Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #238 — Gift Ideas for Art Journalers

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Today’s post is for Bible art journalers and other crafty folks, with a Christmas gift idea, a free resource and a blog with great ideas for art journaling! Wow! This one is loaded!

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 9.07.09 PMFirst, the gift idea! I have heard folks say the only thing they don’t like about art journaling in their Bibles is that the 2-3″ margins aren’t big enough, and they don’t like to cover the words of scripture! The soon-to-be-available Interleaved ESV Journaling Bible might be just the Bible for you then! There is a blank canvas to compliment every page! It will be available March 11, 2016 but you can pre-order now at a reduced rate. You can check out all the details on move-the-mountains.com. (I recommend exploring that blog too — great resources and ideas!!)

Screen Shot 2015-12-01 at 10.02.02 PMSecond, here’s a resource for art journalers and anyone else wanting to get creative with Advent: free downloadable Advent scripture cards from Displaying Grace blog. They support a wonderfully creative Advent study, also found on the blog. Tons of great family activity ideas and free printables to help make this a memorable and thoughtful CHRISTmas season. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #218 — Prophetic Art International

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FBIt’s another Facebook Friday!!

Today’s group is Prophetic Art International and is administered by Victoria Robertson and Christopher W Bennett.

Here’s the group description:

A group available for us Artistic Christians to share what God is doing through Artists in the church! Previously Prophetic Art Canada, this group has grown far beyond the borders of just Canada, so the name of this group has been altered to reflect that!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #210 — Books of Theologian Jeremy Begbie

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National Book MonthJeremy Begbie, professor of theology at Duke Divinity School, has spent much of his life focusing on the intersections of the arts, faith and theology. Now I know, often artists write off theologians and academicians because we think they don’t “get” us artists, but I can assure you Dr. Begbie gets us!! He is indeed one of us!! A musician in his own right, he has been spear-heading arts initiatives at seminaries and universities across the world, making sure professors, pastors and religious thinkers know that the arts have a vital role to play in the Church!

His books (with short reviews/descriptions from Amazon reviewers) include:

Voicing Creation's PraiseVoicing Creation’s Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts is “for those interested in serious theological reflection on art. Begbie’s unique background as a classically-trained musician and Cambridge theologian gives him wonderful insight and Spirit-led authority in dealing with this critical cultural topic. Moreover, Begbie breaks free of the Modernist stranglehold on aesthetic philosophy, and presents a refreshing and deeply Christocentric analysis of the relationship between the character and action of God and human creativity.” I’ll warn you, this book is expensive, so look into borrowing it from the library. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #209 — A Million Little Ways

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National Book MonthNational Book Month is winding down! I hope you’ve found some new resources to add to your creative library!!

Today’s book for your library is A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman. I gleaned this BEaUtiful gem of a quote from her blog post about how a five word email turned into a book:

“I don’t write as an expert – I’m not sure there is such a thing in deep matters of the soul. I write as a fellow image bearer, an intuitive observer and participant in the art of God.Million Little Ways

I see artistic potential in not only those pursuits the world would label artistic like painting and singing and dance, but also in small gestures done with great faith, like listening, waiting, and showing up.

There is an art alive within you and you don’t have to go anywhere to find it. Because the art alive within you was woven into the fabric of your soul when you were made in the secret place. Doubt, discouragement and distraction may be covering it up, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. When believers embrace the unique shape of their soul and move into the world as the person we most fully are, art comes out.”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #193 — Imagine That

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National Book Month October is National Book Month, so I’ll be posting links to books for creative Christians and artists all month!

Manuel Luz is the Creative Arts Pastor for Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California. I posted his blog, Adventures in Faith & Art early in the year.

Screen Shot 2014-12-18 at 5.30.04 PMHe is also the author of Imagine That: Discovering Your Unique Role as a Christian Artist. Here’s more about this amazing resource:

Drawing from his experiences performing Mozart, playing “dive bars”, and leading worship and the arts in the church, author Manuel Luz seeks to answer the questions that artists often ask. Laced with humorous and sometimes poignant anecdotes, Imagine That is a thought-provoking journey through the convergence of art and faith. Luz has been a working musician, writer, pastor, and even amateur cartoonist for more than 40 years, and in Imagine That he lays out his case for a uniquely Christian approach to the vocation of artist, using theologically rich and artist-friendly language.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #179 — 31 days of Living Art

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31 Days of Living Art is a blog series from Emily P. Freeman, which includes 31 posts (originally planned for the month of October but could be done anytime). These wonderful posts are designed to help you realize the artist within you, the artist God created you to be!

It was also designed to go along with Emily’s book, A Million Little Ways. And speaking of books… October is National Book Month so I’ve been saving all the book resources to feature in October. Trouble is, there’s more books than days! That’s a great trouble to have though because that means there are many great resources for your creative library. So the book feature starts tomorrow. By the end of October we’ll have over 35 books for creatives, artists and worshipers!! So dust off your shelves and get ready to load them up with books all written with YOU, God’s creative gift to the world, in mind! Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #178 — Take Better Photographs

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pipafineart.com

I don’t necessarily consider myself a photographer but I do like to capture moments. And who doesn’t want to capture those moments in an eye-pleasing way?

Today’s feature is a short and simple article on compositional balance in photography. It was posted by PI Photography and Fine Art (PIPA): a site where you can find galleries of wonderful nature-inspired photographs. Head on over to find out how to improve your images with balance, and while you’re there check out the Portfolios and Galleries to “find the extraordinary in the ordinary.”

