Celebrate::Love

Above is my latest creation from the art studio. Today is my roommate Jennifer's birthday. And, I wanted to make her a piece of art for her birthday which was inspiring, beautiful, and fun. Hopefully, the artwork will add a little happiness to her day. Even though I had a really busy week (I had two meetings and managed 6 special events), I managed to squeeze out a few creative sessions in my art studio and do a bit of creative browsing at the bookstore. I don't consider time in the studio as hard work. I look at it as "me time." Time where I look for creative ideas from other artists, revisit old pieces of art work or images I have collected, and pull together something new and beautiful. It is also a time for me to feel re-energized, rested, and renewed. I get to put aside my work grind and just be present in something fun.

I found the above picture during my bookstore browsing last week! The magazine Somerset Workshop Magazine has some really great ideas, and they even have step-by-step explanations for how to do their projects. The magazine issue focused on creative lettering, fabric art, old paper and brushes. The above photo used old sheet music as the background for the artwork and used antique paper for the dress. It got my mind jogging, and it reminded me of a project I did last fall for my 2D class at the Glassell.

I had an old class assignment where my teacher told us to take some rubbings of various textures and layer them to recreate a photo from a magazine. I decided to use my textured rubbings to create a woman's dress. My classmate and instructor liked the idea I used. I decided to combine the ideas from the magazine and my class to create Jennifer's artwork.

Lately, I love using words in my artwork and the words "celebrate" and "love" came to mind. In Ecclesia, we have been going through James in the Bible. James is a very humbling chapter because it talks about how we are to live in relationship and community. And so even though being in the studio is my "me time," I was inspired to use my artwork as a way to connect and share with others. I think ultimately that's why God creates in us gifts. Yeah, it's great to see what you are able to do with God's help, but ultimately, how will you share and seek others out?

I think it gives more intention to my artwork when I think about giving it to others. Perhaps I wouldn't be inspired to do a good job or have the motivation to create if it was all about myself. Are there talents and gifts that you are hiding? Do you ever think how your gifts could really affect others? It's an interesting thing to think about and I hope this post helps you celebrate love and seek out others more bringing the gifts that are already present in your life.