-
Creativity, Coming & Going
Have you noticed how many creatives have particularly fertile periods of output – times of especially high levels of creativity? Why is that? How do you call the muse? Can you even call it? Why does it appear to fall away? Can you keep it? What is inspiration? Too many questions! For any creative, there are times of heightened connection/awareness of the muse. It’s always best to jump on an idea when it’s fresh. That visit is a combination of time and circumstance – two things which by definition are never exactly replicable. Therefore you must jump, before the time and circumstance take you out of the mindset, the inspiration,…
-
What if Your Art Doesn’t Pay the Bills?
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19 In Old Testament times you made your living from agriculture. Your financial condition was tied directly to the condition of the fields, fruit, herds and flocks the Lord had…
-
What is the Connection between God and Creativity?
This is the first of 7 blogs on releasing your creative potential. What does God think about artists? Does he care? Does he even notice? If everything was right, if we could clearly see the brushstrokes on the canvas of the created world, then the first words of the Bible would inspire endless creativity, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
-
Does God Care about Your Artwork?
Does God care about your artwork? He does. Everyone expresses themselves creatively. It can’t be helped. It’s one of the things we’re born to do. It’s part of what the Bible refers to when it says we’re made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:26.) An essential part of God’s nature is that, beyond all possible imagination of abundance and diversity, he’s creative (Genesis 1:1). We reflect that part of his nature in the abundance and diversity of our art, music, movies, etc. The difference is, God creates out of nothing. We, at best, “borrow” any material we can find and repurpose it. As Picasso said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
-
Follow the Gold
Ever have money thrown at you? Israel did, as they left Egypt… Exodus 12:35-36 (ESV) 35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. I’m sure the clothing helped as they went into the desert. The silver and gold, however, what became of that? What becomes of the gifts the Lord has given you? How do you steward over the things God has graciously placed in your…
-
7 Classic Reads for Creative Christians
A little encouragement goes a long way. There are many Christian writers who have wrestled with what it means to be an artist not only in a secular culture, but also in a church culture that hasn’t always supported them or their creativity. Here are 7 classic reads to help you in your journey…. Art Needs no Justification, by H.R. Rookmaaker. Razor thin at 61 pages, this book neither wastes, nor minces, any words. Rookmaaker describes the historic role of the artist, implications for today, the church’s response, and the Christian artist’s task. The last chapter offers some guidelines for artists. Here’s an excerpt: “If in this way art…
-
Because We Can’t Help It
The most basic truth of art is that we create because we’re made in God’s image. It might also be the most controversial.
-
Don’t Give Up
To the artist… If you’re lucky you’ll live long enough to see the seed of your work planted. You may even see it die. Truly fortunate, you’ll see it raised.
-
A Realm for Which the Soul Aches
“The task of the artist is to sense more keenly than others the harmony of the world, the beauty and the outrage of what man has done to it, and poignantly, to let people know. Art warms even an icy and depressed heart, opening it to lofty, personal experience. By means of art we are sometimes sent dimly, briefly, revelations unattainable by reason, like that little mirror in the fairy tales. Look into it and you will see not yourself but for a moment, that which passes understanding, a realm to which no man can ride or fly and for which the soul begins to ache.” – Alexander Solzhenitsyn, quoted…
