artist

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 #192 — Photography as Prayer

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National Book MonthOctober has traditionally been National Book Month and to celebrate I’m posting books for Creative, Artists & Worshipers

I posted about Abbey of the Arts and the work of Dr. Christine Valters Paintner early on in the year, and today I want to guide you to a specific resource.

Eyes of the HeartEyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice by Dr. Paintner is the first book of its kind—exploring photography as a contemplative spiritual practice from a Christian perspective. I first found this book when I was searching for a book for my daughter who loves to take photographs, and I consider this book a treasure to Christian photographers! The ideas and concepts are applicable for moving film and cinematography, as well.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #180 — Books of Julia Cameron

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TheArtistsWayNational Book MonthOctober is National Book Month so our focus for the rest of September and all of October is books for creatives, artists & worshipers.

So let’s kick off this focus with another post about Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and founder of The Artist’s Way movement. According to her bio on her website:

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of thirty-seven books, fiction and nonfiction, including her bestselling works on the creative process: The Artist’s Way; Walking in This World; and Finding Water. Her work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages and has sold more than four million copies worldwide.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #177 — Artist of the Earth

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Andres Amador “paints” incredible designs on an interesting “canvas”—a canvas that disappears with the tide! Working with garden rakes, he creates beautiful geometric designs on beaches at low tide. I love watching the ease with which he works and hearing his heart of creativity!

Andres Amador

You can watch him in action here:

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #175 — Amazing Art

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partial view of artwork fiber, nails and plywood by Samantha Burns

partial view of artwork
fiber, nails and plywood
by Samantha Burns

I want to direct you to Amazing Art, a blog post by Dave Weiss. It is indeed “amazing” and wait until you find out about the artist.

The picture you see here is only a small portion of the artwork, constructed of fiber, nails and plywood. You can see the entire piece by clicking the link above.

It was hung at a church that used the walls of its worship space as a gallery for the members’ artwork. What a great idea! We turned our lobby area into an art show one year for Easter. It was a wonderful way to challenge our artists to create around a theme (we used the theme “Redemption”), and a great way to display their work for our members to see! Continue reading

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 #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 #145 — Theology, Imagination & the Arts

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A Sheet nusic

Transpositions is the official blog of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. With the feel of an e-magazine, it includes articles about, well… let’s see….. theology, imagination and the arts. 😉 Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #143 — Beautiful Sculpture of Christ

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Brenda Angel with The Lamb of God sculpture

Brenda Angel with The Lamb of God sculpture

Today’s creative inspiration is a video of Brenda Angel, an untrained artist who was determined to create a 16-foot sculpture of Christ on the cross. Her original inspiration for this project was through a dream. She literally dreamed it and then made it into reality through her faith in God to equip her for this task. The sculpture is amazing! Her determination to accomplish the task despite her lack of train is incredible! Definitely worth the watch! The statue is on traveling exhibition. You can connect with Brenda Angel on Facebook to see where the exhibit will be next. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #142 — Artists in Christian Testimony

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actinternational.org

actinternational.org

A.C.T. International (Arts in Christian Testimony Intl) is a remarkable organization helping artists take their witness to the world. Founded in 1973 by Byron Spradlin, the organization has artistic ministries in over 15 countries. According to their website: Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #141 — Wilderness to Water

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Wilderness to WaterWilderness to Water by Tom Graffagnino is a book that travels through grief to grace by way of the author’s artwork, photographs, poetry, and writings.

According to reviewer Kevin Moss, the book is divided in two:

“The book is split essentially into two halves: ‘Wilderness’ is a monochrome exploration of life’s tough times, explored through sketches, poems and a very thoughtful connecting narrative. Tom’s own wilderness experiences clearly prompt and influence the text, but they are never pushed at the reader. The second half, ‘Water’, is based around colour photography but maintains the poetry and narrative structure, to focus on the ways in which God breaks into our lives, even at the lowest points, to refresh, strengthen and ultimately bring us new life. The two metaphors of wilderness and water are very apt as a description of human experience.”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #139 — Why the Church Needs Art, Pt 4

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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. Lots of artists have been watching this series along with you. Lots of people are remarking how the army of Christian artisans and creatives is arising in our churches. Who knows if YOU have been called into your current situation for just such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)

As you consider that thought, it’s time again to grab your cup o’ Joe and join us for some great insights from a fellow artist on the journey of creativity!

Here’s part 4:

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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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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #137 — Why the Church Needs Art, Pt 2

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Scott EricksonYesterday we started a four-part video series by artist Scott Erickson called Why the Church Needs Art: Stories of an Artist in Residence. Together we’re gaining wisdom from his experience as an artist-in-residence at Ecclesia Church in Houston, Texas. Time again to grab your cup o’ Joe and join us as we glean some great insights from a fellow artist on the journey of creativity!

Here’s part 2:

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #136 — Why the Church Needs Art, Pt 1

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Scott EricksonThe rest of this week we’ll be in a four-part video series by artist Scott Erickson called Why the Church Needs Art: Stories of an Artist in Residence. We’ll gain insights from his experience as an artist-in-residence at Ecclesia Church in Houston, Texas. So today through Friday grab your cup o’ Joe and join us for some great insights from a fellow artist on the journey of creativity!

Here’s part 1:

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #131 — Art Inspired by God

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“Art inspired by God is the highest form of inspiration there is.”

Ivan Guaderrama

Ivan Guaderrama is a remarkable, young artist whose artwork brings the Holy Spirit to its viewer in a very real and visceral way. Listen to these amazing thoughts from Ivan:

“Since discovering the gift God has given me I have been faithful in my search for the purpose in which he has given me such talents. It is more clear to me now than ever that God has given me the opportunity to spread the hope found in His word through art inspired by God. Through my relationship with Christ, my life has made some astounding changes, and no feeling compares to seeing that experience begin to take shape with the many guests that visit our Gallery. Whether or not they are believers in the Lord, there has been countless guests of the gallery that have felt the Holy Spirit move in them through the art they have seen or purchased.  I have no doubt in my mind that it is the message of the Lord placed in the art inspired by God  that is causing such a reaction, the gut level understanding that if you are patient and put your life in His hands He will follow through in His abundant promises. My connection to God never ceases to amaze me.”

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #127 — Can Art Change the World?

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Let’s make today a TED Talk Tuesday!

Inside OutSpurred on by the question, “Can art change the world?” street artist JR made a wish in 2011: “Join me in a worldwide photo project to show the world its true face!”

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