Thanks, Mr. Spurgeon

"Will you not this day make it your prayer? "Lord, help me to glorify thee...I have talents, help me to extol thee by spending them for thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee...I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all that I have." -Charles Spurgeon

Read this in morning and evening yesterday and was just thinking about it in light of art and photography and just struck by the prayer to glorify God with what He has given us...talents, time, minds, purpose...all that we do. all that we are.
I feel like my prayer would be especially the last part: "I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine..."

Definitely think this applies to much more than art, but when you do apply it to your art, how it changes your perspective...

for God and not Men

"all things were created through him and FOR him" (the end of col1:16)
all the art we make is not for men or Na or for anyone, everything that we do is for God, so there is no point in being proud since its all been created through Jesus. and we should work our tails off to make our art the best we can because its FOR Jesus, and no one else.
Its really great to hear people giving such deep thoughts and confessing pride. this is so cool.
I have some paintins i did for class im finishing up this week ill post em soon maybe.

expectations hurt us

Julia, thanks for your candor. I can totally relate. Its good to get this out in the open here. And I talk frequently about these issues with my students. So you’re not alone. Here’s a couple of my thoughts on the matter. i don't know if this is the variety of fear you deal with. but here's a little about my disease.

Expectations. I think these are what kill us. At least when they are unrealistic. Or bloated. Basically our pride doesn’t like to under-perform compared to what we think we should be able to do. Some of us are motivated by a perfectionism and are shattered when we even think we can’t achieve it. Some of us are motivated by approval of others and are shattered likewise. My poison is the latter. Trying to live up to some image of my self because I went to such-and-such school and still have to fight the voices of professors in my head who i haven’t seen in years. Its ugly. I have to repent repeatedly.

But its worth it. There’s always a way of escape and righteousness is always sweeter. Sometimes God even prospers our works and they come out pretty decent. Bonus!

So how to combat the fears? Here are a few thoughts. Maybe somebody else can add on. Put on humility. Go into the artwork admitting that it might turn out to be a failure, but I’m gonna do my best to be faithful. Go in light heartedly, trying to not take ourselves so seriously. Enjoy making stuff. And talking to God in the process to keep our thoughts straight. Play a little.

Okay, well, i’m actually up to date on my February watercolors. A lot of misses and a couple successes. i’ll post em on my flickr soon.

Laters,
connie

art nite

[julia writing] so tonite is "art nite". bill decided to get things moving for us, we need to set aside time each week, monday nites, to get chuggin' on NA. in the last few days, i've realized what is keeping me from starting: fear. sometimes as a designer, i fear what clients will think of my work (did i totally miss the mark? will they like it?), fear it won't be "good enough", etc. i thought about what fear really is, and this is what i came up with (for myself): fear is me assuming an outcome. "it won't be good enough, it's been so long since i touched any art that's unrelated to a computer, i'll be rusty." none of this can be present in my mind if i'm going to create anything -- especially anything that glorifies God. so, i endeavor to "play" as connie told me, and press through my fears and get back to my art again. (i say "back" because i've been a full-time designer for awhile and haven't done much of anything outside of work).

i loved beth's post from john piper-- imagination IS work. and it's DEFINITELY a God-given gift that we each have to create. i want to use my gift for His glory -- messy sketches, unfinished ideas and all -- to make His word known. fear completely aside.

reflections on colossians

I'm really enjoying my time in Colossians. I've found my reference Bible to be a very helpful resource as I endeavor to better grasp this passage. There is meaning behind many of these verses that I didn't see until I looked deeper.

All that to say, I think I will be focusing on the two verses that describe Christ as "firstborn," the "...firstborn of all creation" and "...the firstborn from the dead..." Right now I am focusing on Christ as the firstborn from the dead. I cross referenced that verse, and I found 1 Corinthians 15:20-23:

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."

When I read this I had a picture of Christ resurrected, standing amidst "those who have fallen asleep," a crowd of people reclining and sleeping at his feet, awaiting the day when they too will be raised.

That's all I have so far, and I may end up in a different direction entirely, but I'm grateful that the Spirit is getting the sparks in my brain fired up. I'm in the group that finds themselves way over their heads when they read these verses.

As far as medium, I'm really considering oil, but I have to see what kind of drawings I come up with and how much time I think I have. April 15th is coming up fast. I've stopped by a couple art stores, and I get excited just walking around the store, anticipating this project.

Anyway, please let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions regarding what I've shared. I'd appreciate whatever help I can get.

mounting, framing, transporting, locations

Thanks for asking Peter. see if this helps:

Framing/Mounting - should look professional. so if its a work on paper or photo, mount or frame it nicely. if its a canvas, it does not NEED a frame, but should look neat around the edges. (tape em off maybe to get that crisp edge)

transporting - choose whats cheaper for you: get it to Louisville yourself or get it to Gaithersburg Maryland to be put onto a truck from here. We have space reserved on one of the Na trucks, but the art needs to be easily transportable (well packaged and not too fragile). And yes, we'll transport it both to and from Louisville for you. but it needs to be picked up right when it gets back to Maryland. theres no storage space in the church/SovGrace for it.

locations - fyi, here's where everybody is, so maybe we can do some face-to-face conversations about our art or share transportation:

Louisville: Will
San Diego: Josh
Hawaii: Erin
North Carolina: Jeni
Atlanta: Peter
Indiana, PA: Beth, David (submitting already-made work)
Philly: Bill & Julia, Rob
Maryland: Ryan & Jenny, Hannah, Jeff, Connie

speaking of this...i think it was a huge help last year to sit down and have a meal together in philly with the artists there. theres something really good and motivating about doing this together. brainstorming. fellowshipping. so ya, if you find yourself traveling to any locations that you could do this over the spring, i highly encourage it.

Maryland/Va folks, lets do this. and philly friends, its my goal to get over there in march, and while i'm there i'd love to hang with you dear folks. and will and josh and erin and jeni and peter and beth, don't be shy. consider yourself invited to come to Maryland this spring. really. i know it may not be possible, but consider it.

alrightee. hope you all are well and enjoying Colossians.

Art show space

hey so drew garfield, a pretty funny kid on the Na team, is designing the space for the Neighborhood that includes the Art Show (and bookstore and hang out space). he's got some pretty grandiose dreams of building all sorts of walls and it has some potential to look pretty sweet in there.

anyways, he asked if there are any 3-D pieces this year, if he should build pedastols. anybody thinking of making sculpture? hannah, maybe?

also, plans change a lot, but it looks like we'll have pretty big wall space for pretty big artwork. so don't be shy. i mean, it'll cost you more to frame/mount it prolly, but it looks like we have a lot of space to fill.

a little late?

hey kids, sorry for takin so long to get up on this blog action. but better late than never.

