Labels

I have really been enjoying Andy Stanley videos lately.  Andy Stanley is the pastor of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta.  He is a wonderful speaker and has the ability to really relate the bible in a very practical way.

Recently I watched this video.....

http://www.northpoint.org/messages/youll-be-glad-you-did

Although it is a message that is intended for a middle school audience, I found it VERY profound.  The topic was "labels."  The labels we wear and the labels that other people put on us and the labels we put on ourselves.  His point was so simple, but so profound.

Only 3 people have the authority to label something.....
1.  The manufacturer - the person or entity that creates something has the authority to define what the thing is, how it is to be used etc.

2.  The owner - the owner can go around his house and label things as to their use or home or category.  No one else has the right to enter someone's home and start to put labels on things.  That would be very wierd.

3.  The purchaser - the purchaser can put his name on an item that he has bought to ensure that everyone else knows it's his.  It can be returned if lost.  It can be recognized if found.

What a cool analogy to the way that God labels us.  He is truly our manufacturer.  The bible says that he saw us even before we were born.  He is the one to defined who we are and what our purpose is.  He is truly our owner.  He can label us for this use or that use.  He can tell us what we do and where our home is.  He is truly our purchaser.  He died to redeem us and he has put his name on us.  Everyone else can know we're his.  We can be found if we are lost.  We know to whom we belong.

What an interesting Easter message that I wasn't expecting to find!  It's a really cool thought to ponder.

 

This piece of art is not quite finished but I wanted to post before the Easter weekend was out.  The words say...."Her heart chose to remember what had always been true."  The sun's rays have the "labels" that her heart is remembering.....Enough.  Accepted.  Free.  Worthy.  Forgiven.  Beautiful.  LOVED.

 



 

I hope your heart will choose to remember that only your manufacturer, your owner and your purchaser have the right to label you.  And those labels are all ones of grace and love.

 

Happy Easter!  Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

The One Evening Challenge

Everyone always comments about my artwork that it looks so intricate and detailed.  Little do they know how terribly random and un-thought-out it is.  :)  That is one of the joys of collage.  I often have very little plan for what the final product will look like.  It's a matter of just adding layers and adding layers and eventually it takes on a life of it's own.  At every stage I think to myself....."Oh shoot....I think I just ruined it!"  And of course, sometimes I have, but more often than not, I just add another layer and it takes on a new life.  It surprises me many times at what comes out of nothing but a few scraps of paper, some dabbed on paint and a few squiggles with a pen.

So I've been doing some wondering.....I wondered if I could teach a few basics of collage to a few friends.  I wondered if they could complete a project in one evening.  I wondered if I could show them that they could do it too and it really wasn't as hard as they thought.  So....I devised a challenge.

I sent out a quick email to see who were brave enough to give it a try and had 4 takers.

I whipped up a couple of examples of my own so they could see what they were in for.....

This was mine.....

 

(ok...so I'm not really crazy about the football player shoulders, but otherwise, it was a good example).

 

 

And this is what they managed to create in only one evening (2 1/2 hours).

 

 

 

Didn't they do a fantastic job?  I was amazed!  Great job gang.  A good time was had by all and I proved to them that they could do it too.  I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED what they created!

 

Can't wait to try it again!

 

Thanks for stopping by....

 

Julia



Merry Christmas!

Oh how I have neglected the blog in the last few months.....but I feel like it still deserves a Merry Christmas post.  Hopefully the posts will be more consistent in the New Year.

Wishing for peace and love and joy for each one today and that we would remember these true gifts of the season.

Merry Christmas!  Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

This + This = This

You gotta love Pinterest.  Although it is an epic time waster, I have found some fantastic inspiration there.  If only there was time and energy and unlimited supplies. 

I am attending a wedding shortly and wanted to see what I could come up with for a wedding gift.  I found THIS.  Which is gorgeous!

 

And THIS tutorial from A Beautiful Mess which was so creative.



I added my own little twist and came up with THIS........

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Although it turned out pretty well, the "DEEPLY" did not come out as crisp as the other words.  I'll have to touch that up a bit but overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Wow...it was tricky to get the letters spaced well!  Still a few spots that look "off." Oh well....

Finally.....actually used Pinterest to accomplish something!

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Summertime Fun

This weekend has been gorgeous here.  I have my first official sunburn which is always the way I start off the summer.  It rained a bit overnight but I'm hoping that today will be just as lovely.

We got the flowers in the ground that have been sitting around for a couple weeks.  It feels like we're making progress on our yard.

Our local art gallery is doing a show this summer with the theme "Summertime."  It's a pretty broad theme but I wanted to try to make something that I could post in the show.  I've had this idea of creating a beach scene, so I gave it a try.  Here's what I came up with.

"Her heart belonged here."



I loved the way the waves and water turned out.  It looks very blustery.  It reminds me of the waves on the beach in Nice, France. 

Ah...Nice....my heart definately belongs there!  :)

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

Mother Daughter Weekend Part 2

As promised....finally.....is my half of the mother daughter weekend art experiment.

This was my creation.  The words are hard to read.  They say "Her heart kept on dreaming."  I was really happy with the colors and how it all worked together.

We had a great time together creating.  I sent this one home to Nanaimo with my mom as her Mother's Day present.  I know it has a good home amongst the many other pieces of art on her art collection wall.

I am enjoying this type of artwork more and more.  It was really fun to be able to teach the process to someone.  She was an A+ student. 

Thanks for stopping by....

Julia

Mother Daughter Weekend

My mother is a true artist.  She has been painting with oils for quite a number of years and has done a fantastic job of it.  She can make enormous canvases of beautiful landscapes and gardens.

I am not a painter.  I cannot paint or draw things that look realistic.  At least not to my critical eye.  However..... I have been exploring a number of art forms that definately are more to my liking and talents.  More crafty than fine art....but I'm enjoying it more and more everyday.

My mom recently visited for Mothers Day weekend and I decided that I would teach her to do my current obsession.....collage.

Rather than the precision that comes with painting, my collages are all about being random and fearless.  Splash some paint here and some doodles there.....and if you don't like it?  Well.....just slap on another layer with some mod podge.  It's more like play than art and it feels very free.

She picked it up beautifully and we had a fun couple of days creating our works of art.

Good job Mom!  Stay tuned for a glimpse of what I created that weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Julia