Ministering to artists ministering through the arts.
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"Dave Weiss was at our church tonight and all I can say is wow! What a gifted artist and fine preacher! People really responded well to him and I hope to have him back again. Some of the finest preaching I have heard in a long time."
Jim Baker,
Pastor, Lorida Church of the Brethren, Lorida, FL
New from AMOKArts.com
Many Parts... One Body: A Creative Way to Teach the Importance of every member in the body of Christ. Available in three versions: Small, Medium and Large Group Sizes.
Running AMOK: Random Musings for the Creative Hands of the Body of Christ by Dave Weiss
What is the first step to becoming an artist? Talent? Perhaps to some degree, but lots of people have talent. Making art? That’s a big part of it too, of course but there’s something that I think must come first. (For the moment let’s leave gifting and call out of it. Trust me, we’ll get back to that).
As you may know by now I am rather fond of Picasso’s quote that “All children are artists, the problem is to remain one when one grows up.” There’s an almost instinctive part of us that desires to make art, perhaps to leave our marks on the world, perhaps to be understood, perhaps just to get something out that is inside us. Yet as we grow, many people stifle this drive until they finally end up walking up to people like me and “confessing” that they can’t draw a stick figure, which is, for 99.995% of the population, a lie. What makes a person an artist? Something very simple.
The first step in becoming an artist is saying you’re an artist, followed very closely by believing you’re an artist. Owning the fact that you are an artist, makes you work around your perceived shortcomings to bring to life the creations that are on your heart and mind. In a sense, by this standard, everyone is an artist needing only to find their vision and the means to bring it out. It might be done with a paintbrush, a wrench or even just your words.
I believe we were all ultimately created to create by a loving Creator.
You are an artist, a small c creator, inbued by your Creator to bring something to “life” that will make someone’s world (or maybe the whole world) a better place.
I found this Ted Talk from Artist Shea Hembrey called: How I Became 100 Artists…
Here’s the copy that came with the video…
“How do you stage an international art show with work from 100 different artists? If you’re Shea Hembrey, you invent all of the artists and artwork yourself — from large-scale outdoor installations to tiny paintings drawn with a single-haired brush. Watch this funny, mind-bending talk to see the explosion of creativity and diversity of skills a single artist is capable of.”
I found this amazing. There is a real danger in getting pigeonholed as an artist. Most of us would like to try something completely out of our comfort zone but for one reason or other, mainly meeting expectations, I think, we stay in our zone.
People we’re artists, pushing the envelope of our creativity is what we’re supposed to do so here’s the idea. No I don’t want you to create 100 artists. But how about one? Think about the thing you would most like to do, think about the kind of person that might do that type of work, then create the artist and a piece of their work.
Post the artist’s bio and a link to the work of art in the comments. Come on folks, stretch yourselves. I can’t wait to see what happens!
My online friend, Scott Erickson has been cranking out amazing stuff for a long time now. Scott is the artist in residence at one of the coolest churches I’ve seen (How cool does a church have to be to have an artist in residence?!?) Ecclesia in Houston. Scott has an amazing style and I really love his stuff. He does a lot of work at youth conferences, for World Vision, did a series of paintings for the Derek Webb Feedback album and several other great ministries. He’s an artist you should know about. Check out the video he did for Brenton Brown’s song Joyful.
I was talking to my coach about my passion for ministry. I described art as my tool, one I feel I’ve been given to share the Gospel and see people come to Jesus and/or find their God given purpose, their ministry “tool” if you will. My passion is not the art, it’s the people and it’s Jesus and it’s introducing people to the one who redeemed my life an all that comes with it, including the art. My coach stopped me and told me it was the first time he heard me refer to art as a tool. That made me a little sad and apprehensive. This is always the way I have felt about my art, but I must not have been communicating it. The fear was that I haven’t been doing that here and if I haven’t, I’ve misled my readers.