Name, job: jeff martin, graphics intern for Sovereign Grace Ministries and art student

Kinda of art ill do: Big paintings and lots of em. it would be fun to do an installation too.

symbols i want to explore for Col1: "In Him all things hold together"

anything else: hopefully ill be in italy instead of Na

imagination as a telescope

I love that analogy. Thanks for posting the Piper, Beth. It's so true, we are not saying anything that hasn't been said before or discovering new truths. We're making them visible in (hopefully) new and imaginative ways. It feels a little less intimidating that way. Connie, you were so right, God is so great and this Colossians passage is so full of that greatness that it is humbling to even try to make an artistic representation. So, I'm getting a bit more of a start on things this weekend...I'll be praying for everyone else's starts as I pray through mine. Thanks again for the encouraging posts.

response to beth & piper

SWEEEEET. and so dense with goodness. thanks for posting that.

i especially like this, "The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of His beauty beautiful."

i mean, what better goal for a little art show like ours!

and this colossians stuff is SO MAJOR, so abstract, so huge...which is both daunting, but also kinda like, you know we're not gonna even touch its greatness. so... i dunno. how can we handle it humbly?

"One of the great duties of the Christian mind is imagination..."

In John Piper's book Life as a Vapor, he has a chapter called "God is Not Boring". I felt it was very helpful, encouraging and challenging as I thought about my photography in general, and very appropriate as I thought specifically about this art show...

"...The supremacy of God in the life of the mind is not honored when God and His amazing world are observed truly, analyzed duly, and communicated boringly. Imagination is the key to killing boredom. We must imagine ways to say truth for what it really is. And it is not boring.
God's world--all of it--rings with wonders. The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of His beauty beautiful.
Don't mistake what I'm saying. Poets and painters and preachers don't make God's beauty more beautiful. They make it more visible. They cut through the dull fog of our finite, fallible, sin-distorted perception, and help us see God's beauty for what it really is. Imagination is like a telescope to the stars: It doesn't make them big. They are big without the telescope. It makes them look like what they are.
Imagination may be the hardest work of the human mind. And perhaps the most God-like. It is the closest we get to creation out of nothing. When we speak of beautiful truth, we must think of a pattern of words, perhaps a poem. We must conceive something that has never existed before and does not now exist in any human mind. We must think of an analogy or metaphor or illustration which has no existence. The imagination must exert itself to see it in our mind, when it is not yet there. We must create word combinations and music that have never existed before. All of this we do, because we are like God and because He is infinitely worthy of ever-new words and songs and pictures.
A college--or a church or a family--committed to the supremacy of God in the life of the mind will cultivate fertile imaginations. And, oh, how the world needs God-besotted minds that can say and sing and play and paint the great things of God in ways that have never been said or sung or played or painted before.
Imagination is like a muscle. It grows stronger when you flex it. And you must flex it. It does not usually put itself into action. It awaits the will. Imagination is also contagious. When you are around someone (alive or dead) who uses it a lot, you tend to catch it. So I suggest that you hang out with some people (mainly dead poets) who are full of imagination, and that you exert yourself to think up a new way to say and old truth. God is worthy. "Oh sing to the Lord a new song"--or picture, or poem, or figure of speech, or painting.
I pray for the grace of imagination, lest I fail to love my fellow man and fail to render Your glory for what it really is, most beautiful of all beauties."

What do you think?
I definitely think that there must be grace...dependence on God...we cannot be creative on our own. If we ever do something creative, it is only because God gave it to us. And to do art excellently we need Him...and I think the last paragraph is helpful...it's not like our first attempt (usually) is going to be great...we need to work at it... but again, this was really helpful for me to read...

Josh Sczebel... why am I here again?

1. Name, day job
Josh C. Sczebel, Intern - Grace Church of North County, San Diego, CA... Worship leader, filmmaker (not really), photography...

2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
something that makes you want to look at the next piece... haha... probably photography.

3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts or hopes]?
i really don't know yet... once i have my brain back we'll see what i can come up with...

observations from colossians -->beth

I have four first thoughts...

1) God's glory --> verses 15-16
2) God's sovereignty --> verses 17-18
3) Jesus is God --> verse 19
4) The Gospel --> verses 20-23

also, the passage seems to have very strong words/phrases...

image of the invisible God firstborn visible and invisible dominions all things hold together head of the body, the church the beginning the firstborn from the dead preeminent fullness of God reconcile all things earth or in heaven peace by the blood alienated and hostile evil deeds holy and blameless above reproach before him faith stable steadfast hope of the gospel that you heard been proclaimed in all creation

i have a lot more studying to do...

Observations from Colossians

1. lots of universal/ categorical statements re: his supremacy toward creation

• first born of all creation
• by him all things were created
• all things created through and for him
  
• he is before all things
• in him all things hold together
• that in everything he might be preeminent
• in him all the FULLness of God is pleased to dwell
• to reconcile to himself all things

2. vs. 16 goes to great lengths to explain what "all things" means, with widely contrasting words like heaven and earth, visible and invisible.
3. i looked up preeminent in a thesaurus. it suggested superior, primary, incomparable, dominant.

what have you guys been noticing?

howdy

1. Name, day job, favorite animal
Peter Benson, Accounting student, don't have one

2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
Hhmm, I love working in pencil or pen and ink, but I'm thinking this might require some color...maybe even some glitter?

3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme
Really not sure at this point. The imagery of this passage will be an interesting challenge for me. My current stage consists of prayer and meditation.

4. anything else you want us to know?
I'm a Virginian born and breed. I relocated to the Atlanta metro area a year and a half ago.

Abstract art

its sweet to hear from so many of you. Good convo, beth. Ya, I’d love to get some input on this. I talk about this periodically with students and non artists curious about abstract art. Below is my simplified argument, how else can I better explain this?

First, I encourage folks to approach Abstract Art HUMBLY. If art is a visual language/ expression/ communication, then it’s an extension or expression of men’s hearts. Therefore we approach it humbly as we would any other words or other expressions of men’s hearts. We don’t go up to people and tell them how stupid their ideas are or that our little brother could think that.

FORM - Next I tell folks to approach the visual part. What kinds of elements and principles are working together? Students enjoy finding many observations about color and line and shape.

CONTENT - And then consider content. Maybe the shapes and color are the content. Or maybe there is some symbolism or meaning that speaks of the artists world view. Though this often takes further research, it is helpful to see that this is a separate aspect to evaluate.

COMMON GRACE - Look for truth or beauty somewhere in the art. God gets the credit for anything good. and anything good somehow in a small way reflects God. what fun it is to enjoy truth and beauty!

greetings

1. Name, day job
Rob Giorgio. Graphic Designer

2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show.
Not sure. Love pen and ink, collage and collaboration between digital and art.

3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme
Need to take some time and reflect on the verses and from that I will have something.

4. anything else you want us to know?
Just moved to west Philly and lovin it.

