The Artist in Community

  This sculpture is a piece I created for the students at the OM Arts Incarnate school in Italy, which I was able to visit for two weeks this past month.  This is the explanation I sent with it:

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  The concept behind this piece -- as a single piece, and not just ten little sculptures -- is the way God has created us, as individual artists, to live and operate in community.  I've made one piece here for each of you.  (Don't be too concerned about the characteristics of each piece. As much as I would have liked to pattern each one after all your distinct personalities, that would have been a much bigger project!)  As God has created each of you, and molded you through your life experiences, He has made a wonderful and unique person, every one of you beautiful in your own distinct way, standing on your own, with the gifts that only He could give.

  However, He did not just bless you with your unique gifts for you to stand in isolation.  He has brought all of you here to Incarnate for these months to form a sacred community.  As beautiful and talented and gifted as each of you are by yourself, as a community, you enter and entirely new world.  Just as these pieces fit together to form an entirely new sculpture, a sculpture which is greater than simply the sum of its parts, so in community, all of your gifts are reflected and multiplied.  Others will take what you have created and build from it, just as you will be inspired and encouraged by what you see God doing through them.  You will continue to learn from God, through each other.  Just as it was when we went out for the prophetic prayer walk around Bobbio, no one person was given the entire picture, but together, we could see the real message that flowed under each of the smaller pieces, unifying them.

  As you leave this place, remember the many ways in which you have grown together and worked together.  Understand that the community God has put you in now extends around the world.  The places where He will bring you to will be different from Incarnate.  They may be larger or smaller, and they will definitely be made up of a vast diversity of people and personalities and gifts and levels of spiritual awareness, but they will be communities nevertheless.  It may even take a while for you to figure out where you fit, just as it may take a while to figure out how these little pieces fit into a circle, but with patience, a keen eye, a listening ear and perhaps most important, a tender heart, you will find your place... and in that place, you will begin to see what God is really trying to speak into you and through you.

  With all my blessings  --  Chuck

The Gift

We often hear people speak of great artists as "gifted" individuals.  I have even heard people use that term to describe my abilities in art.  I've wondered about the deep implications of having a gift, and what impact that has on the way I practice my art.

The first thing that strikes me is that a gift is something which is given.  I didn't drum it up myself, through my own wisdom or experience or hard work.  It has been given to me by another -- by God himself.  It is based on His ability, His infinite creativity, his rich blessing and generous Heart.  Yes, there is a sense of working hard to perfect the expression, in skill and insight, but ultimately, it points back to the giver.

The second thing is that a gift is not something I deserve or have earned.  It is based on God's Goodness.  Just as salvation is a gift given to us, which we do not receive as wages or something we have worked for, my art -- the ability to see beyond the surface and then represent that reality in a way others can see, relate to and respond to -- is because God chose to give the gift, not because I'm such a wonderful person!

The third thing I have seen is that the gift is given so me not to horde for my own benefit, but rather to share with those around me.  Art can be intensely personal, both in its conception and its expression, but I have been given not only the vision to see through Christ's eyes, but a voice to express it for others.  Some of my art is still a very personal expression of worship between me and my Savior  but more and more, I am experiencing how it can be a way for Him to speak His Grace, Mercy and Peace -- to build Faith, Hope and Love in the lives of others.

In this season of Christmas, we spend a lot of mental and emotional energy around gifts, both those which we give and receive on a human level but also about he ultimate Gift which God gave to us in the person of Emanuel.  Let us be ready to receive that gift as artists, so that in turn, God may give His Gift to the world through us.

My Sketch Book

Over the last several years, my sketch book has become one of those personal, somewhat "sacred" things in my life. It has become my faithful companion, recording words, pictures, abstract shapes, emotions, truth, pain, practice, sketches of people at airports and on the subway in Prague. I've gotten so I hardly go anywhere without it (and the few times I've left it behind, I'm often sorry I didn't have it with me).

However, no matter how "sacred" and treasured that book may be, it will never be too precious that I won't hand it to a child and let them draw in it. My grandson Kyle (age 5) has several pages which I treasure as only a Grandpa can, but I have let others, both children and adults add their own work.

Of course, this always comes with its risks... One sketch which I just put up on my deviantArt page has a brown blob in the center of the sketch, which was caused by Kyle using a marker on the flip side of the page which bled through. I'm actually tempted to just leave it there as a bit of "collaboration" between him and me. (At age 5, he is actually quite the artist, and he loves his art classes even more than gym and recess in his Kindergarten class!)

There's a reason why I hand my sketch book to children. Most children, I've found, are natural artists. Some are better than others of course, but they are all uninhibited, and love to draw things. By handing them my sketch book, I am communicating that I value their art, that drawing is something that is not only fun, but that they can continue to do it through their childhood and when they are adults. I am an encourager by nature and disposition, and I think my sketchbook may be my most powerful tool.

If I can encourage a young person to take his or her art seriously, to show them that their drawings are more than just childish play, that someone really does value and enjoy their drawings (aside from just their mothers who will stick pretty much anything on the refrigerator), then I feel like I've added something to their life, and perhaps to the world.

Development of an Artist

One of those late at night ideas bumping around in my brain, which I wanted to get down before it evaporated....

It struck me that people go through a number of stages/seasons/steps as they start to grapple with what it means to be an artist.  These stages aren't really well defined, and have a lot of overlap, but I think they still map a definite progression in both the individual's understanding of their personal call to be an artist, and of how other people begin to see them:

(1) Enthusiasm:  This is the stage where a person first starts to recognize some sort of aptitude with art -- typically drawing things in notebooks or music -- and they begin to realize that they really ENJOY creating pretty things (or giving voice to their pain and anger).  More often than not, they are young, without a lot of life experience, but they are just waking up to the joy of creativity and imagination.  This is where big dreams start.

(2) Skill:  This is the hard work level, where people start to become serious about being an "artist".  They may be terribly self-deprecating, but nevertheless, they begin to put in the effort necessary to develop real, tangible skills.  This is the stage where other people start recognizing them as "artists".  They start taking classes, practicing, defining a style, hanging out with other artists, polishing their craft.

(3) Meaning: At some point, in order to become more than a skilled craftsman, or someone who can make "pretty" things, an artist needs to begin to understand not only how to create (imagination), but how to create meaning (soul).  This is the hard part, and frankly, where things begin to get really messy.  The message is not always clear, even inside of the artist's head.  Their artwork can begin to get edgy, dark, and push boundaries.  The artist begins to experiment, sometimes with disastrous results.  However, in order for an artist to become relevant, he or she must go through this season -- to survive the storms, so see things that no one else can see.

As followers of Christ, this is the stage where Christ really enters into our art, and we become Incarnational.