TO THE FAIREST

Chapter 1 Artist's Block

(Disclaimer: I have no business connection with JOAN OF ARCADIA. My only purpose in writing this story is to have fun and maybe share it)

(Author's Note: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" is a real book and an excellent one. The "Illustrated Guide" is just something I made up for the sake of the story)

The Arcadia Academy of Art was not a grand institution. Some people, from its initials, confused it with the American Automobile Association or Alcoholics Anonymous. Whenever a really great picture arrived in the area it was snapped up by greater museums in Washington or Baltimore. But it was sufficient for Adam's purpose, which was to look for inspiration.

Adam's life in the last few months had gone very well. Joan had forgiven him for his unfaithfulness with Bonnie. Bonnie had assured him that he was not the father of her child, and had found a nice family willing to adopt it. He had gotten a new job with people who respected his skills. Most importantly, he had learned that Joan, whom he had always considered special, really was unique. She had found special favor with God Himself, who gave her errands and seemed to be guiding her life. And some of that favor seemed to be rubbing off on her friends: Grace, Luke, and now Adam himself.

So why was Adam having trouble embarking on a new work? There were the artworks he created at his job, of course, but they didn't count. He wanted to produce something on his own, and had always been able to do so before. So now he was at the AAA gallery, looking for inspiration.

"Writer's block?" inquired a voice behind him.

Adam was so engrossed in his own thoughts that it didn't seem surprising that a stranger would pick them up. "I'm an artist, not a writer."

"The principle is the same."

Adam turned around to see a man who was almost the caricature of The Artist: clothes that were shabby but not disgusting, a long beard, sensitive eyes. He didn't know any real artists who looked like that. "You're Him. Joan's friend."

Artist God nodded. "And you have a problem. Artist's block, or whatever you want to call it."

"Yeah. Can you make it go away?"

"First, a block is an absence of inspiration. It makes little sense to talk of making a lack of something go away; you fill the lack instead. And placing an idea in your mind would interfere with free will. But I can give advice."

"Whatever. I'd appreciate the help."

Artist God pointed out a painting. "Do you see that work?"

Adam looked. A man in ancient armor was being undressed by a woman who was wearing very little herself. The caption said VENUS DISARMING MARS, followed by an Italian name which Adam had never heard of.

"The painter was a pious Catholic, a contemporary of Shakespeare and even overlapping part of Galileo's life," lectured the Artist. "Yet in producing that painting, he dramatized a religion that had been dead for at least a thousand years. And that picture is not alone. Most of French drama in the period was on mythology -- Andromache, Phaedre, etc. Bernini, architect of St. Peters in Rome, did a statue of Apollo and Daphne with the Pope's full approval. Why?"

Most people would probably reply with some theory only to get it shot down. But Adam was a boy of few words. "I don't know."

"Because mythology provided artists with a vast amount of ready-made imagery. Far more than the Middle Ages did, with its focus on Me rather than on the visible world. If an artist was stumped for a subject, he could usually scan mythology for symbols of what he wanted to express. That painting, for example, symbolizes the triumph of love over war."

"It sounds odd for you to be praising pagan mythology."

"It's not an either-or situation. When people prayed to Zeus or Jupiter and called him the Lord of the Universe, they were basically talking about Me."

"But this is the twenty-first century. Mythology is so retro."

"Is it? Even now people talk of a strong man as a Hercules and a beautiful woman as a Venus. 2001 Space Odyssey. Joyce's ULLYSES. The Oedipus Complex."

Maybe Artist God was right. In earlier years Adam had produced abstract art, Things made out of Stuff, as they occurred to him. But on the advice of his mentor, Helen Girardi, he had moved to more conventional paintings whose imagery would be more comprehensible to others. And perhaps that was the root of his problem: this mode of operation wasn't instinctive to him.

"You're not asking me to paint a specific painting?"

"Paint what you like. Or perhaps you won't paint anything afterward. I'm just making suggestions." He walked off into another gallery, waving goodbye.

Adam was not fooled. Joan had told him the rules: the Divinity might make suggestions, but He usually had a specific goal in mind. His helper was supposed to puzzle out what the goal was, and usually solving the puzzle was equally or more important than attaining the goal itself.

Adam had better start studying mythology.

-------

Adam drove the truck to the Book Site. Not only was it considered the best bookstore in Arcadia, since its recent renovation two months ago, but Joan was a co-manager there and would be in a position to help him.

And, indeed, she emerged from the stacks to greet him. "May I help you?" she asked, following the offer with a kiss.

"Do you kiss all your customers, Jane?" he whispered.

"Only my boyfriends."

"Any of the others here?" he teased.

"Nope. But I do have other customers in the reading area, so I'm afraid we can't make out."

"Actually, I'm here as a customer. Do you have a book on ancient mythology? A, um, certain friend of ours suggested that I read up on it."

Joan raised her eyebrows, catching the code: the "certain friend" was God, and the suggestion was a mission. But they couldn't go into details with other customers in hearing range. She got on the store's special database.

"Ah. The standard book on the subject is Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY. I'll get it." She disappeared into the stacks and reappeared with a slim paperback. Adam leafed through it.

"Hmm, not many pictures. This has to do with art."

"Shoulda thoughta that." She got on the computer again. "Here's another: THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO ANCIENT MYTHS."

"Sounds good, Jane."

She returned a minute later with a large hard-bound book. "It's what they call a coffee-table book: for show, but still has what you want. It's expensive."

"How much?"

"Two hugs and five kisses."

"We can do that as a separate transaction. Tomorrow evening?"

She nodded.

"In the meantime, I'll buy this the normal way. How much?"

"$24.90."

Adam winced inwardly, but hoped Joan wouldn't notice. She'd already tried once to offer it as a present, but this was Adam's mission.

As Joan ran his credit card, she whispered, "This is the first He's appeared specifically to you, right? What do you suppose is going on?"

"Dunno, Jane. Mysterious ways. But I suppose there'll be good ripples."

"Yeah. There are always good ripples…"

TBC