Jesus reminds us we are art and empowers us to make art.  there isn’t only one right way to do the job of glorifying God.  There are many ways, a million little ways, that Christ is formed in us and spills out of us into the world.  

-emily freeman

 (i’ve been thinking on this topic of Art for some time now.  i wrote about the way art (as we normally think of it) facilitated the drawing out my youngest’s truer self. Emily Freeman’s journey with art has also influenced me greatly.  She started 2011 on her blog with a series on Art.  This year, she did a series titled; “Artists and Influencers.”  the quote above is from her newly released book: A Million Little Ways (p.29))

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The Art of a Pastor

on any given Sunday there is this man.  he is a father, a grandpa, a husband, a shepherd.  throughout the week he wrestles and ponders and discovers truth from God for himself.  and then on Sunday he authentically shares it with us-hoping so much that we would grasp in some way the height and depth and width and breath of God’s love for such sinners as we are.  because he’s beginning to grasp it as the deep sinner that he knows he is. and he’s finding freedom and joy in the grasping. 

that is his art.

The Art of an Architect

there is this architect who still draws with pencil and paper.   i wanted to quote the entire post titled ‘drawing to a conclusion, the art of architecture part 1’ but instead i will settle for just this quote:

“the [homes] illustrated here (all produced by the agile hands of Bobby McAline) are the initial sparks of creation.  They are predicated by talking (and mostly listening) to what our client says.  Once we identify the heart of who is sitting in front of us and comprehend why the thing is, we can begin what the thing is.”

if i could ever afford an architect-this is exactly what i would want.  one who would listen to my heart and perform a work of art to become my home. 

The Art of an Italian Plaza Sketcher

There was this portrait artist my husband and i saw on our honeymoon.  we were young and niave (nice way to say stupid) and cheap/having limited funds.  we saw him on our first day of the tour in a plaza in Rome.  he was creating a portrait of a woman with pencil or charcoal.  it was breathtaking the way he was capturing her.  we were intrigued and desired one of ourselves.  but the 60.00 was a bit high-and we decided to wait until we returned to Rome at the end of our trip.  we didn’t know what was ahead and didn’t want to spend so much our first day out.  also thinking maybe this was something common in Italy and maybe we’d see more artists like him?  we didn’t.   and he was not there when we returned to the plaza 2 weeks later.  he had a gift of capturing a soul. 

The Art of mining for treasure with a friend

the Lord has gifted me with a dear one- a counselor who became my friend. a vessel in which the Lord has carried out His promise in Isaiah 45:3 as she came along side and mined for treasure in the darkness.  my life and the lives of those i come in contact with have been forever changed because of the insights she’s invited me to discover and deal with in her listening.  Her listening is her art.

Art+ no shame = Joy

the joy i see in the architect and my pastor and my friend seems directly related to not being ashamed of the way Christ is spilling out of them into the world.  they are not ashamed of their art. 

I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.  (isaiah 45:3) 

the treasure of art

unashamedly formed within and spilling forth

from the Master Artist

 The Lord, The God of Israel,

who calls us by our very own name.