CREATIVITY AT WORK
from sketches to masterpieces
Serving in Puerto Rico
They call him “The Natural Man.” And by “They” I don’t mean many people. Only those who live just outside the trenches of the mountains in the center of Puerto Rico. And they’re even fewer who know him by name — Guillermo. He’s 75 years old and lives without a safe roof since the passage of Hurricane Maria. He received electricity only 10 months after Hurricane Maria. The hurricane damaged most of his few belongings and killed half of his chickens. The rain still seeps into the structure in which he lives. Guillermo explained that he needs construction materials to be able to strengthen it and build a roof. Guillermo does not receive retirement or social security, only $64 per month of nutritional assistance.
So where do we fit into the life of Guillermo?
Well, aside from being an inspiration for surviving the fierce passing of a hurricane at the age of 75, he’s isolated. And when someone is isolated, even by choice, they still need love. It’s a human essential. And we want to love him by visiting him where he is. We also want to inspire others to find those who are least reached and noticed. The marginalized. The ostracized. The forgotten. The isolated. The recluses. The least of these. They all need friends. At the very least, a caring person to visit regularly and just be there. To talk. To listen. To lift. To hold. To grab the other end of something heavy and help move.
This is where we fit in. Artist Freedom Rodriguez has painted a portrait of The Natural Man, Guillermo. To inspire hope. To illustrate the beauty and importance of people who live on the fringes of society and the need to hem them in with love and awareness — to let them and others know they are not forgotten.
Another desire is to thank Guillermo with his own printed portrait. On our next visit, we will bring one as a gift of gratitude. The original will be donated to The Priester Foundation and featured at their 2018 Gala, to raise funds for Guillermo.
And as always, if your support us, you helped make this happen. So with grateful hearts we give thanks to God for you.
Here is a video of Guillermo and the conditions he lives in. http://www.elnuevodia.com/videos/donguillermorelatacomoelhuracanmarialosorprendioysellevosutecho-video-248652
2018 Summer Camps
This years summer camps went so well. There are many wonderful moments but two beautiful things in particular are kids from different backgrounds and cultures coming together to play, collaborate, and having fun. The second thing is the moment they experience the connection of what they are making with the makings of God. Our two camps where designed to bring about these two experiences.
The LEGO City Camp taught about the need for integration, collaboration, sharing of responsibilities, and other things that make great cities and great people. We are building block and every building or thing that is built to last needs a strong foundation.
The Art Around the World Camp taught about the different artistic styles and expressions around the world. But on a deeper level we shared how people all over the world are seeking way to tell a story—the story of their people and what they believe and how they see they world. It's important to observe, listen, learn from these stories and expressions of art because these are all point of making the connection of our one human story and God's plan for all of us.
Thank you to all the supportive families. Your campers are so creative and we serve a God who makes them that way! And a big thank you to Cumberland Community Church for partnering with us in ministry.
Martin Luther King Day Camp 2018
Every year on this special day we celebrate our freedom and remember those who live and even die for it. We use collaborative art projects to navigate through topics like equality, togetherness through diversity, and the desire to make the world a better place. We are also intentionally inclusive with this camp. This year, with the support of our Partners, we gave scholarships to 5 kids and were able to have a very diverse group of kids. This camp is a keeper! Remember us next year if you'd like to join us!
Thank you to all the parents and Partners who support us.
2017 Year in Review
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ~Philippians 1:3
Times are undoubtedly changing, and fast. In the blink of an eye, as the saying goes, and poof! Your kids are all grown up. We know this first-hand as we are raising three kids of our own. Enjoying as many moments as possible is vital to our family. So we slow down. Breathe. Place a hand on the shoulders of the ones we love, and speak with gentle eyes, words of love, wisdom, and team-spirit.
We try to cultivate a team-spirit in moments where we are involved in projects that require collaboration and depending on one another. We've had several moments of creative collaboration this year with our camps, after-school programs, and missions initiatives. The best part of what we do is being creative with kids because of their easy, bright, strokes and colors. Many of the kids we work with are from families we know. This is great because we get to play a small part in helping kids from great families grow. We are very grateful for the partnership and encouragement of friends and families that co-labor with us.
