Jan Owen Art
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Hannah's Song

Sewn book with linen thread 2021 13 x 9.5 inches closed, 20 pages.Acrylic, sumi and walnut inks on Katie MacGregor handmade paper and colored polyester
Hannah’s song has been an inspiration for centuries. She was barren so without status and bullied by her husband’s other wife. Bereft, Hannah went alone to the temple to speak directly to the Lord. She pleaded that if he would give her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. Her prayer reminded me of when my twin daughters were infants and I too bartered with god. At 2 am, I would beg, “Let this child sleep and I will never curse again,” and promised more into the night. Hannah’s prayer was answered and after she gave birth to Samuel, her song of praise is one of the earliest inserted into the narrative of a story. Hannah’s song reappears in the book of Luke as the Magnificat and featured in many choral compositions. The passage, “He casts down, He also lifts high. He raises the poor from the dust, Lifts up the needy from the dunghill, Setting them with nobles, Granting them seats of honor” was an inspiration for 20th century Liberation Theology in Peru. Baylor University Special Collections
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