Hidden Art

Take a look at my friend Beth's latest blog post. She's a violinist with a B.M. degree, and she makes some great observations in this post!

Hidden Art

Creating. Alive.

Tonight while choreographing, a revelation came to me which I am still trying to fully grasp linguistically. I was thinking how creating makes me feel alive, it makes me come to life. It puts me in touch with everything going on inside of me. God creates. God created. Did he create us, this earth, because it made him come alive? Do we make him feel more alive? I have always gotten chills to think that there are ways that we can minister and touch God's heart. Little us. Sinners. Messed up. Nowhere near the level of our creator. We can touch his heart. We are an expression of God's heart. He created this earth and everything on it out of everything that was in and on his heart. I know that I can learn a lot about an artist by the work they create and the things they express. God's heart is on display all around us, in his art, and by looking at it and experiencing it, we can learn much about the artist. There are a lot of thoughts within this that are intangible for translation into words right now.  The wonderment of his ability as an artist...he could actually make his creation live and breathe. Artists talk about art living and breathing, but when we do we mean it in the sense of how real it "feels" or how powerful the message or effect. It's about how it looks, representation. God literally created art that can live and breathe.  I think it's amazing to think that not only did he create me to meet a need that was on his heart, an idea begging to come out, but I still, as a living art form, can make my creator come to life. I can thrill his heart. And maybe the reason I feel so alive when I am creating is because it was being created that gave me life in the first place.

Relevant Magazine Article "Why Are Christian Movies So Bad?"

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/features/23250-why-are-christian-movies-so-bad

A Little and Long Over Due Rant

I know it has been way WAY to long since I've posted, but God has been building an excitement for the arts and for His kingdom more and more every day. Exciting things are happening here in LA as God begins to bring people together who are more and more passionate about art within the church and within our culture. Here were are starting to brain storm. We're starting to share vision. And most importantly we are starting to pray, as a community with hungry and expectant hearts. There are only a few of us now, but we know that we represent many many more. We've entitled our little group (O.U.R.)VENTURE. We know that God has made our lives Outpoured, Unashamed, and Renewed and we want the same thing to be said about our community and about the art that represents us. Currently we are praying every Saturday morning at 9 am, and we are inviting everyone to pray with us! Lets dig in. Share our hearts. And seek the heart of our Master.

International Arts Movement Conference

There isn't much information out about this yet--the full website launches on October 15, but it sounds exciting! I know if I could find a way to be there, I would be. Check it out:

http://www.iamencounter.com/

God Pictures.

I love it when God speaks in pictures. Out of nowhere appears this ingrained image for my internal eyes to soak up and enjoy. Nine times out of ten I remember that picture more than I would other methods of God-I communication, and the message sinks in in a deeper way. Anyone who says God is not a master artist is crazy. He of anyone has life-changing, transformative, beautiful, powerful, imaginative art down to a tee.

Podcast teaching on the arts

Ali and I have still not had a conversation about how we want to keep/get this blog going. Whatever we end up doing, it will be more specific and focused than it has been since we created it. Until that time, I will probably occasionally keep posting random thoughts or links. Today I wanted to share a podcast that I have started listening to. It's rather long, but well worth it, I think. I am not finished with it yet. I have been listening to it on my ipod in short spurts whenever I get the chance. When I'm finished maybe I'll write a reflection and let you all see it. For now, though, here's the link:

http://www.podcastblaster.com/directory/podcast-47729.html

I have been listening to the Dan and Mary Scott teachings.

Poetry Article

Sorry it has been a very long time since a new post has been put up! Ali and I are still trying to figure out how we want to do all this, especially now that we are living at opposite ends of the country and don't get to have as many one-on-one conversations that lead to journaling as before.