1. Name, day job
jen malament and i guard life at a pool, teach and coach swimming
2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
i love pen and ink but we'll see...
3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts or hopes]
i love illustration, mainly for children's book so i'm tempted to try to 'illustrate' it...give it a storybook sort of feel
4. anything else you want us to know?
it snowed for the first time in THREE years here yesterday!!!!! (charlotte nc)
it was awesome.
just awesome.

motherwell?

who did this painting last year?

off topic...but really reminds me of robert motherwell... one of my favourite artists...
kinda freaked out first time i went to the national gallery...

but wasn't allowed to use a camera inside... and only had a tiny 2mpx point&shoot from the outside...

even tho this painting doesn't directly portray a Christian theme...or something like that, it still can bring glory to God, I believe... because it reflects God... the common grace God has given man and the incredible talent and creativity He blessed so many with, believers and non-believers...so even if this is abstract...
"all things were created through him and for him."

right?

(sorry if i'm jumping ahead...continue on with the introductions...put this on hold)

whats up from philly

1. Name, day job, wife's name
Bill Melone, substitute teacher, Julia Melone

2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
paintings, smaller than last year, probably 2 foot 3 foot range

3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme
A response to the phrases "Firstborn over all creation" (painting of a baby) and "invisible God" (not sure, maybe Richter style abstraction with the concept of 'you can't see the forest from the trees' (that needs to get better articulated), and/or taking an old figure painting and canceling out parts of the figure), and a collaborative piece with my woman. This is definitely a rich part of the bible, its fun to think about

4. anything else you want us to know?
philly is cool, Sovereign Grace Church NJ is cool, and my wife is freakin hot. and she's pregnant--we've been easing into telling friends, told our care group last week. hope that doesn't disqualify us from being a "young married couple". And no, the baby is not the collaborative piece we've been talking about, the due date's in August.

Art 2.0

1. Name, day job
Ryan James - web designer for New Attitude and Covenant Life Church

2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
The enormous kind

3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts
or hopes]
This passage has a "We're all in this together" feel to it as well as a very personal voice, so I'll be using a lot of vsual repetition coupled with singling out an element that's part of the larger context. Or something like that. blah blah blah.

4. anything else you want us to know?
Adam Sandler looks just like Bob Dylan circa Blonde on Blonde in his new movie Reign Over Me. Observe.

hello from erin

1. Name: Erin Barley
Job: Art student by day, waitress by night

2. A combination of abstract and representational in oil paint/mixed media and possibly clay.

3. I have some ideas but I really need to pray! Right now I am thinking of a layered piece with several panels that represent different parts of the passage with some continuous theme throughout leading to the cross. Again, I need to pray.

4. This blog is great because I live in Hawaii so I'm excited about being connected to a community of Christian artists. I can't wait for the next couple months of inspiration and work.

hi everyone!!

1. Name: julia melone
day job: graphic designer at disc makers (www.discmakers.com/design)
2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show:
painting/collage/lettering- something collaborative with my husband.
3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts or hopes]:
handlettering, working with textures, working with photocopies from Colossians.
4. anything else you want us to know?
i'm so excited to be part of this again- i love making art knowing that it could affect the way someone views God. it is a priviledge and a gift!

hi...?

1. Name: beth ann
.day job: work at a coffeehouse...willing provider of caffeine.
2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show: digital photography
3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts or hopes]: <-that looks like a sad face ...it's always a challenge to photograph something intentionally to convey a strong theme such as this year's...but i like trying to think of creative ways of putting words or ideas into form and finding compositions that match and fit the image in my head...so first things first...study and meditate on Colossians 1: 15-20... i really enjoy thinking about photography... then practicing...
and my initial thoughts? pray.
4. anything else you want us to know? yes. what am i doing among all of you?

hannah's survery response

1. Hannah Kim, Graphic Designer at Covenant Life Church
2. mixed media (ink and paint) or sculptural (wood..maybe)
3. I love the emphasis on creation and Christ as the beginning, and how that ties to the Cross. Visual ideas? progression of time in creation, examples of rebirth in nature...landscapes? you said no one's holding me to this, right? :P
4. I'm actually trying to following Connie's example to get more disciplined in making art everyday and I'm going to start by sneaking into Kenneth's office (when he's not there of course!) to draw the amazing view he gets from his window. It's breath-taking!

connie's survey response

1. Connie Jimenez, Art Teacher at CovLife School
2. large drawings or paint on paper. i dont know yet how i'd mount/frame a large drawing reasonably.
3. i dunno...maybe something about the incarnation and therefore figurative...which figures. (yesss)
4. i'm doing drawing a day in february for an unrelated (to this) art show. watercolors of skulls and flowers...so, i'm saying it "out loud" here, so ask me how it goes...

Welcome.

hey friends, hopefully you receive the letter I emailed out to you. Ya, so go ahead and sign in and post a little about yourself...here's a little survey to start so we can get to know each other:

1. Name, day job
2. the kind of art you’ll probably do for this show
3. symbols/visual ideas you might explore for Colossians 1 theme [we won’t hold you to it…but what are your initial thoughts or hopes]
4. anything else you want us to know?

julia's pics.

The Na 06 artists

images from Na blog

julia, i can't wait to see yours!

exploding third graders

having this sculpture in the art room has been an event in itself. today my thrid graders drew the sculpture after we discussed it for a while, complete with sound effects. i love the initial reactions when the elementary students first walk into the classroom. and this class seemed to really soak in the meaning of regeneration.

an explosion in the art room

paper-mache-ers hardly seem to notice the explosion near by.

Fighting self-focus

Hey I'm grateful for the new friendships i've gained from this little art show. and our dinner conversation on the porch was helpful. Julia and Bill, we were discussing the temptations we're expecting to come at Na. as we starting listing specific ugly thoughts, there seemed to be a common theme: Self-focus. especially in our thoughts. that lead to words and actions.

well i'm seeing the need to take action sooner than later. this morning i picked up Piper's Future Grace. Basically, he argues that all sins come from unbelief that God is more satisfying. here's some quotes from chapter 6 that are helping me to think through this:

From CS Lewis, "The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching. If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither itch nor the scratch. As long as we have the itch of self-regard we shall want the pleasure of self-approval; but the happiest moments are those when we forget our precious selves and have neither but have everything else (God, our fellow humans, animals, the garden and the sky) instead."

Consider artistic gifting too, with wisdom: "When we boast in our wisdom we have turned from God to trust in ourselves. We disclose that our satisfaction is not first in God's infinate, primary wisdom, but in out derivative, secondary capacities." p89

he discusses Jer.9:23 and wisdom, might and riches: "Each one lures us away from trusting God as the superior satisfaction above them all. It is radically humbling to confess that the source of all our joy resides outside ourselves." p88

(!) okay! that give me something to put on: confessing that all my joy resides outside of myself and that no amount of recognition or glorifying me will satify me. no! i find a much deeper joy in the One who deserves the Glory. magifying him is much more satisfying.

