
DATE: Thursday, May 22, 1997                TAG: 9705210219

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  117 lines

SCULPTURES OF FAITH DIXON CUMMINGS, WHOSE WIFE SUFFERS FROM ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, FINDS COMFORT IN HIS BIBLICAL WORKS.

AS AN ADVERTISING agency executive, Dixon Cummings would while away hours of his free time in his home-based studio, turning lumps of clay and sheer pieces of bronze into intricately molded watermen, Civil War soldiers, gold miners and other legendary American figures.

It was his therapy; his way of leaving the workday world behind and losing himself in artistic expression.

Closest to his wife's heart were the sculptures that centered upon the couple's deep religious faith. With her encouragement, Cummings created pieces that explored his feelings about world hunger, the power of Jesus' love and the teachings of the Bible. He presented eight of them during the last two decades as gifts to the congregation of the couple's long-time church, First Lutheran of Norfolk.

Little did the artist realize those pieces would one day become his comfort, his earthly salvation.

For the last nine years, the 68-year-old Virginia Beach resident has spent most of his waking hours caring for his wife, now completely helpless, bedridden and unaware of her surroundings. Since 1988, Sunny Cummings has suffered from the progressively degenerative neurological condition, Alzheimer's Disease.

Strongly committed to caring for his wife at home, Cummings rarely leaves her side except for a few hours each week, when a respite-care worker comes in to help. He goes out to lunch with friends or does errands.

On a recent morning, he stopped by the church to gaze upon a bronze relief he created some 13 years ago, well before his wife got sick. Erected on the front stone wall of the church's exterior, just off bustling Colley Avenue, the 200-pound medallion, pictured on the cover, is the central focus of a peaceful meditation courtyard of cement benches, landscaped flower beds and shading trees. The sculpting depicts a tiny child nestled in Jesus' arms.

``It's real comforting for me to come out and look at it now,'' said Cummings, a tall, trim man with chalk-white hair. ``If you look closely you can see the child is holding onto Jesus' finger. It symbolizes the promise made by Jesus, that nothing can take you away from him, that none of us will be lost. That means a lot to me now.''

Although his wife's illness has tested his strength and endurance, his faith in God's love has remained constant.

``If God needs you, you can't say no,'' said Cummings, who suffered a heart attack two years ago. ``In a way, I feel like I've been in church for years. You don't have to be in church to praise God. I see him in my wife still.''

The artist recalled the days when his wife was still healthy and would spend most of her free time at the church, doing ``whatever needed being done.''

``She loved this place,'' he said. ``She was here all the time, cleaning the oven, sweeping the steps. She helped formed the altar guild. She was active in the women of the church; she taught Sunday school. I was raised a Baptist and always attended church growing up . . . but I'm a Lutheran now because of her. After we married, she brought me into the church.''

They met on a blind date and married two weeks later, 49 years ago. Her mother said it wouldn't last. But it did. And that commitment, to honor each other in sickness or in health, is one Cummings has taken to heart.

``I've always been very protective of her,'' he said. ``In the beginning, even though she didn't know she had Alzheimer's, she said to me: `I know this is hard on you. It's going to get harder, and you should leave now.' Right then, I made a commitment. I said, `Sunny, I'll always take care of you.'

``No one else can give her the care I give her at home. She gets love at home . . . and I believe she still knows she's loved. Sometimes you'll get a laugh or a smile. There's still those moments.''

But his sculpting, which has received attention from such notable artists as W.T. Turner, a nationally known sculptor living on the Eastern Shore and Cummings' long-time friend and mentor, has suffered. It's been four months since the artist has felt the inspiration to sculpt.

``Recently, I've lost my incentive,'' he admitted. ``I have a harder and harder time getting started. Now, I have one focus, and that's taking care of my wife.''

But as he looks around First Lutheran at the various pieces he's done, he knows he'll get his fingers back into it. There's the small clay sculpture sitting on a piano in the sanctuary that symbolizes world hunger. There's the series of bronze castings that depict biblical parables displayed in a lighted glass case. There's the bronze dove that the congregation bestows on members who perform exceptional works. And there's the bronze wall-hanging portraying Jesus' crucifixion that Cummings created in honor of his wife.

He's also designed etched door panels for the Norfolk congregation as well as one in Luray, Va. His other work is scattered in private homes and Eastern Shore galleries.

``It's unique for a congregation to have a parishioner within its midst who has such talents and is willing to share them,'' noted First Lutheran's pastor, James Cobb. ``Art is just one more way in which the gospel is enriched. It's been that way through history.

``The congregation is very appreciative of what Mr. Cummings has contributed to the church. And he's done it without our asking and from his own ideas.''

Those ideas are few and far between these days, however. A 50-pound chunk of clay sits in Cummings studio, beckoning him to work again.

``I don't care about it right now, but I know I will again,'' he said. ``One day soon, I'll pull it out and do something. I enjoy working with my hands. It's good therapy. Anymore it's the only way I can relax.''

But for now, he's living one day at a time.

``I pray to God to keep me going as long as my wife does,'' he said. ``If I left her, it would be a catastrophe. I want to take care of her as long as she's here. I think I've learned to handle it pretty well now. I just go today; I really don't think about tomorrow. Jesus said that, too, to live your life every day. I wish I had learned that lesson earlier. I guess some good has come from this terrible disease.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by RICHARD L.

DUNSTON

Dixon Cummings' sculptures are scattered around First Lutheran

Church on Colley Avenue. He says they are comforting to him now.

One of the sculptures Cummings donated to First Lutheran Church is

``Peter and the Crowing Cock.'' The works that centered upon the

couple's deep religious faith are his bedridden wife's favorites.

``Daniel and Lion,'' which tells a Bible story, is one of Dixon

Cummings works.