Rhythms of the Mundane:
Full Statement

The first act of God recorded in Genesis was the spark of creativity when all things, including the human species sprang from God’s expressive nature. Above all other forms, humanity holds a special grace in God’s economy. We alone have been created in God’s image and likeness, and by participating in that identity, we also desire to express ourselves creatively.

There are a multitude of ways that we reveal ourselves creatively, whether it comes the arts or through other spheres like industry, politics or education. The creative impulse of God resides in the essence of our being. We seek to release the ideas and movements within our souls through an act that carries incarnational significance. We transform abstract ideas and desires into the substance of real existence for the benefit of ourselves and of those around us. As faith-based visual artists we glean from the creative Spirit both within and without, but ultimately, the foundation of our creativity stands upon God’s first act of grace.

Several years ago, I began creating compositions in which I sought to explore texture, pattern, and surface. I was interested in exhibiting the natural properties of the materials selected without the added influence of artificial color. I experimented with an array of media including wood, plaster, cement, cardboard, and even foam. Each material had its own unique qualities that presented both benefits and challenges to the overall process. The flexibility of some materials like wood or foam allowed me to create fluid patterns more easily. Other materials like plaster or cement were more rigid, and I had to develop creative solutions to approximate curves and organic rhythm. With experimentation, I settled on wood as the medium that would best achieve the effect for which I was searching.

I referred to my first assemblages as “striations” because they resembled layers of earth that had gradually encased non-earth elements over time. As I arranged compositions, I began to consider the dialogue between the temporary and the eternal. Humanity, expresses its existence through the birth of philosophies, institutions and structures. These birthings serve humanity with the limitation that they are bound to specific generations and circumstances. Although these inventions may appear to be long-reaching, over the course of time, they begin to crumble and fade. Eventually, they decay and deform into stale artifacts encased in the unbounded continuum of God’s eternal Present.

As I continued developing the striations compositions, the phrase “Rhythms of the Mundane” came to mind. As I reflected the creative process with which I was engaging, I lamented that it took hours of tedious and methodical routines in order to create a finished composition. In this regard, making artwork is not always a spontaneous, light-hearted adventure for the artist. On the contrary, the production of visual art, often involves struggle, and many hours of give and take.

The works in this series were created by arranging trapezoidal shapes on a panel. Once these shapes found their place, I would surround them with strips of wood glued on edge. The wooden strips surrounding the trapezoids conveyed a sense of movement that seemed to continue beyond the picture plane. This mono-patterned background reminds the viewer that God’s Creative Spirit resembles “the wind that blows wherever it pleases.” The simple shapes encased by the Spirit’s flow resemble humanity’s temporary efforts.

Initially the wooden strips I worked with were about one millimeter in thickness and they were satisfactory for smaller compositions. For the larger pieces, I located rolls of wood banding that were two millimeters thick. This allowed me to cover distance a little faster for larger panels. The banding was routinely scored down the center and snapped into two long pieces. This breakage created two different edges on the wood. The edge along the break was more rough and contributed to the surface texture of the artwork, while the opposing edge was linear and was perfect for gluing to the panel.

Initially I used hot glue as the primary adhesive, but the odor and constant war against “spider webs” of plastic made this method somewhat troublesome. However, hot glue formed an instant bond, which helped me to move forward at an accelerated pace. Eventually, I discovered a process that allowed me to use wood glue to attach the strips. This new process was more delicate up front, but it facilitated bond that was much stronger and more permanent than the hot glue.

As I worked my way through the series, I spent a lot of time in reflection. It occurred to me that what I was doing was not much different than menial labor. Gluing strips of wood to a panel, one course after another, for six to eight hours a day, reminded me of some of the factory jobs I had worked in the past. I considered that this aspect of my project seemed to contradict the way that society “idealizes” the creation of artwork. Often we envision the artist tucked away in the studio and receiving the creative muse of euphoria. For me, the experience was at times mind-numbing.

At other times, I noticed a deep contemplative connection with God. This repetitive task of creating my visual art seemed to emulate certain spiritual disciplines like praying the Jesus prayer or advancing through beads on a rosary. Once a working rhythm was established, my hands could perform, while my mind leaned into God.

As I contemplated the artistic process, I felt an impression within indicating that God is selecting each of us in the same way I was selecting wooden strips to place into the composition. Once a piece was selected, it had to be cut to size. The wood was resistant to bending, but with a score mark, and the proper pressure, it could be permanently bent with a “snap” but not broken in half. This bending allowed the piece to fit more naturally into the curves and recesses that were slowly defining the overall composition. As I reflected, I realized that we too are being bent, even crushed along the path of life so that God can fit us into a Grand Composition. Every one of us has a place to occupy in the scheme of things, but in order to occupy that unique space created just for us, we may need to be shaped, by the hand of God. This shaping is not always comfortable, but it is necessary if we want to participate in the beauty of the finished composition. Ultimately this finished composition represents the Kingdom of God, where we will shine like stars as we are clothed with the fullest expression who God created us to be.

I have always had an “interior” personality, so when I noticed a local seminary was offering a course on Christian Spiritual Direction and contemplative prayer practices, I decided to enroll. My interest in the subject seemed to come from a desire to explore how these practices might influence my work as an artist. Although the program is geared toward training spiritual directors, most of the topics of study can be applied toward personal spiritual formation.

For the Rhythms of the Mundane series, I developed a spiritual exercise to lead the viewer into their own conversation with God. This exercise invited the viewer to approach the artwork on a deeper level. A guide was provided which reminded the viewer that they too were work of art and it served as a platform that encouraged them to examine their own life and circumstances. Finally, the guide invited the viewer to offer themselves to God for a word of healing, encouragement, or direction.

Since being enrolled in seminary, the way I think about visual art has been influenced. I see an interactive quality developing in the way I would like to exhibit in the future. As a Christ-centered artist, I would like to utilize my visual expression to bring people into a deeper understanding of themselves and the Kingdom of God. In the secular arena, the artist often grapples for truth and visual art might be employed as a useful tool toward discovery. As a Christian, I no longer grapple for secular truth, but rather seek to conform my life to the Truth of Christ. My artwork has become a tool that allows me to explore deeper truths about God and myself.

Since we are created in the image of God, and since God is beyond understanding and without limit, there is also an aspect of ourselves that defies understanding. Perhaps that is why God has created us to occupy eternity. It may take that long not only to come to an understanding of God, but also to come to an understanding of ourselves. Looking within our own souls, and understanding what motivates and drives us, can help us grow in our relationship with God. As I embark on this journey of visual art, I hope to use my creative capacities to help others, as well as myself to participate more deeply with the image of God within.

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