REFLECTIONS ON FAITH & ART

Wow. So much had happened and changed in the last year. It's hard to know whether to take the time and write it all down or to just enjoy it and go on from here. I have stopped writing on the Art Chick blog because I feel like I have nothing left to say from that part of me anymore. I'm leaving it up for a bit because there are some posts there that were my way of working through our family struggles and life in general. Our life in Maryland seems like a million miles away now; Liam had yet to be diagnosed, I was still the mother of young children and very confused about who I was and how I was supposed to live my life. It's been a bit more than three years since our move to Ohio and though I miss our friends and miss the East Coast in general, I cannot honestly say I miss that time of my life personally. Our first year or so here was interesting. At the time I didn't realize it but looking back I can see definite lines God drew in the sand saying, "I dar...

I'm telling you, if you're a believer and you're struggling with something with deep roots, trying like crazy to dig to the bottom of it, worship will do it every time. My dad was saying yesterday that it's like a prayer language that totally intimidates the enemy and he has to flee when it begins. And I think it's also like fire and the enemy, like sin, is completely flammable. When we walk into the presence of the Lord-- whether we dance, crawl or limp in, singing-- the consuming fire that is His holy presence begins to burn away the dross in us. And the enemy, who would press my face into my navel, not looking for the Lord, cannot stand that holy presence. I think that's a big part of the whole mystery. It shows up in the psalms all the time-- start off with "OH, woe is me..." and end with "You alone are perfect in all Your ways! Praise You!" Anyway, I'm standing there with suds and water all over my hands and somehow all over my arm...

It's been three weeks since my sister's husband died.  I've been doing a lot of praying since then.  And a ton of writing in my notebook.  There is a patch from yesterday that I think relates to the idea of faith and art and why we create in the first place. Dated 12/5-08: ...I'm conflicted because one moment I seem to "get" that this life is temporary.  I mean, I don't just acknowledge it but really fully feel it.  This world and this life is only a very bad copy of what we're created to be and of the reality that God exists in.   I sense it so strongly sometimes that I almost feel like I could go out and kick the car in the driveway and it would crumble up like tissue paper.  And if I blew into the air the clouds would part and the sky would ripple like a curtain - that's how strong a sense of falseness I have at times about this life.  But then I stick out my foot and rest it on the coffee table.  And realize how hard and solid ...

So I wanted to post a few photos of the canvas I was working on for the challenge involving words you love. I chose a book passage by Madeleine L'Engle, one that I've posted to the Art Chick blog in the past. What started out as a Target Dollar Spot children's canvas (with a cartoon frog printed on it) was gessoed over... Then inked and collaged a tiny bit. But here's the deal: I can't figure out if I want to use the entire passage on this one canvas, which is quite a bit to squeeze on text-wise but I like the idea of smaller writing in greater quantity.  Or if I want to do the first part of the passage to give it more space for larger printing on this canvas and do additional canvases for the rest of the passage.  That idea has the advantage of getting to do more inking and bits of collage and have a set of canvases when I'm finished.  I'll be using white paint/ink and a combination of stamping and free-hand writing to do the tex...

Alright, so, if you have an email address?  You've probably gotten one of those "Get to Know Your Friends Better" emails.  The ones with a bunch of questions like "Do you like chocolate or vanilla better?" or "Are you a beach or skiing vacation person?"  Yeah, those.  Well, we're going to do a variation of that for this week's challenge.  So get ready to do some self examination! Ok, I'm going give you some questions.  Here we go: 1.  What is your favorite color to wear?   2. What is your favorite color with which to decorate your home? 3. What is your favorite color in general? 4. What is your favorite season? 5. What is your favorite flower? 6. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? So those are your questions.  I want you to go ahead and write down the question and the answer.  That shouldn't take you too long, but please be honest.  Don't come up with some answer you think ma...

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...

I briefly mentioned a "situation" we were dealing with when I apologized for not posting challenges over the last few weeks.  I've finally gotten to a point where I can write more about that situation and it's over at the Art Chick blog if you're interested. As for Faith & Art, the challenges are back and I hope you'll join in.  Check out last Tuesday's post for part one of the most current challenge.

Edited to add: I mistakenly posted this to the Art Chick blog today instead of here.  And I was so excited to be back in the groove... oy. I apologize for not keeping up the challenges over the last two weeks. We've had a bought of strep throat, friends in from Maryland, a new nephew born, a trip to Indianapolis, Rusty's mom visiting from Maryland. I'm so glad to be back to thinking about the connections between faith and art and how they can benefit our relationships with God and with each other. I fill you with Naming. Be! Be, butterfly and behemoth be galaxy and grasshopper star and sparrow you matter you are be! Be caterpillar and comet Be porcupine and planet sea sand and solar system sing with us dance with us rejoice with us for the glory of creation seagulls and seraphim angle worms and angel host, chrysanthemum and cherubim (O cherubim.) Be! Sing for the glory of the living and the loving the flaming of creation sing with us dance with us be with us. ...