This past summer was a particularly busy one as we visited Peru, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. We hope to continually bring our art workshops to places like this where we can engage with people cross-culturally. One of Nancy's big highlights was doing a week-long art workshop for the kids at Rayo De Sol in Nicaragua. In the morning, she led a crew in mural painting to help bring new life to a classroom.
In the afternoons she led art sessions with various mediums for different ages. It was indeed a dream come true for her. She was able to bring the gospel to light in a very tactile way, notably when the teenagers made cross designs out of metal foil. After the kids made an impression on the cross, they covered it with black. It was a clear way for the kids to see that sin darkens God's original design. But that is not the end of the story. When the kids wiped the black paint off, they saw that their designs became more visible as the black paint gathered in the grooves of their drawings in the foil.
The emphasis was that God gives us a new life through Christ, and God's original design for our lives can be more clearly seen when we are forgiven. The result is a beautiful, unique masterpiece.
In this new year, we are eagerly expecting to see God at work in and through the art that people make with us. When we had a pumpkin painting workshop in October, one of the parents who came to paint with their child said, "I look forward to making this a tradition."
In an after-school program for middle school girls, they are learning to use scripture in their art making. There are just so many ways to bring the Gospel to people through creative moments. For this reason, we are very eager to continue our art adventures. We are developing partnerships with schools and ministries, local and international, that understand the communicative power of art-making.
Some things to be excited (and pray) about:
- Upcoming Martin Luther King day workshop (our focus is on collaboration and diverse community)
- On-going after-school programs that are Gospel-centered
- Partnerships with ministries where we can provide free art sessions
- A possible trip to Puerto Rico to serve in rebuilding some homes and a church and encouraging the people.
- Possible ministry connections us in Ecuador and Nicaragua.
- Building a growing partnership with friends who will support financially or volunteer in our workshops.
We covet your prayers for next years opportunities and possibilities. For now, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year.
Painting Pumpkins
We had such a great time with you painting pumpkins. I must say, you never know what's going to interest our guests and, this time around, it was the fake glitter!
For some of you, it was your first time doing a creative session with us. We hope to have more of these in the future. You can follow us on Facebook or Instagram to get announcements on future events. Links are below.
ArtServe Intl. has been a huge blessing to us and those we serve. All donations from our camps and creative sessions go towards supporting missions to share God's good news with people through art making. To date, we've done creative sessions in Kenya, Uganda, and Nicaragua. We would like to expand our reach locally in schools that lack resources for art, as well as South America. You can support this mission by saying a little prayer for us every now and then, donating monthly or on a one-time basis, or even hosting an art party in your home.
Thanks again for your involvement. We look forward to many more fun times in the future together.
ARTSERVE Intl. Become a financial partner
Creatively Responding to Crisis
“Rohingya Mother and Child” by Nancy Rodriguez
I was asked once if art can change the world? I replied, “no, but people can, and art can help us in the process.” For so long art and design has been used as an instrument for change and communication. Imagery and symbols provoke thoughts and emotions, in other words, reactions that can help bring social change.
So much of what is happening in our world is wrong and saddening. For this reason, we want to be relevant, current, and responsible with our gifts and talents and our very lives. One of the most recent tragedies moving our heart is the outbreak of violence in Myanmar that has spurred a massive refugee crisis, forcing more than 500,000 terrified Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh. What hurts our heart the most about this crisis is the children, as young as 4, getting separated and lost in the exodus.
These events are critical and needing the response of caring people worldwide. As artists who bear the name of Christ, we are compelled to use visual language to be influencers for God’s Kingdom of grace and love by bringing awareness of this current tragedy. Please join us in praying for the Rohingya who have lost their homes.
