Learning more than whats hanging on the walls

I came back from Ohio earlier this week. I went to help Sarah set up an art show for her students. She teaches high schoolers. I learned a thing or two. Not so much about hanging an art show but about the people in the show and who the intended audience was. Also, about the people I was working with to help put on the show. All of these things were very different than what I was normally used to in my current experience in gallery exhibition.

I've only ever delt with college-aged and professional artists. A whole different dynamic when it comes to planning an art show. In my experience it has always been about what is best for the show. While this may be true for the professional wolrd of artists, its takes second place for young artists. I now see the value in displaying any artwork for young artists. It really doesn't matter what their skill level is. Should we give praise to what only seems professional? Does that mean just because someone's skill is not as high as what we set the standard to be we should value their work any less?

I'm reminded of a story that talks about an art class and the teacher gives the students an assignment to create a picture that looks like the teacher's painting. The students look at the supplies they have been given. Each student starts to notice that the person next to them has something different. One has a paint brush, another just paint, another just a pencil and so forth. The students then ask the teacher "How can we make the same picture if we all don't have the same tools. The teacher responded by saying "I've given you everything you need. Use what I have given you".

I'm sure there is multiple lessons we can learn from this story but I'd like to use it in reference to what Jesus teaches. Jesus asks us to "paint a picture" that resembles Himself. It shouldn't be about what the person next to us is doing to create that picture but, to follow what our teacher (Jesus) has given us to work with. For me this means not to judge the gifts and talents that God gives to different people (whatever skill level they may be) but to give glory to the One who give them the gifts in the first place.

There is something beautiful about the innocence of art and the artist that is learning. Once someone has learned the skills to push your artwork further it is extremely difficult to create art(and admire it) in such a pure form as one once did.

If we could take ourselves back to the purity of art that we once had with the knowledge that we have today. What would artwork look like? And how would people of the professional art world view it?

New Adventure in Stretching Faith

Art making has been at a minimum lately but, that's okay. God has been working on the other areas of my life. I really long to create something though.
I've made a commitment to do an internship in New York City. I will be working with a missionary organization with a specific focus on artists. Mostly college students studying in the fine arts. The decision came after a long 7 month process of prayer and seeking God's direction on this. To be honest a big part of me does not want to move to New York. I love the art and the ministry there but living there is something completely different. On the other hand if I had just signed up to go for another summer it would have felt too safe because I know I could come back to comfortable California.
He's telling me its time to move forward. He wants me to grow closer to Himself. For me that means not being comfortable with where I am at right now. I need to be challenged in my faith. I believe New York City is the place where He wants me to do that. I'm a little nervous about that. I've never lived anywhere outside California longer than six weeks.
I feel like I'm starting a whole new life with a few attachments from my current one. Those attachments mainly being family and friends which, I value deeply. Sometimes I think if I could only move all the people that matter most to me to NY than everything will be okay. At least I know Someone will be with me no matter where I go. "He will never leave me nor forsake me." I'm sure that is all the comfort I need.
I am excited to be stretched in my faith, to tell creative people about their Creator, to experience different culture, to make new friends, to grow closer to friends I already know in the same time zone, to experience difficult times, and new adventures.

Lord I am willing. Send me.

Back from/to NYC

A couple weeks ago I went to an artist conference in NYC. It was hosted by the International Arts Movement (IAM). It was cold! I took my roommate, Scoops with me. He is thinking about going to NYC for the Tribeca Summer Project. The same project that I did last year. I'm pretty excited about that.
The conference was intense. There were people from all over the world. A bunch of guest speakers and workshops. I went to four workshops: 1. Grad school panel discussion, 2. Portfolio review, 3. Art & Media in Propaganda, 4. Journey of an Artist. All of the workshops were great and beneficial towards my future.

I just applied for a year long internship in NYC doing art ministry. I've been thinking about it for the past 6 months. I've been a little hesitant making a decision. Being back in New York again and the whole experience of has confirmed in my mind that I want to go to New York for this internship. There is positives and negatives for both going and staying. But I need to get out of my comfort zone. I need to be stretched. I need to be challenged. I need to keep learning. I need to go to New York.

I got to spend some time with Sarah. I was super excited to see her again. Another good reason about moving to NY is that we will be closer (distance wise). I'm looking forward to that. She is coming to CA in 2 1/2 weeks. I'm looking forward to that as well.

Creating Art

My approach to art making, specifically drawing and painting has mostly been with the idea in mind that I would not have any idea in-mind. I do not think about what I am creating, only how I am creating it. I pay attention to technical excellence and the theories behind the work rather than the subject matter of the particular piece. I intentionally clear out my thoughts and attempt to create from my subconscious. It has become a series of mark-making that takes shape into organic forms. Since I create without intentions of something specific it leaves the work open to a variety of interpretations. All of which compile my interpretation for the artwork and pass on to future viewers.

