Understanding Through Art
- Kaaren Poole
- Nov 17
- 4 min read
The other day I saw something which froze my heart and flooded my eyes with tears. A hawk was carrying away a rat. I had such a clear view—painfully clear. The hawk had the shoulders of her prize grasped in her powerful claws. I could see how bright, smooth and white the rat’s belly fur was, and could see her little legs flailing as if desperately trying to find ground under her feet.
I’ve had several pet rats and have had occasional wild ones visiting my garden. I’m sure many of you have different feelings towards them, but I love them.
I didn’t sleep well the night of the sighting. I kept imagining the rat’s pain and terror and I grieved greatly for the end of her life. For me, the death of an animal is such a tragedy. So I grieved for her, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but think of the tragedy of slow death from starvation—a fate which befalls a predator who couldn’t catch any prey.
Seeking Understanding Through Art
Ever since I witnessed this capture—one which I know happens around me every day but which I very rarely witness—I’ve been trying to come to terms with life and death of animals.
For the life and death of humans we have religious, spiritual, or philosophical teachings to help. But what is there about animals? What I find is not helpful. There are even those who say animals don’t have souls (which, by the way, I don’t believe for even a moment).
As was natural for me, I grabbed pencil and paper and began drawing a rat. I already felt close to rats, so there wasn’t much, if anything, new to learn about portraying her. The whole time I was drawing, I felt connected to her, and the only slightly difficult part was her expression.
Drawing the Hawk
But drawing the hawk was a different story. I hadn’t noticed what type of hawk I’d seen, but I discovered that red-tailed hawks are the most common hawks in this part of North Carolina, so I decided to draw one of those. I scrolled through image after image on an internet search and found them all so off-putting. The birds just looked mean. And those strong, hooked beaks and powerful legs tipped with long, sharp claws were frightening—especially with the rat in my mind.
As I drew, I was reminded of the truth “form follows function.” It’s especially apparent in that beak and those thighs. But I also began to see it in what I interpreted as her expression. Her brows, both their prominence and shape, if seen on a person would express, at best, concentration, and at worst, viciousness. (I softened them in my drawing—couldn’t help myself.) But I think they’re just another example of form following function.
Hawks are sight predators. I think those protruding brows help keep the sun out of the bird’s eyes. Maybe they somehow even help her sight in other ways. Anyway, once I realized this, I didn’t see her as mean or vicious—just serious about feeding herself and her family.
The Big Questions
But still, the basic life and death questions remains. After thinking about them for nearly a week now, I’ve concluded that, at least in this world, death sustains life. Like it or not, we need it. Without it, we wouldn’t be here at all. But another question remains unanswered: for the animals, what happens after death? We can’t ever know, I suppose.
Having learned a few things and realizing one more time that there are mysteries beyond our comprehension, I’m ready to work on an art journal spread about all of this. Creating this spread will be an adventure in understanding through art.
There will be more words in this spread than I usually employ. And I’ll want them readable. In fact, I’ll carefully compose what I want to say ahead of time, then copy it onto the spread. We’ll see how it turns out.
A Twist on Art Therapy
This experience—what I saw, what I’ve thought about it, and how I’ll portray it—is interesting to me in many ways, one of which is that it seems a bit like art therapy. But it isn’t therapy. It’s using art, both words and images, to explore a spiritual challenge.
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