Conversation series

Hey Philly people. lol
Who has the conversation series? I say we bring that down as well. I think it was a fun a very successful project and should be in the show. can we also have these for friday morning?
Thanks
Rob

Friday ART PICKUP

Hey all,
Here is the final final details. This Friday - 5/12 - at 1301 Cherry Street - PAFA will be loading all the work into the van. My goal is to be there for 9 - 9:30am. Please have art work ready for that time, and remember to bring plenty of papers, bubble tape, blankets and etc to wrap and protect your artork, for a bumpy 3 hour drive to maryland. Any questions, please call me at 609-238-7983.

Also, better to address the issue now than later, but we have to figure out how to get the artwork BACK from Louisville. I believe Connie said that they could bring it back to Maryland, but that we would need to transport it from Maryland to Philly. IT seems like the best solution, would be the same: rent a truck and deliver work to one spot.
Rob

Trip to Maryland This Friday

Hi all,
OK. Here is the plan. I am going to rent a "Budget" truck. To pay for the gas, insurance, adn mileage for a trip to Maryland - it will cost roughly 235 dollars. thats about as cheap as you can get for a truck. I have agreed with Connie to aim to be in Maryland for 11:30/12:00. So, since it is a 3 hour drive to Gaithersburg - we need to leave with all of the art around 8:30/9:00. We need to coordinate a Philly pickup - the less traveling the cheaper and quicker. Alison, Bill and Julia - are you guys able to coordinate and consolidate a location in Philly for about 8:30 am?
We can split the cost of the truck 5 ways which will be fairly cheap. Also, for safety reasons, please wrap up your artwork in blankets, bubble wrap, etc. Most likely a bumpy ride. Connie emailed me directions yesterday - so thats fine. Please let me know asap your plans. I would prefer to have someone drive with me, but if no one is available thats cool, my mom has offered and I believe it would be easy to find someone to take a trip with me. I understand everyone is busy and has finals and etc, so let me know.
Rob

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get their work back from New Attitude?

frames

hey i saw in the paper that frames are on sale at michaels this week. i dunno if you guys have a Michaels store handy, but if you do i have some gift cards you could use for frames there. but i dont know how i'd get them to you...i think its wall frames, so big ones (?) on sale.

the truck

i'm happy to chip in a bit for the truck...and then maybe you guys can stop by the Martins house (where i live) to pick up my pieces on the way to the church/school.

thanks for taking this initiative, rob.
connie

later better 4

Ok. here is the deal. My neighbor is a framer and she is going to frame my two pieces for next Friday. I currently dont work on fridays so Im hoping to get a Penske - pick up my stuff and everyone else's and then we can drive em down to Maryland. Im not sure how much it costs to rent the truck, but will get ya the details. Is it possible for everyone to consolidate their art at one location? Or due to size stay in separate places and we can pick em up. Is anyone up to going to Maryland to transport them. ehem Bill!!! JK also, Connie, I would need directions specifically where to go and is next Friday ok for you?
Rob

later better

rob, i think your idea makes the most sense- for all of us to get our stuff to you next weekend at one time. it would give everyone one more week. where do you live though?

later better

hey all,
I'm thinking about getting a truck to drive down the artwork for hopefully next weekend to Connie. The drive isn't too far, so I believe it will be practical. If that happens, I say we all try to consolidate our work together and make it in one sweep. That is of course, if ya'll can't get it done by Saturday.
Let me know any thougths and ideas you may have. Rob

later better

Hey, y'all, later is better for me since my painting for the show is in lancaster. Julia will probably be able to have her stuff framed by the concert on saturday, or maybe by first friday tomorrow so that would be something.
bill

later better?

hey, I would definitely stand behind the idea to get a truck and take the stuff to MD not this weekend. From my standpoint:

A.Framing has yet to happen
B.Honestly I'm still working on the sculpture, and it may or may not make it. I'm trying but my sanity is slipping. I do it to myself. Connie we'll have to talk when you're here this weekend.

So that's my 2 cents. I don't know any plexi framing places offhand but I will ask around.

Philly artists

Hey guys,
Apparently this Saturday is D-day. Has everybody figured out how they are going to get their work to Connie? The Bolivia Benefit concert is at church this saturday. So I have to be there for work and everything. I am going to try to figure out a way to my work to Connie. Does anybody know where I can get two of my pieces framed with plexiglass? Is it expensive? Let me know what you guys are doing, and perhaps on this short notice, we can arrange something.
Rob

a taste of the artshow

Meet the 5 Na artists with a small sampling of the art that will be shown at the Na art show. There will be a total of 13 pieces including 12 2-D works and one sculpture by alison (whose pic file size is too big for me to post here).




with a few silly faces thrown in for good measure.

decisions!

are being emailed to you tonight!

thanks for your patience!

Sorry for the delay

I'll let you know the final word as soon as I hear it. The pastors are out of town and i'm headed to austin for the weekend so i'm thinking it will be early next week that we'll hear.

Hope this doesn't inconvienience anybody.

connie

status of conversation series?

does anybody know the status of the phily series? or if theres anything showable in it?

transporting artwork

once the show is curated (Tuesday the 18th) we'll know which pieces need to be transported.

so to our philly artists, we'll come to that question then, but a couple things to keep in mind. consider if you have access to a truck (family? friend?) or somebody that already makes a regular trip from philly to MD. i'll be coming up to philly on May 5-6 so i'll try to borrow a van or something from here so i can coordinate a pick up with you.

once the artwork is safely in Maryland, we have reserved place for it on a truck thats going to Louisville.

Conniej

oh! and dimensions!!

please add on to the attachement you send me:

4. dimensions of your artwork, length by height & width of canvas too, or how its framed.

I'll email this to everybody in case folks arent checking the blog. so sorry in advance if you read it twice.

enjoy the crunch time before the deadline!

-connie

weeping cherry blossoms

standing under a weeping cherry blossom tree just now taking in all the color, i was reminded of a quote Bill gave me once from Chromophobia by David Batchelor :

"to fall into color is to fall out of words."

there is a certain part of 65th avenue near my house where yellow flowers, green buds, and the brightest pink blossoms fall in a row. it is sensory overload: especially with all the sun.

i couldn't take my eyes off of the tree -- the pink blossoms swaying in the wind, the sharp contrast of deep brown bark against pink, the height of the thing. i thought of how we will see Jesus in heaven : we won't be able to take our eyes off of Him. (& this is how we are called to live now too). there will be so many facets to see : His eyes, His wounds, His smile . . . so,

"to fall into Jesus is to fall out of words."

