Symbols of My Father's Love: Concepts and Interpretations Inspired by Ed Lantzer

Ed Lantzer a once-homeless misfit brain damaged by scarlet fever as a child suddenly has a vision from God of an enormous task he must complete. It involves the art of marquetry a skill he learned from his father where he cuts small diamond shapes out of various types of wood and glues them to a 4-foot by 8-foot plywood board to create a picture. At first Ed is overwhelmed and tells God that its impossible but God persists so Ed agrees. Unable to write or sketch Ed visualizes the picture in his head. For months in a little 8-foot by 10-foot room he cuts out thousands of diamond shapes using 30-degree and 60-degree angles. He begins to glue the diamonds to the large plywood board fitting each piece together like a puzzle. The natural color variations of the wood add depth and dimension to the picture and suddenly what emerges is an image of Jesus sitting at a table. But Eds picture isnt finished. He moves the large board out and begins gluing diamonds onto another board then another board then another. He glues the last diamond onto the seventh board and finally the picture is complete. The vision that God planted in Eds head became a wondrous masterpiece. Seven large panels fit perfectly together standing side by side to reveal Jesus sitting with his apostles at the Last Supper. Only this masterpiece doesnt match Leonardo di Vincis famous painting of the Last Supper. Looking closer the apostles are in a different order and there are other peculiar images words and symbols on each panel that are not in di Vincis painting. What do they mean?Over the next 20 years with millions of diamond shaped wood pieces Ed created a total of 30 panels depicting various scenes from the Bible and other ancient texts he studied throughout his life. Each panel tells a story not just of the religious scenes illustrated but also the story of Ed and his life. He called the panels My Fathers Love. Their purpose is to tell of Gods love for everyone especially the unloved child. Through sacred geometry numerology and symbolism Ed embedded obscure icons and figures with special meaning throughout the panels; some hidden and some evident. Toward the end of his life Ed shared these meanings with others in personal and video-taped interviews. This book is a reference of the meanings of the symbols and stories Ed inserted into each panel. Of course if you could ask him today what he meant he may give you his explanation but then follow it up with You decide.