Gathering Blessings

I started this project with a song in my head that asked if God would hold them together. I was thinking of how we are all broken and Jesus is the healer.

I liked the idea of using circles, that are supposed to be whole, but they are broken.

One morning I was reading in Romans from the Message version of the bible. The end of Romans 5:5 the paraphrase used is; "We can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.

So now it's a combination, broken, but still blessed abundantly.

I used photography, cardboard tubing, paint, paper, rice, flower petals (dried and silk) and wax for this collage.

Focus of His love

Wanted to make a piece for my daughter, that reflects who she is. A princess, lavishly loved by her maker, made to enjoy glorious living, and to be abundantly free.

Found this photo that my husband took, then had him take one of her hands holding a flower. Wanted to use textures and color, layers and wax. After searching for a verse that would try and capture what I wanted her to grow up knowing, I settled on Ephesians 1:4-12. A great passage that speaks of God's plans for us.

I enjoyed the process and MJ is really excited to have this hanging in her room. The hard part is knowing when to stop, what to keep and what just adds clutter. Although I like this piece part of me feels like it might be more like a scrapbook page on steroids than a great piece of art. But, hey, it's not for sale, and I have the freedom to fail.

Encaustic Art cont

Hands Encaustic Artwork

I’ve wanted to hang something in our guest bath for a while. The room has a beach feel to it. I saw it as an opportunity to do several small collages using fabric, found objects, photographs and graphics. They are 9x9 inches. The size gave me the freedom to experiment, and the found objects didn’t get overwhelmed. It also gave me the freedom to fail and try again.

To go with the beach theme I started searching for verses in scripture that talk about water, waves, the ocean. While I do intend to explore those themes with 4 mini collages (yet to be made), I got off on a detour when I encountered the verse: Isaiah 44:5


“This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, ‘belonging to the Lord’

Hands are so expressive. I wanted to portray that idea. Seeing how the photo of the hand looked with the writing made me want to do more with hands. So my husband helped me take a few more photos and I found some verses I liked to accompany them.

Unlike other work I have done when I have an idea of what it will look like when finished, these are more about the process and exploring with textures shape and color, and then of course one of my new favorite things, playing with wax to bring it all together. Enjoy!

More gourds

New Gourds

Here are some more recent gourds I've done.

Ruts

This piece has been more about the process than the end result. I’m not sure it’s done.

I was reading a book called sacred parenting, talking about how parenting can teach and refine our character. It was talking about how kids watch us, and they mimic us. I’ve heard my kids repeat back things I’ve said, both good and the not so good. We heavily influence the next direction. The author talked about how that influence is a motivation for us to continue to develop and grow in character.

This phrase really caught my imagination: “Our children frequently follow the ruts we lay down.” Usually when I think of getting in a rut it’s not a positive thing, but a bad habit. I don’t want my children to follow those. He uses the verses 2 Corin 7:1 and 2 Peter 1:5-7 that talk about growing in purity and other positive aspects. Those are the ruts I hope to lay down and be followed in by my kids.

So the painting, I started with an image of a field with, you guessed it ruts! The birds (yes, there are two, one is mostly obscured in the upper left corner) represent being able to fly and be free….as a bird.) And the keys and lock echo that thought of having the power, through Christ, to be set free, of hope.

I scanned the passages from my bible and printed them out and pasted them in the sky and then used several layers of tissue paper, glue, varnish, paint and wax. In the layers are the words grow in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. (From the passage in 2 Peter 1)

Loved the process, putting down layers of thoughts. My first time using wax, and I’d like to use it again.

Gourdeous Gourds

This summer I saw a lot of Native American pottery. It was inspiring and yet I will never be a potter. No access to a wheel or kiln, and even if I did all of my attempts resulted in lopsided messes! My creative friend Daniela found some small gourds on the side of the road and painted them, and gave a few extras to me. We also saw an artist who decorated gourds in old town. I began to wonder if I could grow my own or buy dried gourds online. I ruled out growing as it seemed more trouble than it was worth. But found there is a whole world of people making art out of gourds. So I joined them!

Some patterns are inspired by things around my house as well as from some geometric patterns I found online. I used oil paint, wood stain, sharpie marker, raffia, hemp, beads and a few power tools! Love the process! The following are all canteen gourds that are all between 8-12 inches in diameter.

Gourds

When you play sports you have a coach. Hopefully they encourage you, and give guidance to help you play the game more effectively. They can leave the players with a feeling of accomplishment and pride or dejection! I think we could use coaches in a lot of areas of our lives. People who have more experience, who will cheer us on, and give us direction!

In Remembrance

For over 2,000 years the church has had a many opinions as to what communion means. Is it just in remembrance? Or do the elements become the body and blood of Christ? Do they give merit? Lots of questions. A few books I've read recently (one being "Looking for God knows What" by Donald Miller) suggest thinking about the disciples getting together for communion as a time of community and sharing stories, memories of what they had shared with Jesus. Friends enjoying each other over a meal.

Clothed with Compassion

Throughout the Bible we see references to how the Lord is clothed with splendor and majesty, and how he covers or clothes us. We are to put these garments, a new nature given as we inherit Christ's standing. Heavy stuff. Started thinking what would that look like. Thought of someone placing a robe or covering on the other. It's received. It's given by grace not because we did something to deserve it. As I started painting it lead me to thinking about those in our society who have little. What they have is piled into a shopping cart. Is that what we look like to God? Wandering around, everything precious carried with us, when really we have nothing of worth. And He gives us what we really need, sees us for who we are, and embraces us, covers us. (See Isaiah 61:10, Psalm 30:11, Zechariah 6:13, Romans 13:14, 2 Corinthians 5:4, Colossians 3:12)

Molded

As an artist I'm drawn to the imagery of God being a potter and we are the clay. He shapes us just how he wants us, he reshapes as he sees fit. He works skillfully and each creation is made carefully and purposefully. We are his workmanship.