I was reading this article today and thought I'd post the link. It's about poetry and creative writing, an art form that I think seems most hard for the general public these days to appreciate or understand. Even I am guilty of the attitude the author describes in the first paragraph sometimes. It's a good reminder of the art form's beauty and importance and has some great tie-ins and examples from scripture! Have a look:

http://stoneworks-arts.org/stoneworks/archives/1766

I think my favorite quote comes near the end:

[E]very kind of artwork--every poem, story, painting, photograph, musical composition, and dance--has the potential to become a type of 'pilgrim's progress,' moving the reader or audience from man's reality to God's reality, from earth to the heavenly city where Christ has ascended.
--Randall Smith, from "A Pilgrim's Progress to the Heavenly City"

Artists' Needs and Longings

I was going to take what I got from reading this forum and condense it into a formal post, but I don't think I can do it justice by summarizing. A leader of a ministry posed a question to CreativEdge Artist Network. The question is "If there was ONE THING that would make a tremendous difference in your life, work and calling as an artist, what would it be?"
The responses go on and on and on, and they resonate so deeply in my heart. If you're an artist, read them for encouragement--to know that you're not the only one struggling through some things and that there are plenty of people who care and support you. If you are not an artist, read to understand, learn, and to know how to pray for us. Regardless, I think your hearts will be touched!

http://www.thegrovecenter.org/forum/topics/what-are-your-greatest-needs

A Quote for the Day

I was going through some old paperwork and found a list of quotes about art I had written down...Maybe I'll sprinkle them throughout posts here and there. Here is one from Dante's Inferno:


Art, as far as it is able, follows nature, as pupil imitates his master; thus your art must be, as it were, God's grandchild.

Purpose of art?

So I’ve been tossing around in my head for the last while the idea of the purpose of art. It was triggered by a great article written by Colin Harbinson. Check it out—here’s the link:

http://stoneworks-arts.org/stoneworks/archives/1558

I think that, in my experience, the best art, or maybe the most powerful and influential art, is art that challenges people to seek and go deeper. It doesn’t dish out answers about whatever it may be addressing, but it inspires you to try to find some. It challenges you to ask questions. To find the deeper purpose, point, message, or meaning and decide for yourself how it applies to you and what you want to do with it.

This article got me thinking a lot about Jesus’ parables and how we can compare them to art. At surface level, the parables are interesting stories, and if you never go any deeper, it was a story that kept you occupied and entertained for whatever period of time. People do that with art and media. They take it in and choose not to think about it any deeper. It never goes beyond “that was a good movie” or “a pretty painting” or “cool” or “that was intense” type comments. Sometimes that may be all there is—but I would argue there is almost always more to be found, even in “art” created solely for profit and entertainment value. Jesus’ parables left work for his hearers to do in order to understand. His disciples never quite grasped that concept completely…they always seem to be wanting an instant application and explanation. Jesus usually appeases them. In that, too, I think there can be a relation. Some sort of explanation or remark about the artwork can greatly help the presentation and the audience’s connection to it. This is why programs are important in performance art.

As an artist or presenter or producer, what I want to continue to think about is how I can create, present, produce in such a way that gets people’s attention and entertains them while at the same time giving them something much much more that once they have left the art behind stays in their thoughts, urging them onward to new questions and discoveries. If someone completely forgot any and every detail about the choreography, costumes, lights, set etc of a dance performance they watched but remembered the feeling it left in their heart and/or a powerful concept or truth or question it helped them grasp in a new way, I would consider that dance performance to be immensely successful.

A movie that had tremendous impact on me was Freedom Writers. I have only seen it once. I couldn’t tell you a single line or explain the complete storyline to you very clearly anymore. But I do remember that after watching it, I spent a good hour journaling. I remember the emotion it put on my heart. I remember thinking that at its core I found a powerful message of hope, love, and perseverance. I remember that it made me want, even more desperately, to be a part of bringing art like that to the world. The movie made me think, it drove me to reflect, and it moved something in my heart that brought me forward into a deeper understanding and revelation of what I desire in my life. It may not have technically or artistically been anywhere close to the greats of films, but it succeeded in the art’s task of influence, at least for me.

In Christ, we have been given all authority. Wherever we walk the presence of the Holy Spirit leaves a footprint. We have been given power. We also have truth. And the ability to love by the author and definition of love. We have so much to give. We do not, however, have the ability to make people choose Christ, and we cannot control their hearts. People find God when they seek him with all their hearts. I want, through art, to get people to seek. 