From time to time I will post images of my artwork. I would like your comments on how you interpret the subject matter.

Studying Under The Master Artist

This was originally written on 10/18-2006

Today I realized that I may or may not ever be a professional artist. When I was young, being an artist is all I thought I wanted to be and it never seemed to be out of reach. Early in my high school days I was fed the lie that artists don't make money so I should try to find a job to make money. Early in college I was a business major but found no joy in what I was doing. I didn't care about making money I just cared about doing what I love.
Not too long after, I became a Christian and I changed my major to Art. You may be wondering, What does becoming a Christian have to do with being an artist? I really didn't understand at the time either but I few years later it started making more sense to me. I started in the art major to make the kind of art that I wanted and it was fun. I made art that I thought could make me money too. I thought about being a famous artist and being in the textbooks for creating a new type of art that had never been done before. I was in it for the prestige, for the fame, for my own glory.
Three years into my art studies I noticed my art started changing because my heart had started changing. I realized that God was the one who gave me the ability to create art. He is the one who instilled the passion in me that comes out in my paintings. I then thought, If God gave this ability to me then I should use it to glorify Him. My next dilemma was how do I do this?
I started creating work that was blatantly Christian. Crosses, Jesus pictures, you name it. The only problem was that I didn't want to do these types of scenes. Particularly the traditional way I was making them either. God knew my heart. He knew my desire to create something radical, something abstract but still have the intensity of the gospel behind it.
I soon realized that I didn't matter the subject or style that I wanted to create in. It only mattered that my heart belonged to God and everything I created was glorifying Him or representing Him in some way. I could make the most nonrepresentational abstract painting and it would still have significance to my spirituality. Everything I do, say, all of my actions, everything I paint, sculpt, design is a reflection of an aspect of God because I am created in His image. I am also a sinner and a fallen man, which means not all of my words, thoughts, actions are pure and holy but it is what I strive for with the grace of God. This all translates to how I create my art and whom for.

New York Exhibition

I cannot guarantee that my blogs are always going to be about art. I'm not always about art (even though you might think so).

I don't always post my blogs when I write them. This was written on 8/2-2006

I've been back from New York for about a month now. I was in New York for six weeks with about 30 artists from across the country. We had a gallery show in Manhattan called "Emerging Artists/ Spiritual Dialogue". The artwork was in direct response to surveys we administered to people prior to going to New York and we continued surveying people while in New York. We then began to analyze the data collected from the surveys. From there we found the most commonly chosen pictures and studied the answers that went with those pictures. Five groups were formed. Each one dedicated to a particular question from the survey. After a week and half of discussing what we were going to do, it came time to get started. We spent the next four weeks on installation projects to be displayed at NYCAMS (New York Center for Arts and Media Studies). NYCAMS was also a working studio space where we created our artwork. We finished the artwork and everything was installed in the gallery. Tons of people came to the exhibition. The art pieces created a lot of spiritual conversations. I believe we opened up some peoples hearts and challenged them to believe in something greater than themselves. God definitely had purpose in this show. Here is one story of how God was working through what we were doing in New York.

The last night of the exhibition I met Greg. Greg didn’t intentionally come to the show. He was just passing by on his way home from work and decided to stop in. I had a conversation with Greg about my work which was an installation consisting of sculpture, graffiti and video with photo projections. Greg had made a connection of concepts about God, Jesus and faith through the artwork that he had not previously understood before. We talked about things going on in Greg’s life and how he desired a deeper relationship with God. Before Greg left the gallery that night I asked him if I could pray for him. He said, “Yes, I would appreciate that”. After we prayed together Greg said something profound. He said, “You know Mike, you really showed me love tonight. You showed me love through your artwork”. Greg told me that he found a better understanding of God through the artwork and He sees God as being “Love”. For Greg to say that to me, made a huge impact on my life as an artist and a follower of Christ. I always knew I wanted to be an artist and make work for the glory of God. Hearing what Greg said to me showed me there was purpose for taking part in the Tribeca Summer Project. I had many meaningful conversations with people in New York but I will never forget the conversation I had with Greg that night. It was reassuring to me of my place as an artist in God’s Kingdom.

Check out these links about my summer in NY.

Campus Crusade for Christ: www.ccci.org

Photographic Image Survey: breathe-in-art.livejournal.com

International Arts Movement (IAM): iamny.org

NYCAMS: nycams.bethel.edu/

Im not a blogger

I never thought that I would have a blog but here it is. I've always wanted to write about my art and the interpretations of the work. A friend encouraged me to do so. I'm sure that I will write about my gallery shows and experiences as well. This is my introduction...prepare yourself for what is to come.