art

Imperfections in the Masterpiece of Grace

Imperfections in the Masterpiece of Grace

Many of us can explain grace in a variety of terms because our minds understand the concept. But few of us have taken hold of the great reality of how grace interacts with the brokenness, the imperfection, and the sin of our daily lives

,

Throw up first

,

throw up I am teaching a workshop on the creative process in March at The Worship Conference. I am having similar feelings as I do when given opportunities to teach God's Word; who am I to teach this? All is grace!

Same as intimate connection with God, moments and periods of creativity are exactly that; moments! [Tweet That] We all have times when God seems as distant as our creativity. As a follower of Jesus, I believe the two are intimately connected. I am my most creative when I am most connected to the heart of God.

There are practical steps to take for jumpstarting that intimacy, and there are practical steps for jumpstarting your creativity. I will communicate those in my workshop in March, but one I will communicate in a great quote I just came across.

"Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon." - Raymond Chandler

Which creative process fascinates you most?

I have always been fascinated by people's ability to draw. It is a creative process I wish I had any capacity for. I simply do not. I love the ability to either recreate a reality on paper or even to create a reality on paper. I am also fascinated by the art of acting, specifically comedy. Naturally, like all art forms there are people who are naturals. But like some art forms, you can still learn technique. I love the art of comedy. There is technique to learn and develop. It is an artform that certainly fascinates me. 

Which creative process fascinates you most? Why?

Eat This Drawing: what has art ever done for you

ART: tangible materials used, exhausted energy spent, hours lost with little return, unbalanced return on overall investment The artist within you says this is false. He tells you every creative journey is a worthwhile return on your exhausted investment of material, time, and energy, but you only half believe that.

What if the cyclical process of art was more balanced?

Jessica Dore; a great artist, and new friend of mine is setting out for such a project. Weary of seeing her art only yield a product or a vessel for the energy put in, she seeks to demand a fairer return from her art.

20 hours drawing! 4 hours eating...her drawing!

Jessica will consume the art she gave so much energy to in order to receive a return on the energy she gave. The symbolism is extravagant, but the project far exceeds mere symbolism for her.

She says, "This cycle doesn't always get completed. I am taking control over this deeper energy, this unexplainable force of creation. Instead of seeking validation for the work to feed my artists ego, I am consuming the effort and validating and fueling myself. Taking the thing I love and consuming it the way I have consumed so many unhealthy and superficial things that this contemporary world has convinced me will satisfy and validate me."

It goes beyond art, doesn't it? Think of the things and people and circumstances you invest yourself in. Who and what's beck and call do you continually subject yourself to?

All of these things are necessary and important. We are better people when we sacrifice ourselves for the better of others, but you can only pour out more than you have for so long.

Jessica's project is a process to engage with that universal tension of what we expend vs what is returned to us. Jessica asked if I would join her project from Ragamuffin Ramblings. I was very thrilled to be a part, though very small, of her discoveries.

Keep checking back to see more as more is returned.

Soar

This is for the wounded birdswhose lives esculate the broken airways over the waves of dispair.

soar

this one is for the growing trees whose leaves breathe deep my exhaust and reach toward the sky to spite

soar

this is for the bedraggled friends whose life is a constant coffee spill staining your shirt in a way...

that? works?

soar

this one is for the hopeless plastic sack whose weightlessness floats aimlessly in simplistic beauty none can match

soar