Let me make it really clear. I love to make art. I do it nearly every day. I’d love nothing more than to use this gift for the rest of my life, but it is the means to an end and not the end in itself. My tool is art, my purpose is to use it and all my other gifts to point people to Jesus and help them find His purpose for their “tools,” whatever those tools may be. This blog is pointed toward artists of all stripes in the church, because you are my tribe. People with a common interest, but please remember, we have been given our gifts for something more than just creating, our gifts are given to bring glory to our Creator.
On January 1, 2011, I set out on a journey to create at least one new work of art every day for the whole year and to record them on my website. It’s December 31, 2011 and mission accomplished. The video above shows all 365 pieces. If you want to see them a little closer go to http://www.amokarts.com/ayearinart.html. It has been a great year and I can honestly say I believe I have grown as an artist through the process. Now here are the questions that I ask and you may be asking as well.
Did you really do a piece of art every day?
No. For the most part, yes I did, but like everyone else there are days where busyness, fatigue set in. I have a job, a ministry and a family and some days my schedule got the better of me, however on other days the creativity was really flowing and I did a couple of pieces. Also some of the projects took much more than a day so I had multiple projects going at times. All 365 of these pieces were done between January 1 and December 31, 2011.
Am I happy with every piece I did here?
No, but by and large I see growth from beginning to end and I have learned a lot of new things and that was the main purpose.
Was every one of these pieces divinely inspired?
Many were, but all? Probably not. There were days where I’m sure I did something simply because needed a piece for the day. Consequently these are the pieces with which I am less pleased.
Will I be doing this again in 2012?
No, in 2012 I am starting something new. For some time now, I have been feeling led to really develop and grow my speaking/painting ministry and so my goal for 2012 is to do something each day to advance the Kingdom of God and work toward the speaking/painting ministry goal. More on this tomorrow, Lord willing.
What did you learn?
Doing a unique and different piece of art every day for a year is somewhat unrealistic. Unless you have nothing else to do, it will mess with your priorities as it did with mine. I ended up some days just doing a piece to get one done which is not a great reason to do art or anything else. On the other hand, disciplining myself to create each day was helpful. I did grow as an artist over the year and learned many new techniques which I will no doubt carry into the future, Lord willing.
I learned something of my own creative process. When a new project comes to mind, creating a logo for it or a graphic for it tends to make it real for me. Giving a concept a physical representation early in the process tends to help me focus on it. You’ll see several logos in the video. Some of them didn’t pass the “reality test.” Others are at varying positions in the launch cue. Getting ideas down on paper helps me not to lose them.
Also I was able to help several friends and ministries with graphics this year and a few of these projects opened doors to more ministry. I didn’t do them for the sake of opening doors, I did them for the Kingdom and God blessed it. This is a key, serve he Lord faithfully and trust Him with the blessing. Also I learned of new venues for my work, like IllustrationFriday.com doing projects on there helped me to meet some friends outside my usual circle and it challenged me to create work that communicates the Gospel. This was very beneficial in connecting my work with my faith.
Lastly, seeking God for a project every day did help me to learn to hear from God. I wish I could say I did this perfectly but of course I didn’t. I have some regrets from this year and I wonder how may times this project took me off task, but on the other hand, seeing a project like this through to completion was a wonderful blessing in itself. All in all it was a great year in a lot of ways and I am glad you in the tribe have shared this journey with me. I look forward to seeing what God does with 2012.
Artist/Pastor/Speaker Dave Weiss would love to come to your church and share his unique ministry. Dave is the founder of AMOKArts.com a ministry dedicated to helping people find and use their God-created purpose. Dave’s life was transformed when a pastor found a use for his unusual gift and his mission is to do the same for others. If your congregation has anyone in it that is having a hard time finding their purpose and where they fit into the body of Christ. Dave’s presentation is for you. For more information contact Dave Weiss at amokarts@aol.com
I wanted to alert you about two events in which I will be participating. These are put on by the Crossover Group. The first is Snowstorm 2011 Dec. 27 to 30, 2011 at Winterplace, WV
and the second is Saturate 2012 at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord NC.
