Amazing Art

I was at The Foundry Church in Wallingford, where I serve as artist in residence yesterday. They are using the walls of their worship space as a gallery right now, having just held their first themed show featuring artists from the congregation. The theme was Stained Glass Masquerade. There was a lot of really nicely done art on display. I found this piece mesmerizing.

The piece is constructed of fiber, nails and plywood. The artist created the various tones by varying the amount of wrapping around the nails. I was truly amazed by the piece, and the photo doesn’t really do it justice. The shadows cast by the fiber onto the plywood ground adds even more dimensionality. This is a remarkable piece of art. Then I found out the artist who created it, Samantha Burns, is 15. My jaw just dropped. What a phenomenal talent!

The fact that an artist so young can create such a great piece of work could almost serve to be discouraging. I have serious doubts I could do a piece this good at over three times her age, but that is the wrong response. It’s not about whether or not we can create what someone else can create. Its about creating the things we are called and led to create. What are you doing with your gift? Seeing a young artist with such a great gift should not discourage us but rather encourage us in this.

The time to create is now!