Skip to main content

I'm a piece of work. Artwork that is!



 “God is not a technician.  God is an Artist.   
This is the God who made you.   
The same God who lives inside you.   
He comes into us, then comes out of us, in a million little ways.”  
 Emily Freeman "A Million Little Ways"


For me, one of the little ways is through collage.  In my class this weekend, I listened, tried to retain (big challenge for this messy mind of mine) and then apply.  One thing was certain, when I thought too much about what I wanted to create, I became stuck.  I had to stop and release that urge to strive.  Strive for what?  Perfection, inability to commit?  A little of both.  

Thankfully, I caught myself and decided to just go for it and slap a piece of collage paper on my canvas.  That wasn’t so bad.  Now I was able to exhale.  Once I did that, my heart was stirred and I was able to move forward with anticipation.  What a process!  It sounds painful, but really it is growth, which is good.  


We worked with old papers, pieces of boxes and books, etc..  Who knew how many layers were in the walls of a book or box top?  It’s interesting what you find when you pull those layers apart.  

There are some lovely textures, colors and papers inside the hard exteriors of those pages.  But you had to dig a little and look beyond.  Just like us.  The layers of our lives may be hard and rigid, but pull them back and look out.  A thing of beauty appears.  The broken is re-purposed and made into something new and lovely.  It’s the story of our lives.  

My art journey has been more than just learning about an art form and techniques.  It’s been about trusting God as I walk fully in who he created me to be.  It’s been about me owning that I am an artist, embracing His truth in me.   After all, he made me.  He is the one that moves me from a place of striving, and instead to live from the stirring His spirit makes to flutter in my heart.  What a difference.  He pulls back the exterior and exposes what is inside.  The good and bad.

God begins to restore us the minute we are born.  He is always looking to gently pull back the   hard exterior of our lives to expose the parts that can be revealed to reflect His work in us.  We are the ultimate collage that he is creating.


And the exhale continues.



          
                         Discovery                           Recovery




See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

With You
My heart is set
for a new journey
But only with you 
Where shall I find you? 
The journey is beginning
& I travel with wonder
and wait for my heart
to be filled
To be filled with more
of you 
Holy Spirit, I seek a place
of joy and peace
             - Re Kielar

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What does your "cookbook" look like?

My Betty Crocker cookbook is a wreck. It was given to me as a bridal shower gift in 1979, and I have treasured it ever since. Over forty years later, it remains a prized possession. It has been my cooking guidebook, truly important when you’ve grown up feasting on a mainly southern Italian diet, (no complaints here) which included a lot of pasta and meatballs. Yes, our meals had variety, but gravy was simmering at my house just about every other day. The traditional, and now collectable Betty Crocker cookbook became my best friend in the kitchen. Today, it has all the signs of being used and maybe a little abused. The pages are weathered, written on, and stained. The covers are loose, no longer held in place by the familiar spiral binding. The only thing keeping it together is an oversized, stretchy band. I’ve collected other cookbooks over the years, but this one has been my go-to manual. In it, I discovered new recipes, tried making things I had never heard of, and was thrilled

The practice of listening.

"It takes time and practice to learn to listen. And it takes a caring heart. A fourth-grade teacher once asked her class, "What is listening?" After a few moments of silence, one little girl raised her hand. "Listening," she said, "is wanting to hear." Lord, make us a people who want to hear." Janet Dunn, Desiring God. I love learning and I admit that I am somewhat of a self-help junkie. A friend once said to me, "You have to start reading something fun!" It didn't sound interesting, but she was right. This same friend is a great listener. When I sounded off about trouble in my heart about my relationship with my mom, she offered kind and loving advice. What was that advice? That I needed to seek the help of a counselor. Inside, I rolled my eyes. Really? Again? I've gone this route before, aren't I done? But I went forward with her advice.  I connected with a counselor, a caring soul, a beautiful listener. With her by my s

Chasing Art

Over the years, I have explored my art through various mediums.  Ceramics, oils, pencil, acrylics, watercolor, photography (I'm sure there are more).  I've enjoyed all of them and this weekend I was going to add one more art adventure, collage.  I signed up, not really knowing what I was going to be doing, and I am so happy I did.  It was absolutely wonderful.  More than wonderful...I was completely in the zone for two and one half days.  A classmate in the workshop talked about losing time when creating, and that's exactly what happened.   I was in my own world for two and half days and whatever else was going on out there, just didn't matter.  It's strange how a room filled with artistic energy can create a bond beyond words.  I learned a new art form from my fabulous instructor,  Laura Lein-Svencner and equally rewarding was hearing the encouraging words from my classmates.  I was excited about attending this workshop for many reasons.  The obvious was that I was