So, yeah.  That's a cow in a mailbox. You know what that means... it's time for a mail art challenge! Now seriously, if you've followed the blog at any point over the last few months then you can't be all that surprised. So here it is. But this isn't really about livestock going postal (though the cow was glorious.) This is about building on last week's challenge and using an altered point of view in your thinking about another person. Show of hands, how many of you love getting mail? I don't at all mean catalogs, ads, random mail for people who used to live at your address or the worst of it all... bills. No. I mean real, old school, not-electronic mail. My younger sisters used to send me sticker-covered envelopes full of love when I was in college. When I saw one of their works of art in the mailbox it honestly made me feel remembered.  It was just a piece of paper and to anyone else at any given time it wouldn't have meant as much. B...

I received an email from Heather earlier this morning. In it she included a photo and the point of view that gave her the inspiration to take the picture. I wanted to post it before I get the week two challenge up. In her email, Heather wrote: "I then noticed the tufts of grass - which are not just surviving within this concrete jungle, such as it is, but are thriving in their environment. We're called daily to bloom where we're planted and to THRIVE - not merely survive." So is there anything "magical" about the little clumps of grass Heather photographed? No. I mean, on a technical level I love the contrast between the dirty gray bits of gravel and the healthy green grass sprouting up (I really like the vertical lines of the grass against the rough background of the rocks!) But the magic is in that it made her pause and think instead of passing by a little scenario most of us walk or drive by every day. And the thought she had is something th...

So I guess I didn't really think through how and when I'd post any photos or email I get regarding each week's post. Since I had a response from Teresa that included some great photos, I want to make sure those photos and part of her email get are put up here so you guys can check them out and read her insights on the storm. In Teresa's email she writes: " Anyway, to explain, I took a picture of the impending storm last night. Yes it was very ugly outside but I still find the beauty in how God can totally change the sky and perform a great symphony and out of that storm, flowers bloom and the earth just looks greener, not to mention, my car gets washed...LOL! As you can tell in one of the pics, you can see leaves and other debris flying around. Isn't it wonderful? God is soooooo cool!" *Teresa also sent a great photo of a delicate little flower among some old, gray mulch but it's being difficult and though I can view it, it won't upl...

The poet Horace once wrote, " Nothing is beautiful from every point of view."   To which I reply that I believe the opposite is also true - nothing is ugly from every point of view.  And so begins your training, young padawan: Change your point of view.  Literally. There are an awful lot of times when we look around and take a quick mental inventory then move on.  We glance over things that are familiar to us and may even miss small, unfamiliar things altogether if we're in a hurry.  Sometimes the environment in which an item resides can make it seem more unattractive and not-beautiful than it really is (your cube, your overgrown backyard, your least-favorite relative's house...) A 19th century British painter named John Constable once said," There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade and perspective will always make it beautiful."   I think this is one of the most ...

(I bet Jodi's thought that exact quote ten ot twenty time in the last few months!) Ok, so, field days are over (check!)  Final third-grade project turned in (check!)  Final after-school activity day over (check!) Teacher's gifts sent to coordinating parents (check!) Five more school days then our lives are finally ours for the summer... niiiiiiiice. Alright, so this is what's up.  I have a summer project that is in response to some mom who are interested in me offering art classes geared toward elementary school and middle school aged kids.  I'll be gathering info and posting something hopefully in mid-July.  I think the online idea with in-person meetings once or twice a session would be the way to go.  The classes would start at the beginning of the school year and run in quarterly sessions.  I want to gather info because some of the interest is from home-schooling families looking for art curriculum so I want to see what kind of requirements...

Rusty stopped on the way home from the airport Sunday to buy tulips as a "thank you" for me letting him spend half of spring break in Vegas with Erik, Buddy and two other friends.  The tulips were really tight buds Sunday afternoon then sometime Monday they just exploded! I took some photos this afternoon because the colored ones especially are gorgeous, with their green tinged undersides gradually changing to blazing pinks, oranges and yellows.  I also loved the light coming through the blue of the old mason jar.  Then this evening I'm sitting at the table working on my laptop with the flowers in front of me.  They are directly underneath the table light fixture and the pink/orange flowers look like they're votive cups glowing with a lit candle inside.  I literally couldn't think I was so enthralled with the light and color.  I had to take more photos.  Thankfully (for you) I only uploaded nine here.  I took 22 overall and seriously, it's no...

I've started this post so many times before but deleted in the name of sanity or common sense or just plain being unrealistic.  Or possibly offending someone.  But I feel like I'm being dishonest anymore.  I have to get this out. I posted this a while back  and talked through whether it was about the building itself or if it would work somewhere else.  It then turned into "can it happen in the suburbs?" and I honestly tried to convince myself it could.  I wanted it to be able to work in the suburbs, so I could still be on the rational side of things.  But the reality is that I don't think it can.  Not on the scale it needs to be.  That I feel God wants it to be.  I feel like my brain works differently than most of the people around here.  Where they see "bigger and better" I see people living with blinders on.  People need to wake up and see the creativity all around them, the creation of the One True Creator.  An...