Info re: deadline

Hey guys, here's the scoop. For a piece of artwork to be considered for the Na art show, please email the following to Connie by Easter:

1. Digital pic of the artwork as a whole. If you'd like to send additional details or multiple views, thats cool too.
2. Digital pic of yourself next to the artwork so we can see scale. (and those silly faces)
3. A 100 word or less explanation of your artwork. We want these to be displayed next to your piece. So tell us about regeneration and whatever you think in helpful for the viewer: your process? symbolism? how your concept developed? help non-art folks to look closer at your art.

let me know if you have more Q's.
-conniej

transporting artwork

Hey Connie,
when and where and how are we gonna all get our artwork down to New attitude?
I was thinking that I need to get a penske truck to transport my stuff to our church and then from there? We need these done by Easter Sunday, April 16th?
Any ideas?
Thanks
Rob

i who have died am alive again today,

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

~e.e. cummings

this is the poem i'm using in a poster for the show. bill explicated it for us to think about it in terms of Jesus being the first person, speaking "i who have died am alive again today" -- i think this is so beautiful, and it completely shifts my view of this poem. this could be a portrait of the Son speaking to the Father of "this most amazing day", His death on the Cross as atonement for our sins. (!)

at covenant, the series called 'the gospel song' is radically shifting my view of Jesus & the gospel. i am so grateful for the pastors who were led to preach these messages!!

post-rome art.

made this after my trip to rome in summer 04. this is close to what i'm doing for the show. dead leaves from autumn + leaves / buds in bloom now are what is really inspiring me : looking to wonderfully simplistic nature to answer my questions about death and life, and then mixing that with the Word.

i'm really excited to see what everyone else is doing. peace.

B+W finally

Hey everybody, I finally got the b+w images to work, let me know what you think. They're in backwards order from how I talked about them I think.

still here

hey all...

yeah, so it's been awhile since I've blogged on...

julia, i love those pictures.

I can't give details right now, but i am working. I haven't been trying to fade out gradually :) ... promise.

wow, one month... oh boy! By God's grace...

more later~

Julia's buds

wow, keep us updated.

color

The other two abstract paintings might not seem to go along with the look of the other ones, but I’ve been thinking and reading about color and I think that there is a really wonderful connection that color has to the issue of new life. A book I’ve been reading is called Chromophobia, its all about the fear of color in culture, secular, but a lot of neat connections to redemption and biblical themes, particularly with an idea of ‘falling into color’ and how that idea within culture is often connected to both a kind of fall into sin as well as kind of fall into grace and joy: “There are many stories of the world made color, or colorless, and their lessons are often contradictory and confusing. Color is both a fall into nature, which may in turn be a fall from grace or a fall into grace, and against nature, which may result in a corruption of nature or freedom from its corrupting forces. Color is a lapse into decadence and a recovery of innocence.” There is also a very interesting quote of Paul Cezanne: “Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. Now, open them… One sees nothing but a great colored undulation. What then? An irradiation and glory of color. This is what a picture should give us… an abyss in which the eye is lost, a secret germination, a colored state of grace… lose consciousness. Descend with the painter into the dim tangled roots of things, and rise again from them in colors, be steeped in the light of them”. I really love those quotes and their relation to new life, with just the idea of being steeped in a glory of newness from God. The reason I thought about including the abstract paintings is because being all color they sort of picture the idea of being steeped in color, which in turn is a picture of God steeping us in new life.

black and white

Yo folks, wanted to post about a couple of the paintings that I’m thinking about putting in the show so I can get some of your thoughts. Something screwy is going on with the posting of images so I have to wait and leave the writing on by itself for now. This’ll be long, so I’m splitting it into two posts. Hope the images show alright—they’re all about 6x7 foot, give or take a foot, so you’ll have to imagine it I guess. I’ve been doing my student teaching this semester, so creating through my students rather than directly, so my contribution to the show will have to be previous work. I’m posting 5 images, so I’m just looking for a couple thoughts on which work most with the theme of new life.

The black and white and gold images are an aesthetic approach that I enjoy because it involves both drawing and photography. The first two images are art historical ‘redo’s’—Rembrandt’s Three Crosses and Brueghel’s Way of the Cross. Obviously being about the cross they have to do with new life, but more than that, drawing on top of an image that looks sort of like a photographic blur is like how we ‘draw’ on top of reality—we think things about reality and sometimes that distorts reality (sinful and/or weak human thoughts) but it also is necessary because we have to respond to what is revealed and work to honor what God gives us. The black and white aesthetic is sort of a dark and depressing look which relates to how things are prior to new life, like the murky waters in Genesis 1. The third image is an image I’ve titled ‘Abortion 8 weeks’. I initially did it because I wanted to do a big issue painting, but as I’ve thought of the issue of new life, I thought about how abortion is as far opposite of the idea of new life as we can think because it is such precious life that is destroyed, often a creation incredibly small and not fully formed, as new as new life can be but just as it starts to live its killed. The image I did the painting from is a little strange, mostly because I didn’t want the image to be what you necessarily expect—the photographer used a quarter for scale, and moved the dead baby’s limbs. I realize its gruesome, but art is often about the business of making us notice things about the world (usually more attractive and beautiful things) that we wouldn’t otherwise notice, and so challenge our typical experience of life, so I hope that by looking at a painting of something so bad, our knowledge of the beauty and importance of new life is jolted out of laziness.

in response to julia

Hey Julia. that observation is absolutely correct about spring. I read a book called the "Message of the cross" - excellent. I recommend it to everyone. But they talked about how the passover took place in spring - because of new life the corn growing - or whatever - not sure. But how it would be this visual that God used to remind them of freedom, life and new beginnings. No accidents in times, seasons or events in Scripture. every verse unlocks and is packed with revelation into the mind of God Himself.
excellent point Julia.

I am almost done Connie. Due to my increasingly busy schedule, i don't think I will be able to do the light swith idea. I would love to, but would need lots of help. wink wink hint hint....
I have one painting 5' x 6', one drawing - 4' x 5', the conversation series squares (2) and I am currently working on a drawing.

Hows everyone else?
Rob

one month reminder

ahh, deadlines are good for us aren't they.

well i have plenty of painting ahead of me. how are those conversation series going? Jeff?? And Drew, how are your photo concepts coming?

okay, well I'll email all the artists about a week or so before our deadline, Easter, with instructions for sending me pics and info for your work.

Hope you're all well. Drop us a line here and let us know how your progress is coming.

warmly,
connie

'church marketing sucks' & other thoughts

this is a website i found - i'm interested to hear other's thoughts on it.
www.churchmarketingsucks.com

interesting premise, although it's hard to find examples of what they think 'doesn't suck' - it just seems like a lot of blogging to me, but if you beg to differ, please say so.

life starts: it's spring soon!

has anyone ever thought about how Easter and Spring happen at the same time? new life in nature, new life in Christ being resurrected... or am i light years behind everyone else?

the magnolia tree outside my window is SO close to blooming
buds that were brown all winter are now slowly turning gorgeous pink.

