I.D.....Taking Another Look at the Show!

One piece that particularly stood out at the CSU art show was a piece called "Cross".  It was a Minimalist piece, simply a stark white cross with a rectangular mirror placed in the center.  But like they say a picture( or sculpture in this case) is worth a thousand words! The mirror allowed the viewer to become part of the piece.. if you stepped close to the work you could see yourself right in the center of the cross.  Depending on the angle I could also see other people walking by or standing looking up at art works, but I think the intent of the artist was to zero in on one particular person as they viewed the piece.

"Cross", by Schwartzy, made with lumber, acrylic paint and mirror

  It brought one of my favorite scriptures to mind, where Paul is writing a letter to the Galatians and begins to describe his identity.  It says " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I , but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  Identity is something I have personally struggled with. It was birthed by many things such as, placing too much emphasis on what I did or didn't do (I would look to those things to define me),  relying on what other people said or perceived me to be ( never a good idea) and having confusion over my place in the world (not really feeling a since of belonging anywhere)... It was holding me back, then I was lead to realize that who I am is based on who Jesus is, not on the  career I choose, not on my past or present circumstances and not on how I come across to others.

 

Me in "Cross", by Schwartzy

 One of the things that I do is write down scriptures that tell me who I am in Christ... they have become sort of like my spiritual I.D cards. I will walk around my house saying, praying and declaring these scriptures and building myself up.

My spiritual I.D's... thanks to Jesus!

I am still a work in progress...I am sure you are too. Let's find out who we are in Him and what we have in Him and live it out in our work places, our families, friendships, churches, and all over the world!

I hope you are too!!!!

Romp at CSU.... People's Art Show!

  Art ceiling to floor; wall to wall, a mysterious lady in red, yummy pizza, artists romping around with laughter, 3-D glasses , fun and fellowship.....The People's Art show at Cleveland State University's art gallery! I headed out to the gallery last Friday for the opening reception for artists and friends. I also participated in the show with two of my acrylic paintings! I walked into the gallery as artists marched here and fluttered there glancing at works that were covering every wall of the gallery and even behind nooks and crannies! My husband and I searched for my works among the beautiful rubble of creativity! There sat " Past, Present and Future at a Crossroads" high on the wall.... we spotted " Breakthrough", my most recent work, on the opposite wall a little while later.

My recent work titled " Breakthrough", in center

Me under " Past, Present and Future at a Crossroads" acrylic on canvas- far top left

As we circled the gallery a woman clad in a red dress with two red gift bags approached us, an without a word motioned for us to reach into her bag.  The bag contained questions about love on hearts. My question read " Is verbal abuse as bad as physical abuse?" I turned it over and marked Y for yes. placed my heart into her other bag as she pranced off to the next victim. All apart of the mystery of her performance piece I suppose. 

There was a Ready- Made art piece that featured a water bill from the city of Cleveland, a sink with money in the drain and sponges with hand drawn smiley faces The water running in the sink made me feel calm and at ease, probably unlike the woman when she received the 2,000 dollar bill by mistake!. Another piece was drawn in 3-D... I enjoyed putting on the 3-D glasses and taking a look... I found that I could make the robot move when I moved my head side to side ( I only moved my head side to side, because another artist insisted that I try ).

One piece contained a notepad with the word Sin written on every page... and the inscription that we could take only one! Ceramic pieces, sculptures and paintings galore; the "People" came out and left no means of expression unturned!

Join Him In Wonderland!!!

 Wonder. The very word may conjure up multiple images and emotions.... stopping to take everything in...seeing something for the first time..finding something special in the mundane.. A child-like sense of the world! But what is wonder... what is it to be in a state of wonder?  Is it escaping from our world to a far off land with mythical creatures, like in the story of Alice In Wonderland? This story has been adapted into cartoons and movies...but a few months ago the Burress household decided to get in on the action, by throwing our very own Alice in Wonderland Extravaganza!!!!  Complete with magical cookies, costumes, games, the infamous tea party an of course a private screening of the newest movie.

 Maybe we were trying to restore our own since of wonder...I think being in a state of wonder is crucial to being an artist... we hone in on things others may pass up as mundane whether emotions, relationships, objects, landscapes... we take those things and say "Hey look at this... did you ever see it like this, before".   In Psalm 77: 14 , it says " You are the God that does wonders: you have declared your strength among the people" Wow! One of the great things about knowing God is Knowing him, being able to see him in action! You know Alice encountered lots of wonders down that rabbit hole....disappearing cats...rhyming catepillars, magical food, a queen with a violent streak! But with all she saw an experienced in Wonderland nothing compares to the wonders God performs....all so we can know Him!  I have seen Jesus change hearts, give lives purpose, vanish fears with just a word; I have heard singing and praise from the lips of those who should be mourning, those in sickness claiming healing, and being healed; I have seen pasts erased. Yes! He is the God that does wonders....don't ever lose your sense of wonder in our wonderful God!  He's got more to show us!!!

Onward..To the Place Of Our Dreams!

There is a painting that I like by an artist named Andrew Wyeth, called "Christina's World".  Christina lays in a field in the foreground with her back turned away from the viewer.  One feeble looking hand is stretched towards the background her other feeble arm props her up.  Her gaze is not on us it is directed towards the background where a house is sitting through the field. Her gaze, body position and distance from the house create a longing effect.  The story behind the painting is somewhat tragic as well.. Christina a neighbor of Wyeth had some muscular disorder similar to polio, that rendered her legs useless...... instead of using a wheelchair she opted to drag her limp body around place to place...Can you imagine how tired and bruised up she would be when she reached the house in the painting..her useless legs hindered her from getting to where she longed to be.

"Christina's World"- painted by Andrew Wyeth in 1948

 There are so many things that can hinder  a person... fear..failure..rejection....depression..pride...jealousy or like her, sickness. Jesus reminds us that we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow him... why? Because there is a place in him that is the place only imagined in your dreams and he knows that we have things blocking our way...circumstances holding us back.  But yet He says to come follow him.... He gave is life so we could be free from those things that would hold us back from following Him...our cross signifies dying to the things holding us back... its a process it takes daily commitment and deep healing but like scripture says " Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles , and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"  

Quick sketch I did...Jesus sets us free to get to the place of our dreams

Artzca.......what?

Pronounced arts-ca-pades. What is it? I will admit that i made this word up you will not find it anywhere in the dictionary if you punch it into a search engine my blog will probably show up.. because I made it up. my play on the word escapade.... you know an adventure that causes you to escape. Well because I love all things artsy and because it is my right as an American citizen to make up random words, Artzcapades was birthed.  It is an explosive experience with the arts that my cause you to step out of yourself and venture to another time or place or make you feel so human that you loose sight of your surroundings.  Its a painting, a film, a theatrical or dance performance or anything artsy that you truly feel speaks to you for that moment.  It sparks something new in you or reminds you of something in you that you had forgotten was there.   There is a scene from a movie called "Center Stage" that I think is so Artzcapadian (remember my right as an American citizen). The dance students in the movie are invited to attend a performance of  Swan Lake. The camera zooms in on the students as the the female and male principles dance across the stage and  end up in a warm embrace. The camera catches a tear running down the face of one of the most sassy students at the dance school.  That is an Artzcapade.I have them all the time....I bet you do too!