Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Why do dogs like to roll in the snow?

While my trusty studio companion Abby the labby preferred to romp in the snow today,

The studio is exploding with purple fabrics for Lent.

I chose to sort fabrics for Lenten stoles and clean out the studio book case. The book case led me to discover a notebook I'd compiled many years ago yet haven't opened for quite some time. It contains articles I've found inspirational on the topic of worship and the arts. So on this Wednesday I will share a few bits of this collected wisdom...

• "Focusing our attention on the meaning (of art) helps move our appreciation for an art piece beyond its form or style to our wonderment of God, just as the ark of the covenant once did for those wandering in the wilderness." The author of this statement gives examples of different types of Communion chalices. One vessel is enrobed with thorns. In its use we might imagine in a new way the suffering Christ went through on our behalf. Alternatively there is an example of a vessel that is glass covered in gold. When used for Communion we would see ourselves reflected on its surface enabling us to rejoice more deeply in the resurrection and glory of Jesus Christ. Have you thought about the message your visuals in your church's worship space are saying theologically? -from "Ears that Hear and Eyes that See" by Elizabeth Steele Halstead, Reformed Worship vol. 82

• It is necessary to recognize that art has two lives--first for tis maker, then for its receiver. Making art is the pleasure and mystery of the creative act: the actual experience of technique and process, of freedom, serendipity and discovery. For the receiver art celebrates the beautiful, uncovers beauty that might have escaped unseen, and seeks to show truth even when it is not beautiful.An artist making art is experiencing God. God is never finished creating, never finished redeeming creation. Visual art should not be neglected in Christian worship because it can be a pathway to God. - Brian Fee, "Beauty Glimpsed" for the Calvin Institute

• And lastly, here's one to make you laugh...when working on a project that will involve a committee, such as worship banners, Jill Liddell in The Patchwork Pilgrimage suggests that designs will probably have to be vetted by a number of people, all of whom will have something to say about it. Resist the temptation to try and please everyone. Remember the old saying , "a camel is a horse designed by a committee," Do not let your ideas turn into a camel!