If you want to keep exploring, PIPA also posted another article recently called Photography Mistakes: Stop Screwing Up Your Shots with professional photographer Joshua Cripps. This one includes an entertaining video to help you stop making “stupid” mistakes! Great tips and some chuckles for free!! Enjoy!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #173 — ArtWay Resources for Faith & Art

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The Creation by Aaron Douglas 1935, oil on masonite, 48 x 36", Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Creation by Aaron Douglas
1935, oil on masonite, 48 x 36″
Howard University Gallery of Art,
Washington, D.C.

“Art is born when the temporary touches the eternal.” G.K. Chesterton

ArtWay is a website that offers a plethora of resources for Christian creatives and artists. Out of Europe some of its resources focus on events and exhibitions in Europe, however, there are a large number of articles to peruse, as well as an opportunity to sign up for a weekly visual meditation, emailed right to you each Sunday! You can also search through wonderful artwork there by hundreds of artists! I’ve also found poetry and wonderful quotes about the arts and faith from some of the “greats” of our Christian faith. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #172 — Healing Power of Art

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Today I want to connect you to a powerful article entitled The Healing Power of Art by Dr. Dianne B. Collard. She quickly admits she is not an artist but her story of healing through the arts leads her to implore believer-artists to keep creating:

“Please,” I concluded, “as a non-artist believer, I beg you: Do not stop engaging in your art. Don’t stop exercising your creative gifts. Especially don’t abandon the church—no matter how hard it might be. The world needs your gift, the church needs it, but most of all, I—a non-artist sister in Christ—desperately need it.”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #171 — Art Lessons from God

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ALFGToday I want to direct you to Tony Snipes who lives to “help creative people discover their purpose.” Sounds like a man after my own heart!! He offers many resources and ideas for artists and creatives.

First let’s start with Tony’s Facebook Page: Art Lessons from God. Here you can find quick links to the latest offerings from Tony. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #170 — Blind Artist Sees Color

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Today’s post begs the question: What can you do in faith when life’s circumstances blind you from seeing God?

Light in the Dark (C) John Bramblitt bramblitt.net

Light in the Dark
(C) John Bramblitt
bramblitt.net

This is a remarkable story about John Bramblitt, an artist creating brilliant paintings despite being blind. You’ll want to read the whole story here where you can see his beautiful work. There’s also two videos that help tell his story and process for painting with limited vision. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #167 — Teachers & Art Making a Difference

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Art TeacherConnecting you to an article entitled Teachers, Art and Things That Last Forever by author Michele Bledsoe, author of The Secret Kingdom, a children’s book of paintings and poetry celebrating the world of dreams. This article is short but it sure packs a punch!

If you are a teacher, especially an art teacher, never doubt for a moment that you make a difference in this world!! And if someone hasn’t told you this lately….THANK YOU!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #161 — Taking Imagination Seriously w/ Janet Echelman

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Let’s make today a TED Talk Tuesday!

J Echelman

“I walked underneath it for the first time. As I watched the winds’ choreography unfold, I felt sheltered and at the same time connected to limitless sky. My life was not going to be the same.”

That picture and quote is from a very inspiring Ted Talk with Janet Echelman entitled Taking Imagination Seriously. Listen in here:

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Create-A-Day, your daily dose of creativity #160 — Nature Inspired Art

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Photo by Maddy Thomae

Photo by Maddy Thomae

This is an amazing video from Rachelle Chinnery about how nature informs her artistic process.

It’s 4 1/2 minutes and definitely worth the watch!!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #157 — Tongues, Art & St. Paul

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HS dove stainglass

In this article entitled Tongues, Art and St, Paul’s Rules of Order: A Few Suggestions author Amber Noel proposes that a certain aspect of the arts could be taken as glossolalia or tongues:

“Could it be that art, at its best (or at what we might call its most Spirit-led), produces a kind of visual, verbal, aural glossolalia that others may then attempt (again, by the same Spirit) to interpret well? On the other hand, if an act of artistic “speech” and its translations fall flat, or explode into total, unmanaged chaos, then could we perhaps turn to First Corinthians for clues on discernment and order?”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #156 — Sharpie Van

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SharpieToday’s post is simply fun! It’s not sacred or deeply spiritual or thought-provoking. It won’t inspire you to worship. It’s just all kinds of fun!

What happens when you hand complete strangers a Sharpie marker and point them to your plain old boring white van?

This! (click here to see the creativity) 

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #153 — Vonda Drees Art Journaling

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Beloved  (c) 2015 Vonda Drees

Beloved
(c) 2015 Vonda Drees

We’ve looked at art journaling several times this year (you can check out last week’s post with links to the other posts by clicking here). Today I want to direct you to the blog of Vonda Drees: Journaling the Spirit’s Stirring. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #150 — Color a Prayer

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Celtic CreativityI have referred you to 12 Tribes, the art ministry of Cindy Fort before (see this post here), and I want to send you there again today to a post about coloring your prayers.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #149 — Visual Prayer With God

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Visual Blessings is a wonderful blog all about art journaling and Bible Journaling. The blog author is artist and workshop presenter Valerie Sjodin, whose personal motto is to “Love God, Serve Others; Make It Beautiful.”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #138 — Why the Church Needs Art, Pt 3

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Scott EricksonTuesday we started a four-part video series by artist Scott Erickson called Why the Church Needs Art: Stories of an Artist in Residence. We’ve been learning wisdom from his experience as an artist-in-residence at Ecclesia Church in Houston, Texas. If you haven’t checked out his site yet, you can do so by clicking on his name above.

And of course, you know what to do…. grab your cup o’ Joe and join us again today for some great insights from a fellow artist on the journey of creativity!

Here’s part 3:

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