'all around us we observe a pregnant creation . . . ' - romans 8, the Message.

a little progress

currently: printing big type, crinkling it up, and then scanning it back in. this is in the vein of what i'll be making for NA. thoughts? using this texture in the e.e. magazine.

re: God is in the PROCESS

i am a firm believer in what connie wrote regarding the process of sanctification vs. the process of making art. there is indeed a very obvious connection. it is very exciting to know that someone else though of that. "the learning and growth happen during the times of wrestling through the process. in art: correcting, wiping out parts of a painting, reworking ideas. in sanctification: awareness of sin, conviction of sin, repentance."

the learning and growth definitely happen in wrestling. art would be too easy if we always knew exactly what we wanted to do, and could do it, without a little wrestling / tension. we HAVE to wrestle. if we aren't wrestling, then we aren't growing. i wrestle a lot with struggles (who doesn't), tensions in my walk, frustrations. but God promises that He is in charge of our growth (we are perfectly held, although unraveled).

something bill said from one of his professors is the experience of 'fighting with a painting'. i feel like that with design too-- fighting to get to a good idea, a gem -- and then carry it out, with good type, good craftsmanship, etc etc.

in wrestling though, i learn the beauty of surrender: of realizing that our sanctification - being made holy in a process, which is instaneous + progressive (wow!) is in God's hands.

a mentor of mine read through ephesians 2:10 with me once.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

she said 'workmanship' in greek translates to poema = poem. it is one of my favorite things to think about - that we are each God's poems. if we surrender, we let Him write us.

p.s. the image is a rough spread from a magazine i'm attempting to create for my senior thesis project, called e.e. magazine (about e.e. cummings).

sunday

hey alison, just wanted to let you know that I can't make it tomorrow.
sorry for the terribly late notice
Rob

local artists gather

Just wanted to put the word out on the blog for the locals (in case my email got dropped to your junk mail) that for those who are able there'll be a gathering at my parent's place on Sunday to eat, chat and hopefully make some art. Please let me know if you can or can't make it!

processing

(I'm still thinking about your question Connie. More later. :)

I just wanted to toss out something that I read recently and found interesting, R.C. Sproul was talking about the work of the Holy Spirit in creating new life in us. He was using the word "quickening", as in "quickening from spiritual death" or "the Spirit quickens our hearts". He talked about how, outside of spiritual terms, the most common use of the word was in regard to pregnancy, when a woman first feels the life, the movement, of the baby in her womb.... the quickening.
I thought that was great. That first movement, the first moment, the life, the action. Of course if I knew how to capture the sense of that in a piece of artwork I would do it right away! I hope that some element of it comes through.

God is in the PROCESS

How is the art/design process like sanctification?

I've been thinking through this and could use some help articulating it. a few ideas to begin...

• process more important than product
• product is the evidence of the process that the ideas went through
• the learning and growth happen during the times of wrestling through the process. in art: correcting, wiping out parts of a painting, reworking ideas. in sanctification: awareness of sin, conviction of sin, repentance.
• these parts can seem unwanted to a young/immature artist/believer but the more mature artist/believer relishes the oppotunity to improve/grow

Can you guys help me to elaborate on this?

lyrics re:contrast

These lyrics from the new Sov Grace Fuse CD reminded me of New Life.

The Mystery of Your Love

Verse 1
When I was a stranger You took me in
When I was an outcast You called me friend
When I was a rebel You bled for me
And when I was a leper You made me clean

Chorus
Oh the mystery of Your love
The mystery of Your love
The mystery of Your love
Fills me with wonder

Verse 2
When my heart was darkness You gave me light
When my eyes were blinded You gave me sight
When I warred against You You conquered me
You took me as Your prisoner You made me free

Mark Altrogge © 2003
Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

the conversations.

fyi everyone - rob gave me the awesome pieces he made for the 12" x 12" conversation pieces. bill and i will do four between the two of us, then we're passing on to alison.

also, something i thought of at church this morning - part of being new involves thinking on the death, but not dwelling on the death (our sin) but really living out the new. kind of basic, but it is something i'm chewing on.

being 'reborn' is not once & done, but so amazingly mysteriously graciously ONGOING -
we are being renewed, we are being made new [present and active tense, by grace.]

Please Read**--Dimensions

Though I realize we are all in progress and probably haven't started all the pieces that we hope to finish…

Can you guys email me dimensions of the artwork that you hope to make for the show?

You won't be tied to [or limited by!!!] what you tell me now. But it would be helpful for the crew that's designing the space to have in mind canvas sizes and sculpture dimensions, etc, to be expecting.

Eric and the Na team is excited to have us making art work for the show and many hands and brains are working towards making a wonderful space to show it off.

Hanging the Na Artshow

We're recruiting volunteers to set up the art show and other aesthetic elements of Na starting on Friday afternoon, the day before Na starts. Who's got gallery experience and would like to help hang this show? Alison? Email me if you are interested & able.

Also, we need some volunteers with a "design eye" that could oversee some other set-up aspects. Anybody game?

pondering weighty things in solitude

hi all!

here is an example of what i like to do, and something in the vein of what i plan to do for the gallery. big white pages with lots of messy handwritten prayers.

alison- i loved your writings about the dead plant in your apartment. it is something i feel very connected to. i have a lot of plants in my apartment too. i wrote about it in the image here, but it's really hard to read. just about how you can't really watch a plant grow - it's a slow process, slower than we know - but there are wonders happening beneath the surface - beyond our vision.

so i have been 'pondering weighty things in solitude' as piper says in 'future grace' and thinking about what it really means to 'mortify the flesh'. i think i have some work to do in thinking about this before i can appreciate the beauty of being reborn.

Hi Julia!!

welcome.

...

hey all. I totally forgot to bring the conversation series to church this past weekend along with the messages. please forgive me. I have finished the first 'square', did one painting for regeneration and one painting for the 'circle theme' thats all I have for now. I am thinking about doing a drawin on mylar and then doing an experimental book. honestly, I feel like I don't have the time or the drive or creativity to complete the work. it will happen though
-r

2 month peptalk

Okay team…A little barometer check...How’s your concept coming together? Do you have a strategy in mind? If you plan to participate, have you put aside enough time in the next 2 months to devote to achieving your goals?

if you’re getting off to a late start...hey look, I want you to feel no guilt or condemnation . But I do want to challenge you to the hard work that it takes to steward your gifts well for the service of others.

If anyone is stuck…with concepts or motivation or even fears…hey, lets allow others to bear our burdens, whether by blog or email or conversation. How often do we get to make art in community, benefiting from the Godly resources of each other? And to be doing it for the service of others, even.

So let’s go do some hard things…

Fears and Art

Why haven't I made lots of big paintings since college? here are some of the honest temptations that I fight re: making paintings. [They're stupid, really. but sin and pride and fear of man are all illogical and dumb, besides being offensive to a much-more-worthy God.]

Fear of failure. Fear of not living up to my own likely-inflated views of my own talents. Fear of not getting the approval of the people i want to impress. Fear that others will see how awkward and unresolved my painting skills are. and that they'll think less of me.

Basketball players aren't expected to make every shot. Why should every drawing and painting an artist makes be a slam dunk? And why should the artist care if others understand this or not?

So yep, here's to making awkward but honest artwork.

visual aid

I have this plant in my apartment. I've been in denial about it for something like 2 weeks or more- that it's dead. For awhile I kept watering it, because it had been a plant I really loved, but it was pretty hopeless- all the leaves were shriveled and brown. I gave up watering it but still didn't have the heart to throw it out. So it's been sitting on my windowsill, this dead plant, for weeks.

