New Things

Exciting things are happening here.

A painting I’d entered into a competition at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art was accepted into the show.  The Artmobile got a chance to live up to its name.  I told Mike upon delivery that I felt like an artist again.  It’s been a long time.

Earlier this year, as I was contemplating how divided our country had become, I spent some time in prayer and asked the Lord to help me be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.  And idea for an art installation piece was formed and it is starting to take shape.  It’s called Mercy of Lament.  The South Sudanese Episcopal Church and Lake Effect Church on the northwest side of Grand Rapids are hosting the artwork.  There is a website up where you can see an artist’s rendering of what it will look like and you can read more about it.  You can find it at https://mercyoflament.com/. There’s also a Facebook page to post photos, if you decide to participate in the project.  Word is spreading quickly, and I’m excited to see where this goes.  While I originally was thinking about all the people lost to COVID, I’ve realized that there was actually much more lost last year.  There was loss of jobs, loss of income, death of dreams.  There were suicides, a sense of a loss of justice, and death of natural causes.  People need a space to grieve all sorts of things, and I hope this installation piece helps.

Another thing that’s going on is that I’m taking another online calligraphy course.  This time I’m focusing on the pointed brush as a tool and also adding some photo editing into the mix.  I’m hoping to add this skill into future paintings.

Last of all, I’m finally getting around to redesigning my website.  After researching on how to do it myself, I decided that I’d rather spend the time making art and I’ve contacted Tasha Glover (https://www.techwithtasha.com/) to work with.  I heard about Tasha through an arts group I’m part of and she was also recommended by Shae Bynes (https://shaebynes.com/).  I’ve heard nothing but good things about Tasha and I love her heart.  But she’s got a list for me to get on and I have my work cut out for me.  It’s work that desperately needs to be done, and I’ve ignored it for far too long.

From doing absolutely nothing outside of the studio in February to full steam ahead in May… things are getting interesting.

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