nelson and sister Salama. The thing on the side is our sofa.
Svara – Age 5 (Malaysia). I drew happy children saying prayers outside in the morning. Even the flower is happy!
Samantha – Age 3 (Australia). The sun represents the first light of the day and God, the blue circle in a laced flower is the beautiful earth, and the colourful sticks represent all different children of the earth who are happy and prayerful. The word PRAY to say that she loves to pray.
Helena – Age 10 (Croatia). “These children are even as young plants…”
Pari – Age 9 (USA). This is a little girl who is praying while the sun is coming up.
Zorion – Age 4 (Australia). The letters are prayers and it is raining and lightning because there are so many prayers being said, so the flower has grown so tall!
Albina – Age 10 (Croatia). Children are flowers, parents are trees, rains upon them.
Damir – Age 6 (Croatia). Children are praying (the hearts) and the clouds rain upon them.
Liam – Age 9 (USA). This shows the sun rising and a family gathering to share prayers at first light. It also shows geese flying in front of the sun.
Anisa – Age 9 (Australia). In the picture the children are happy and joyous because they love God and have turned towards Him at first light.
Father and Rohini Age 2 (Australia). Mum, dad, baby brother, and friend praying around a candle.

Volume 2 Submisions

Ellen – Age 4 (Australia). This is my family saying prayers around a table.
Amina – Age 5 (USA). In the morning I never feel split apart because love is in the air I feel like a flower and grass blowing through the breeze in the sky. I am God’s excellent plant.
Learning about prayer
Sue – Adult (USA). The Kingdom of God is everywhere around us. It is also like the pot at the end of the rainbow, the point that is both difficult to find and everywhere. “Riding Rainbows” expresses both the artists joy in that pursuit and an interpretation of a Navajo Native American myth/prophecy of events that will mark entrance into a new age for indigenous peoples. The rain that falls upon us gives us hope and refreshes our spirits so that we may continue to travel toward our ultimate purpose.
Amy – Age 6 (Australia). This is a picture of me and my brother and friend saying prayers at dawn.
Svara – Age 6 (Malaysia). The flowers are calling the sun to rise up by singing prayers so they can have the sun and grow and be happy.
Damir – Age 7 (Croatia). The dawn, camp and forest and children are little purple stars- they shine because of the prayer.
Liam (Age 1) and mum Claire (New Zealand). ‘In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love” – which is watered when we pray each morn and eve.
Dominik – Age 6 (USA). A guy and a girl praying & golfing and a house that is the garden of love.
Amin – Age 5 (Australia). Picture of sunrise and rain pouring on the children, they are happy to have had prayers, and there’s grass and flowers that the rain is nourishing as well.
Adayna – Age 3 (Australia). Picture of sun, and in there are people, and they are saying prayers. Mama helped with the rainbows.
Tiffany – Adult (USA). In the morning I am at peace in the Garden of the Covenant.
Caleb – Age 6 (Canada). People all around the world all colours I love them all.
Chloe – Age 5 (Canada). The sun dropping rain drops and hearts on the me and my brother. The sun is representing the Bab and Baha’u’llah. The flowers are facing up to God and everyone is happy.
Thomas – Age 7 (Ethiopia). Ben, Tom and Leo are praying when the sun is only 21 feet in the air.
Danny – Age 9 (Australia). Children and their teacher saying prayers, with the ‘breezes of the love of God’ blowing over them.
Helena – Age 10 (Croatia). Village and children preparing prayers for the village at the dawn.
Austin – Age 4 (Canada). Flowers and rainbows make me happy, and we can’t have flowers and rainbows without sun.
Olivia – Age 5 (Australia). This is a picture of me going to the house of Abdu’l-Baha to say prayers.
Savannah – Age 6 (USA). Children from everywhere gathered as friends.
Anis – Age 6 (Australia). Children praying in the morning and surrounded by the beauty of the rose (to signify God’s beauty through his prayers/Hidden Words).
Dexter – Age 9 (USA). Prayer book on stand with children praying, orange circle in top left is an adult face, plants growing with rain falling and the sun shining down.
Helena – Age 10 (Croatia). Children praying in front of the tent.
Claudia – Age 4 (Australia). This is a picture of the mat where we say prayers in the morning with mama, the babies and me. When we say prayers the sun shines in through the windows. Today we thought about how we could share with other people.
Ian – Age 7 (Australia). These are people saying prayers near one of the fountains below the Shrine of the Bab.

Thank you for visiting the gallery!  We hope you and your families enjoyed seeing this spiritually themed art work from around the world.

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