Creative Church Art Journal
Last weekend I went to the
at the
Boise Vineyard Church in Idaho
with my wonderful art friend Anneli. I will be processing the experience for awhile. It was one of those mountaintop experiences, and may be the most impactful conference I've ever attended. I guess then I shouldn't have been surprised when the re-entry back into real life was rough. The van, refrigerator not working, and the mug that was symbolic from the conference also breaking on its way out of the car. I was frustrated. Then I felt guilty I felt that way, and honestly, I wasn't good company. I guess it's a part of life, the ups and downs. And I am reminded I need to give and receive grace. Each day is new with new hope, thank God!
So I decided to finish the art journal I took to the conference to take notes in. I've never used an art journal for that kind of thing before. Here is the front cover.
The week before the conference I made
Teesha Moore's 16-page journal
and painted parts of it using the painted paper techniques I teach in the art journaling workshops, including painted tissue paper that I glued on with matte medium.
I left space on the beginning two-page spread for the title and my reflection of the conference shown below.
The next pages were notes taken from
session, A Vision for the Flourishing of Arts and Creativity in the Local Church. He is great about getting the listeners involved in what he is speaking about. On the pages below, the right side shown has an alphabet stencil and painted flap I cut into the swirl/wave shape. This was my first page of writing so I was a bit nervous and it shows, but I kept on going. It was important for me to let go of needing each part of my journal to look good. I added my motto to a blank space and a quote from Scott's book
Below is the swirl flap opened and a better view of the stencil over marbled paper:
's talk on Truth and Beauty was so poetic. I bought his book
and left space to write some quotes from it under "Creativity". I added the blue envelope because he gave us a page with his theology of the Arts that is now inside of the envelope.
The spread below is more like the notes I usually take in a class. The content is rich.
, author of
and more, talked about the strengths and challenges unique to artists, and how to lead.
talked candidly about building trust and understanding with leaders in the church.
Jessie Nilo, Lisa Marten, and Dean Estes all contributed their wisdom and experience to the notes on these pages. They are so practical and so caring, for the artist and for how an artist can reach out and care and lead. The philosophy I caught from them is to invite the Holy Spirit in. Invite and include people to play. One of the things Jessie said is, "Give it away so more can play." And I was cheering inside when Lisa said, "It's all about relationships."
Below is the front cover on the left and the back cover on the right.
And here is the cover and flaps laid out flat. I hadn't looked at it like this before I photographed it. It gives me an idea for a mixed media painting….
This was a new way of taking notes, art journaling style, but I really liked it. I'm sure I will use it again. It was just the right length for a weekend conference, and it will help me keep better track of notes that are meaningful. I supposed it could be applied to all sorts of situations where people take notes. I even liked how some of the pages over-lappped and showed different views depending on if the flaps were open or closed. In my mind it integrated the speakers and the related themes of their talks.