Day 15 of Lent, and I Am Up To Something
Beauty is a weapon, for sure. It refreshes us, it raises our conscious levels of thought. This is why original art can deeply affect your life. Think of it: you bring an image into your space, and it lives with you, daily giving you whole minutes of something different and elevated to think about. Over the weeks, months, and years, those minutes add up.
Not only that, but original art makes the spaces where we live out our stories come alive. Literally adding color and texture to our ordinary days.
The making of a piece of art is an act of deliberate generosity.
Here’s how I’ve been spending my “Middle Day”, this week:
This is just the block-in. Just a quick iPhone video - because I want to show you. And a little bit of something shared is better than a whole lot of nothing shared at all.
What you see here is something like the 3rd iteration on this canvas. I have big feelings about it - finally, I am resonating with what on it. I look forward to (hopefully) finishing it this week.
2021 and beyond belongs to (all the various and sundry) makers. I just know it!
“All art is an act of faith — a faith that life itself, with all its tragedies and flaws, can be improved by creating something new and putting it out into the world. I’m not sure we’ll ever go back to what life was just a few months ago, but I do have faith that artists will remain a crucial part of whatever new one we come up with.” (MH Miller)
Day 6 of Lent {...process > product...}
In art circles there is a popular hashtag: #doitfortheprocess
Do it for the process. Not the product.
I think this process-oriented mindset is such freedom for artists because it originated in the heart of the First Artist. God does everything for the process. I mean, consider it: Christ was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world.
“God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”
God waited a really long time to “get to the point”! Why?! Because He was painting a picture. All through creation, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Covenant of the Law, all the way up and until Christ, He was painting a picture.
And He is still painting pictures. He is still longsuffering, still delighting in process. Instead of fast forwarding all of human history to the end goal of a glorified Jesus, God is still relishing the details in His unfolding of His masterpiece!
My friend and fellow creative, He is pleased, fascinated, and gratified in the process He is using with you. How can I say that? How can I know?
Because the Lord binds Himself to His own word. We can take what we learn about His character and nature in the Scripture, put it through the lens of the New Covenant, and realize that He is the only being that is never bored, He is endlessly creating, doesn’t get frustrated with us when we don’t get it. If the Lord tells us to “count it all joy” when we encounter various troubles - how much more does He count it all joy in His process of loving His own?
It helps me to quietly meditate on the processes of God. The degree to which He involves Himself in a human life is beyond profound. He is perfectly patient, and He feels happy in the process, because He is patient (not the irritated kind of “patience-with-a-sigh”)…
…He is endlessly interested in the works of His hands, He knows the outcome, because it all is His artwork anyway. He began the masterpiece, He sustains it, He works on it throughout the course of our collective lifetimes, and He will complete it. He knows exactly what He is doing, and where He is going with all His designs.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below - does any of this feel like a challenge? Does it sort of “mess” with your church-y ideas of God? Have you known these things all along, and thus you’ve experienced great freedom in your processes?
It has taken time for me. I need to preach to my own soul, and right often, at that! So here I am, in the school of Christ. For me, it is both art school and seminary. I am in this school theologically, practically, relationally, and in my art practice. The goal is the learning…not a certain outcome. The goal is the learning to become as passionate about the process as Jesus is.
Because of this learning, this letting sound doctrine get tangled up with my practice of free-wheeling art, I can no longer put God in neat theological boxes labeled "judgement" and "mercy". Justice and Mercy hang out together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other, you see. They’re close companions, if not lovers. Much in the same way, my Bible study and art have become much more than disinterested associates. They are much more than friends. They have this degree of intimacy. Now, each one defers safely to the other.