Last night I got back to my apartment after being elsewhere for the weekend and I noticed my plant- it was still as I had left it, a pot of brown and dead leaves, but sprouting up in the middle of it was a single green shoot, a furled leaf!!!! I think it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. (If I had a digital camera I'd send y'all the image, but alas I do not.) But it was such a direct communication of new life out of something that was dead...
PRAISE GOD...

ded neal

connie, I find the last compostion of your sketches the most interesting. I love the angle that it is from. I finished the first "conversation series" piece. Who do I give it to now? Any takers? alison?
Rob

began canvas 1 today

a few attempts at some dead neal poses below:

Gallery space at Na

This week Hannah & I sketched up some ideas for the community room. this huge space will include the bookstore, registration, prayer room, and yes, gallery space for the art show. So I'd love your input on the gallery space idea.

Our idea is to have the gallery space in a circle shape in the middle of the room. Imagine a 70-ish foot diameter circle on the floor with canvases on the perimeter facing inward and sculptures in the middle. Canvases would hang suspended from the 24 ft ceiling. Floor to ceiling fabric panels behind the canvases will create partial "walls".

Now, any of this could change at any second so we hold onto nothing tightly. But I'd love to hear your ideas.

Live!

So last night after he preached at a CovLife singles mtg, I shook Mike Bullmore's hand and thanked him for his functional centrality message. And then I explained how an art show evolved from some of his comments during that teaching and that it would be up at Na. When I mentioned that we've been discussing imagery related to New Life he suggested checking out Ezekial 16. Its pretty sweet, striking imagery. But I won't ruin it for you, go see for yourself.

2 outfits

Alison, can you elaborate on this idea a bit? the 2 outfit thing...

New Life functioning

[Alison, that prayer is so informative. Thank you!]

So I've been driving around listening again to Mike Bullmore tell me about the functional centrality of the gospel. and I think this whole art show thing is really helping me to do this.

i mean, i've got these images in my head that i'd like to paint...a dead guy foreshortened, informed by Eph. 2 that we were DEAD in our tresspasses & sins. But God, rich in mercy...made us ALIVE...etc. Its pretty simple, and we've all heard it plenty. but it's deep, pondering that I was DEAD. Dead. gone, vacant, lack of life.

And this has informed my proud thoughts this week, as I've been trying to talk to myself, "stupid, don't think so highly of yourself, you were DEAD until God moved. you bring nothing to the party but DEATH. So give God all credit for anything good in your posession."

So yes, since we're seeping ourselves in these thoughts of what regeneration is and the many images that may portray new life, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us apply these truths to our day to day temptations and allow the truth to operate and conform us.

How are these images going to inform the days of our Spring?

the fruit of new life...

leaving a mark on the viewer...

having eyes to see... the prayer (below) presents us without God as ignorant, blind, lacking senses... I think of a person wrapped up, in some kind of stretchy fabric so you can see them moving but there is no way for them to really function. I've seen a beautiful clip of film of someone inside a sheer-ish red-ish fabric cube; it felt like a womb as they moved around inside it- their appendages would show resistance against the surface but not break out.

(I think that video was more inspiring than most things I saw in New York on Friday... and we saw A LOT of art... nothing really shook me though. Some "interesting" things but not much that said "Phenomenal!" "I'll know it when I see it...")

Back to the idea of death into life, and thinking about the idea of outfits relating to who a person is... what if there were 2 outfits; one that was associated with the "dead person" and one that signified "new life" in some way? What if it was the same outfit (in design) but made with completely different materials? Just tossing it out there...

also the thing with starfish and regeneration had crossed my mind too, but it seems like, "what can you do with that??" It's kind of a stretch or maybe too literal but I was thinking also of God's promise to Abraham, that his offspring would be more than the stars or sand... regeneration/foreknowledge/promise. stars. starfish. wasn't it called "spontaneous regeneration"? hmmm.

I think the 144 lightswitches has potential... keep the ideas coming, folks!

Also Connie I was wondering, does it matter when we arrive at NA? (Thinking of booking flights etc.)

valley of vision

Hey, check this out... there's a prayer in The Valley of Vision that's called Regeneration. Here's some snippets from it(Okay so almost all of it):

O God of the highest heaven...
Thou art worthy to be
praised with my every breath,
loved with my every faculty of soul,
served with my every act of life.
Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,
purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me,
when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.
I was dead in iniquities,
having no eyes to see thee,
no ears to hear thee,
no taste to relish thy joys,
no intelligence to know thee;
But thy Spirit has quickened me,
has brought me into a new world as a new creature,
has given me spiritual perception!!!
has opened to me they Word as light, huide, solace, joy.
Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part me from they sympathy,
for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,
and dost forgive me daily, hourly.
O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,
of my hopes, and my vocation.
Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;
Protect me that no evil befall me;
Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;
Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm, hold converse with thee,
That henceforth I may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

lightswitches

i was thinking about these this morning. i love the object. in fact, i spent some time drawing them and thinking on them a year ago. but once a lightswitch turns on, for our purposes it should always stay on. or it should have only a one-way function. no U-turns.

responses from c

Some of my responses

• wow rob, you’re really exploring the generative potential of those concepts.(grin) thanks for throwing your ideas onto our little space here.
• I’m challenged again, [just like last weekend after visiting you guys, esp. Alison’s studio and the DIAlogue artist] to think outside the canvas. Or off the canvas. I lean more towards drawing and painting, as in making marks on paper or 2-D surface. But I’m increasingly willing to enjoy these more post-canvas kinds of art making. Especially when the conceptual connection is strong and the visual is strong.
• So yep, I’m one of those traditional-ish art people, except I lean more towards a direct responsive ways [think plein-air or expressionist] than classical approach. But I've grown up a little since art school. So hey, enlighten me.
• re: Alison’s black box: Sarah Jeff & I read through your post Thursday night and we talked about how intense the experience would be. I like the giggle idea. Timing and pacing of course would be huge.
• Ya, I like the new life idea in contrast to death. What if we read through the whole NT color coding references to life and death. green or black. i think theres so much more here to explore. we were DEAD. then because of Jesus we were given LIFE. how extreme and different could the two be?
• Dead-men walking. Infants. Grim reaper/angel of death. kids dancing.
• what links does this have to vanitas genre, the brevity of life. mortality.
• how does heaven connect?
  
• And resurrection! Bring on lazarus!!
• The plant thing has potential, but can you make it more complex? Like what should it be growing out of? What kind of shell or discarded carcass might it contrast to? Maybe consumerism rubbish? Though I love skulls they’re too obvious. Maybe they grow out of dark or rusty shapes. Used up, retired trash heap.
• Alison, tell us what you saw in NYC & what inspired you!
  
• I saw a big Basquiat show today before I left Houston. I was struck with how bold he was to throw down on canvas. He just piled up little drgs or sometimes photocopies of his drgs and added and subtracted right there on top. i wanna make fearless drawings as if I had a huge pile of pages to fill up.
  
