Today I started my second class here at Regent. It is a studio art class, focused on painting as a celebration of Creation. We started the day getting to know one another and then began to talk about theological reflection through observation. This idea fascinates me. My heart was warmed as the professor, Dr. Lindsay Farrell, said the progression of response should move from head to heart to hand. (Remembering Asbury's "Where head and heart go hand in hand.") As is one of my mantras, the process of drawing, and of art in general is not so much contingent on your hand or wrist movement as it is on "re-learning" how to see. It is a mental process which requires much patience.
After chapel this morning, on the walk back to class, we were told to pick up an ordinary object from nature, something we would normally walk right by without another glance. From this tiny object (mine was a dark purple leaf), worlds seemed to burst forth today in sketch and color. In this process, we are learning to see (and to create) by seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. We are learning to have Kingdom eyes. The intricacy and depth of God's Creation become evident when we take the time to look at it. These extraordinary things we observe move us to act, to create, to offer a hand to the "unnoticed" man on the street. May the Story of Creation and Redemption burst forth these next two weeks, in sketch and color, in our response to His marvelous works. In many ways, I am starting to see, the arts can be the missing connection between the head and the hand.
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