Expanding the Scope of Art's Importance

The following quote was in the conclusion of a reading assignment for my class on Presenting Live Performances. The article was mostly talking about the decline in arts attendance and participation in the last decade or so, why that might be, and some things she thought should change in order to turn that around. I thought this quote made some very important, thought-provoking, and inspiring points: 

A 1965 Rockefeller Brothers Fund report, The Performing Arts: Problems and Prospecls, states "The arts are not for the privileged few, but for the many. Their place is not on the periphery of daily life, but at its center. They should function not merely as another form of entertainment but rather should contribute significantly to our well being and happiness." The US came a long way but didn't fulfill John D. Rockefeller III's vision in the 20'th century. But wouldn't it be great if we-all of us---could do it in the 21't? If we could actually put the arts at the center of daily life? Who in this world couldn't use a little more happiness right now? Look at the countless people whose lives and well being are affected by the declining economy, or by war, or who are simply worn down by the daily grind. The arts have the potential to contribute to anyone 's well being and happiness. Let's not buy into the idea that some people are simply "disinclined" to the arts and so we should not bother with them. And let's not declare mission accomplished just because we get people in the door. Attendance is cheap. We need to hold ourselves accountable for mattering to people, for making life better. 

Excerpted from The Excellence Barrier, an address given by Diane E. Ragsdale on July 22, 2009 at the annual conference of the Arts Marketing Association of the UK. 

Our Whole Being

Recently I started rereading a short but wonderful book by Francis Schaeffer called Art and the Bible. In it, he talks about the WHOLE being being transformed by Christ, not just the spiritual being. Souls are not the only thing redeemed. All domains of being are important and cannot operate without the other, and everything we do affects everything we are. Our minds, brains, thought, souls, hearts, actions, bodies are all redeemed and transformed by Christ. In Christ I live AND breathe AND have my being. Every part of me is his.

I am a dancer. The concept of the physical body, as well as the creative and imaginative mind, being redeemed and transformed strikes a deep chord with me. In worship this past Friday night I danced my heart out in praise for the first time in a long time. When I do this, I surrender my body for the Lord to move at will.  I can find myself dancing to express pure joy, dancing to express a feeling or praise, dancing with urgency in order to break some sort of stronghold in the Spiritual world, dancing a prayer or desire, the list goes on. Sometimes I literally feel the presence of the Lord dancing next to me, leading me around the dance floor, a duet with my King of Kings. I create a dance because the Lord has taken hold of me and is literally moving me. This is the most powerful experience of bodily redemption and surrender I have ever experienced.

In embracing this surrender of my whole being to the workings of my Heavenly Father, there is a freedom and joy that I wish I could begin to describe. It is like any and every thing that carries weight in my life completely disappears and I am light as a feather, flying on the wings of heaven, wanting nothing but to continue in the presence of my beloved. It is a state of complete freedom, complete contentment, complete peace, and complete joy, rich with the power of God’s presence, love, and grace.

For some reason, I find that many of us Christians are scared of bodily expression and surrender. I know of several churches that flat out ban dancing from their premises, and I know of even more where for someone to raise their hands in worship, much less dance would raise an uproar. It makes us uncomfortable. I dance in worship a lot, but I still have to fight a little tinge of fear and apprehension before I dance. Why does the concept of complete bodily surrender, especially in structured worship, scare us so much? And taking that even further, why is the idea of unleashed creativity, imagination, and expression so often suppressed or ignored? 

A Heart for the Arts: Why I Care, Why God Cares, and Why We Should Care Part 2

A little bit of Pepper:

Genesis 1:27. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.” People are made in the image of God. It’s clear. It’s scripture. We know it to be true. The bible says we are made according to His “likeness”, as in we were created as reflections. God’s representation, in flesh. We were born to have a heart like the heart of God.

Every time I take a moment to look around, to look at the mountains, the ocean, trees, flowers, the sky; I find it impossible to believe that the ability to appreciate the things I see, is not a part of this inherited heart.

God appreciates beauty.