• Toe tags grab my attention.

yet another

I also was thinking tonight about how people identify themselves with clothes. Perhaps Melissa would be more qualified on this one. Perhaps its just me, but I feel like I can step into 'character' depending upon the outfits I wear. I own a derby hat, and when I wear that with an outfit, I transform into a different person. although, due to artistic integrity, I remember my friend Breonna having the idea to do something with hats that symbolize how people change based upon the hats they were. Guess it slipped into my unconscious. Strike this idea. But it may lead elsewhere. Also thought about having different pairs of glasses - having eyes to see.

Rob

duh

I just wrote in the previous blog that space and time don't permit me to share my ideas. I just did. sheesh.

regeneration part....lost count

Hey all, believe I have some ideas. Any of you remember the process that starfish go through when I believe the regrow their limbs? If not, its called REGENERATION. Perhaps there is something there. I came up with a bunch of different ideas tonight. Space and time don't permit me to write, but I'd love to chat with the Philly folk in the not so distant future.

One of the ideas I had tonight that stuck with me is light switches. Jesus says that we are the light of the world. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house." What always struck me about this verse is the phrase "light a lamp" How true, we are lamps that have been "lit" by God. God lit us for a reason - to shine! We are not saved to just escape hell, nut saved to serve, saved to work, saved to worship God, saved to shine. We are just vessels that are used by God. This is my idea: I want to somehow find/buy 144 pure white light switches. And arrange them to a wall at the conference in a perfect square 12 x 12 obviously. Why you ask?
144,000 thousand is a number used in revelation to symbolize God's elect. It is a perfect and complete number 12 x 12 x 1000. This signifies that God will save and preserve everyone of His elect. Their will not be one missing. Jesus will lose none that the Father has given Him and no one can snatch them out of His hand.

So, since a 144,000 is unrealistic, I'm thinking 144. And I want to arrange them in a perfect square on the wall with all of the switches turned "ON"
To symbolize lights that have been lit, saved, recreated, turned on. I really like this concept, and I am not sure how feasible it will be to create.
I was also thinking of terms like new life, raised from the dead. I thought doing something with the toetags that are on corpses would be cool. Sort of doing something to them that signifies death being abolished. Death where is thy sting! Thought about this whole idea of being recreated. Would be interesting would be to find an object that is utterly useless, pointless, and stupid, and place that on the floor. Then next to it reconstruct that object into something that works, is beneficial, good and is useful.
Another concept I have been toying around with is the whole verse that says "make the tree good and it will bear good fruit." "You will know them by their fruits" Lets face it a new life is a consequence, evidence of new life. You are completely changed, not physically, but yet the change is so drastic that people will say "You are a different person" Somehow to show the fruit of new life would be awesome.

I also thought about words and thoughts. We are born again not by corruptible seed, but by incorruptible seed by The Word of God. Jesus' words are spirit and life and we are born again of water and spirit. Ezekial 36 spoke of the new covenant "I will take your heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and put my Spirit in you to cause you to walk in My ways and keep my commandments" "God works IN you both to will and do for His good pleasure."

Words by God caused us to be born again. Would be a nice visual, but not just throwing scripture verses on a wall. Perhaps a tape recorder just quoting "verses" the whole conference.

also, thoughts are another biggie. Lets face it, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. and we renew our minds by God's word and His words shape our thoughts, which shape our ways. Thats why controlling our thoughts are so important, cause they dictate our ways.
A way to show a spiritually minded person would be great a well.

Another thought (no pun intended) is to have a plant. Actually just the pot with the soil and seeds in it. It would be left out for the whole conference. Given proper lighting and water it will grow. What a nice way to illustrate the concept of new birth through the use of a plant growing before their eyes. Of course time is limited, perhaps a Chia pet. What good about the plant is that given proper condition ie light, food, water it will mature. So true with us. We will grow spiritually if under the proper conditions.

just throwing my thoughts down. Feel welcome to comment, critique, add or whatever you feel led to do.

Rob

response to Alison's black box idea

I think thats definitely cool concept. I like the idea of this being very small and claustrophobic inside and of course dark! although I'm biased towards things that tend to be dark, as you know. I think the idea of flashing images very fast would definetely be more successful than just showing these images of "life" being created or beginning. The danger is that it can be too obvious. the baby giggling strikes me. or even crying, cause babies cry when they come out of the womb. perhaps there is whispers of wind, followed by tornadoesque wind the abruptly interrrupted by a loud cry from a baby. almost these story of us being born of The Spirit/wind and being born as children of God. Even little children. Jesus says we are to be converted and become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven and whoever humbles themself as a little child will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. so the baby crying - loudly I believe - can be a very powerful tool and brings much "wow" factor and interaction with the viewer. Lets face it, we are trying to leave a "mark" on the viewer and perhaps change their perspective or even enhance their view on the theme of regeneration.

the series is coming your way

Okay, one of the square series packages is coming towards Philly today. (with a pit stop in Jersey) What do you guys think of calling it "the conversation series"?, as in, "Hey Bill, have you made art yet for the conversation series?" Anyways, there are directions attached in the package, like we discussed. And the Functional Centrality CDs are in the same package. You can pester Rob to give you one.

For my local friends, Hey lets get together next week and I'll update you on all the latest. Can you guys make it to Art Night at the Martins next Thursday? I'll share goodies with you guys, too.

imagine...

Connie, I love the dinosaur-in-plant images! They're great.

FYI if anyone in Philly is interested, I'm heading to New York on Friday with Jay Walker and another girl from school. We're planning on visiting galleries, so if you're looking for some aesthetic inspiration there are 2 extra seats in Jay's car. We're leaving in the a.m. and coming back that evening, so let me know if you want to join in.

So I had a crazy idea the other night, don't know if anything will come of it, but if nothing else maybe it'll spawn more ideas for people.

imagine... a black box, large enough for only you to walk inside...the interior is black as well as the outside...when you're inside it is dark, but you hear whispers of wind blowing...then the wind kicks up, wildly blowing, all around you, and all at once images flash before your eyes- time-lapsed images of a seed blossoming into a plant in full bloom, a bird hatching from an egg, someone pitching a tent, maybe a potter forming something from a lump of clay, maybe someone communicating 'new life' in sign language. (All of these images would stream simultaneously and take maybe 5-10 seconds. All of them would be time-lapsed except for the sign language; maybe that one would be slowed down.) So that takes about 5 seconds and then there's a bright flash of light (like the kind they use for professional photography) and everything goes dark, and you hear a baby laugh.
That's it.

So maybe it's a little out there....let me know your thoughts.

"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new." (Revelation 21:5)

...dinograve

the valley of Giant Lizards, cool
this may sound dumb, but i have discovered the glory of an acetone print
a simple photocopy, can become an sweet looking grainy print with just some acetone applied,

very quick very fun, soon im gonna try some on a painted canvas and see what happens

valley of...?

Oh what visual generative potential this concept has!

(i'm a nerd, i know.)