If you’re anywhere near these venues or if you’d like to plan a trip check out the websites by clicking the images. I hope to see you there and if you have an event you’d like to have me paint and or speak at, contact me at amokarts@aol.com.
The Challenge
Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. Three things block us from putting down our clever and picking up our ordinary: false comparisons with others (I’m not as good a writer as _____), false expectations of ourselves (I should be on the NYTimes best seller list or not write at all), and false investments in a story (it’s all been written before, I shouldn’t bother). What are your false comparisons? What are your false expectations? What are your false investments in a story? List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.
My Response:
First I want to say I disagree with Emerson’s assertion that “the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.” I believe that right and wrong a clearly defined by God in His Word. When we start to get into right and wrong as defined by me, things get cloudy and mirky. God’s way is the way to go.
Now let me also say I really agree with what the challenge writer posted about comparison. When we begin to compare ourselves to others, we begin to try to be like them and stop being what we were created to be or we walk away defeated because we are trying to be something we were never supposed to be in the first place. I’ve fallen into this trap many times. I’ve quit doing things because I don’t feel like I measure up to someone else. but what if I was supposed to invent a different way of doing it. Did Picasso quit because his work didn’t look like everyone else’s? No, and he became one of the world’s foremost artists precisely because of his difference.
False expectations will also kill you. How many people have quit something because they couldn’t be the best in the world (or even in their community) at what they do? I know I have. There is one thing I am the best in the entire world at and it is the one thing I can do beyond the shadow of a doubt. I am the best person at being THIS David Weiss (yes there are others and I can’t be them) in the entire world. My job then is to do that well. To clean up the edges, polish the gifts, submit that will to God and go forward in being who I am made to be. His plan for me is unique in the entire universe and my life is part of that plan for the universe. I don’t get to pick if it’s large or small, I’m just privileged to be a piece in that puzzle. Congrats, you’re a piece too. Did Bob Dylan give up because he is not the world’s best singer. No, he sang his song and became the voice of his generation.
It hasn’t all been done. You still have a part to play. Play it for all your worth. Give God your best and watch Him do His best in you. This prompt really made me think about all the Bible people (or at least the good ones). We look at them as if they were superheroes but with the exception of Jesus, they weren’t. The Bible is pretty good at pointing out their flaws and their foibles. They were ordinary people just like you and me. What made them extraordinary was simple and available to everyone of us even you and me. They were ordinary people who put their ordinary lives in the hands of an extraordinary God andthat made all the difference.
Bible Reading Guide
An important part of following God is knowing what He wants and a great way to know what He wants is to read His Word. Follow this plan and you will finish reading the Bible in a year.
1 Kings 15-16; Psalm 53
1 Kings 17-18; Psalm 115
1 Kings 19-20
You can also download your own chart here.
The Challenge:
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We live in a society of advice columns, experts and make-over shows. Without even knowing it, you can begin to believe someone knows better than you how to live your life. Someone might know a particular something better – like how to bake a three-layer molten coconut chocolate cake or how to build a website – but nobody else on the planet knows how to live your life better than you. (Although one or two people may think they do.) For today, trying asking yourself often, especially before you make a choice, “What do I know about this?”
My response:
This is one thing I often share with people when it comes to sharing their faith in Christ. They inevitably talk about not sharing because they don’t know enough. It’s as if the only ones qualified to share this life-giving, life-changing message are people with a theology degree. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most pastors, most theologians are seen as paid salesmen by the people outside the church. Their response is usually far better when a trusted friend shares and invites them to faith. A friend is seen more as “satisfied customer” than “salesman.” There may be people who know a lot more theology than you, but you are the world’s foremost expert on your experience with Christ. This is a story no one can tell better than you. 1 Peter 3:15 reminds us to: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”