He created it.

He created.

When we create we are able to dive deeply into our hearts and produce something that is infinitely personal. We get the opportunity to make our own reflections. Our own representations made of paper, paint, music, photographs, choreography, written word, or dramatic art. When we create we get closer and closer to our God.

The Creator.

The Artist.

The arts are how we communicate. How we express ourselves. How we learn. How we interact. The arts are how we, as a culture and community, become enriched. How we learn to identify with or better understand those who are different from us. The arts are how we worship, express joy, celebrate, mourn, and explore. It’s how we learn about others, and how we learn about ourselves. And more than that, its how we can grow closer to our Father.

We are all artists. We all posses the desire to create something. To appreciate beauty. To express something.

I care about the arts, and we should all care about the arts, for this simple, honest, and irrefutable reason; God does.

A Heart for the Arts: Why I Care, Why God Cares, and Why We Should Care Part 1

A little bit of Salt:

In thinking about this, I jotted down a list of bullet points on a piece of paper—things I love about the arts. I thought I’d share:

Can transcend and bridge culture

Can be universally interpreted and understood

Can express beauty and joy

Can bring healing and freedom

Have the power to greatly touch and influence hearts and minds

Are an expression of cultural uniqueness and individuality

Can be brutally honest and raw

A form of worship

Provide an opening for the Holy Spirit

Can be a powerful communicator of truth

Form of prophesy

Exciting

World of Constant Discovery

Imaginative

Not afraid to ask and explore tough questions, and not afraid of not having an answer

Sparks Conversation

Can be used in many different forms to touch all cultures, all social classes, and all religions

Respected, valued, and celebrated

Define culture

Transform Culture

I’m sure we could all keep going. Feel free to add. To me, the connection between this list and my faith is not a tough one to make. Many of the things I wrote are also characteristics of God or characteristics of life with God. It makes sense, for God was the first creator and all artistic expression stems from his original creation. The first words of the Bible are “In the beginning God created.” We are all a work of art. If God created art, he must care about art. And if God cares about art, shouldn’t we, as people seeking after the heart of God care and have an interest in art?

I know this is all very basic. I have heard very in depth and wonderful explanations and talks addressing this topic. I have barely touched the surface. But too often I have heard Christians say or imply that the arts are not important, not valid, even sinful. It is a struggle. As an artist who loves the Lord and feels called by the Lord, it can hurt. Furthermore, it is frustrating, for it can limit the scope of artistic expression. I believe it is one of the reasons why there is so little obvious godly influence in the arts and entertainment world today. I believe God has great plans for the arts, but to start they need to be redeemed. Going back to the basics and digging in the Word is key. Uniting church and artist and church and art is key. Knowing God’s heart for the arts, why he loves the arts, and therefore why we should care, not just as artists but as an entire Christian community is essential.

So what about it? Why do you care about the arts? Why and how do you think God cares about the arts? Why should we as a Christian community care about the arts?

God. Creation. Art. Grab a Cuppa Joe and Let's Talk...

God. Creation. Art. How do they intertwine? How do they apply to the modern world? How have they worked in the past? What is their role in society? What is their purpose? How have they been neglected? How have they been exploited? What is our role as Christian artists and how do we translate it all into our everyday life?

These questions and more fascinate us. So, we thought it would be interesting to start a blog and see what kind of network and conversations would result.

Our names are Sherisa and Ali. We are followers of Christ with a passion to see God glorified through the arts. We are students at an arts college. Both of us have dance backgrounds. Ali is majoring in dance and Sherisa started as a theatre major but is now majoring in Arts, Entertainment and Media Management. We are not artistic experts, but we do have a yearning for knowledge, a love of deep conversations, and a burning desire to understand and see the arts as God sees them.

We want this blog to be a means of connecting with others who share a passion and an interest to see God’s power through the arts—in countless ways through multiple mediums using every discipline. We believe that through the arts hearts and lives can be touched in incredible ways. We want to find and create a network of people who can support each other as they follow the dreams God has placed on their hearts.

So, like we said, grab a cuppa Joe, and let’s start talking…