REFLECTIONS ON FAITH & ART

We are getting ready to leave for Maryland tomorrow for a week-long visit.  Because I have laundry to do and packing to take care of, and because Rusty is currently in Houston which means I'm doing it all on my own, this challenge will be short and fairly easy to do.  It's not really even a challenge so much as an exercise .  Or maybe I'm just rambling and it doesn't really matter anyway (entirely possible.) So here's what you can do this week:   Finish your collage.  Or get started on your collage.  Or read the collage challenge post and go from there.  It's week 3, parts I and II. For a second option, the easy one I mentioned, you will need to go to Lowe's or Home Depot and wander around their paint department.  Go from display to display where they have the paint cards with the colors and names on them.  Find one that makes you really happy.  Not necessarily one that you would ever use on your walls; this isn't about paint...

So here it is: Week 3, part 2. Finally! So a few weeks ago, when I first posted part one, I asked that you look around and find some form of the written word that moves you.  It could be song lyrics, quotes, passages from books, or anything else that someone wrote that makes you happy, makes you think, inspires you or keeps you from losing your mind.  There's no right or wrong choice for this. Next I asked you to gather up some pretty things that give you that same feeling of happiness or inspiration or whatever it was that caused you to pick your words.  Like I said, these things can be as random as you'd like - pieces of boken tile or beach glass or pretty clothing tags or magazine ads... again, things that give you a feeling when you see them. Now that you've gone both of those (you have, haven't you?)  we're going to get creative.  We're going to make... wait for it... don't start to panic... we're going to make a collage.  A mixed-media...

Do you want to play along? Do you want to create art for fun and profit? (Ok... just for fun, really...) Then here are a few things you may find useful to have when the challenges are posted. I understand that a lot of people are willing to buy basic supplies but they just don't know what to buy or what to do with them once they buy them. Hopefully this will take the mystery out of some of it (I've even included photos because I have had people ask "What does this stuff look like?") Remember, none of these are "required" ; let's get real, you're not being graded on this.  And there isn't a lot on this list.  But please know you can do any of the challenges and still find your creativity without ever having to purchase anything. Alright, so here are some things you might want to look for if you're ready to take the next step and buy some supplies and get messy: Gesso - Simply put, gesso is a primer.  Use it on canvas, wood, fabri...

Please know that I have been thinking about the blog and the challenges this past week.  I'm on a stronger prescription now for the strep throat and hopefully that's just going to go away.  One good thing about being sick at home for a while is that it's given me time to sit still and think.  I hope everyone (anyone?) reading the Faith & Art Blog is willing to extend a little grace to me as I figure out how this is regular posting thing is going to work. When I put my foot down and said I'm committing to once-a-week updates with weekly challenges I knew I had to start right then and there or it would get lost in the chaos of my life as a wife and mother. Since I'm not getting paid for this, it's not my "job." But it is my passion. And I believe God loves that we're trying to be more creative how we think about our world, our relationships and our lives. So here's what I've been thinking about: I will be giving you a pre...