This image painted by Nancy is a reminder for you to pray for the hurting, displaced, and those fleeing religious persecution. For more information and how you can provide practical help, visit: help.rescue.org/donate/choose-humanity#
(Puerto Rico is also heavily in our hearts and we encourage prayers and assistance for them too. If you would like to support us in bringing Gods truth, beauty, and goodness in creative ways please donate HERE.)
...let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ~ 1 John 3:18
Start of a good Summer
Kingdom Camp
Our June 2017 Kingdom Camp was an absolute blast! Kids, 9-14 yrs old, learned the process of creating stories, characters, and even a little animation. Everyone received their own blank book in which to begin their story making and illustrating skills. Some of the kids wrote their story complete with a hero, a villain, a sidekick, and an overcoming trial. They analyzed characters from different books and movies, however the most epic true story we looked to for inspiration was that of Jesus, our loving Hero who will do anything to rescue his bride, the Church.
Exploring South America
Thanks to the generous support of Cumberland Community Church and the proceeds from after school programs and summer camps, we were able to take a long awaited exploratory trip to Ecuador and Peru. It was a sweet time of connecting with family members, the culture, and the land (with a little stomach trouble here and there). We were able to visit local churches and ministries to better understand spiritual climates and ministry needs. Freedom met with pastors from La Fuente church in Quito and City Church in Lima and also visited an all girls home that houses children who have been in abusive and at-risk situations. It is our hope to continue sowing into these ministry connections and we are praying for long-term partnerships. Later this summer, Nancy and Joshua will be heading to Nicaragua with a team to bless a ministry called Rayo de Sol. Please pray for us as we seek the Lord en Español!
Open Studio 1st & 3rd Saturdays
Parents, do you have a budding artist? A curious tinkerer? A kid with creative sparks and no outlet? Starting in August consider bringing your son or daughter to Cumberland Community Church on the 1st & 3rd Saturday of each month for Open Studio art sessions, from 4:30pm - 6pm. Mr. Freedom is an amazing illustrator and he will be teaching kids ages 10 - 14. This is open to all skill levels and is especially great for kids who are interested in learning to draw comic book or anime characters. There will be plenty of experience with a variety of media, styles, and art techniques. There is always a chance for some out of the box projects as well (ex. leather working, spray painting, woodworking, sculpting, and more). If you are a recurring monthly supporter of our ministry at $30/month you can join us for our Open Studio time at no extra cost. Otherwise, it's $40/month. Here's the link to support: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/asi-support
And last but not least, ArtServe has joined forces with Artists in Christian Testimony International (A.C.T. Intl). A.C.T. Intl exists to mobilize and equip artistic and innovative ministries and missionaries (like us) for Christian work around the world. This is very big news because they will help with the coaching, accountability, organization, non-profit status, and administrative systems that we'll need to move forward in ministry. All future financial support for ArtServe can be given through A.C.T. Intl.
The Past Few Months
MINI MASTERS was a wonderful 8 week long after school art program in partnership with The Stonehaven School. Each week we learned about a famous artist and painted one of their masterpieces. This was a technical, challenging, and enriching program that brought great rewards for our students, grades Kindergarten through Third. They worked with acrylic paint weekly and in the end, they created their own materpiece. We were truly impressed with the determination these students showed and the skills they developed, but we always found way to have fun and relax.
SATURDAY ART SESSIONS at Cumberland Community Church has been a growing group of young artists. We try different creative things each week while teaching important principles, like perseverance. This is especially important when you are developing confidence or when you make mistakes. We use challenges in creating art as powerful teaching moments for life and faith in Christ. Our takeaway verse: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
Martin Luther King Day Camp
"Unified Diversity" are the two words I would use to describe this past Martin Luther King Day camp. We had a lot of creative fun learning about collaborating with others and sharing our resources — especially with others that are different. Just look at this wonderful group!
CRE8IVE FEST '16
What a blast! This month we celebrated our first year as a non-profit ministry with our Cre8ive Fest. We served our guests and supporters with creative stations for all ages. There were craft tables, delicious treats, and a painting station where participants painted small worship banners. We showcased student artworks and auction items from local businesses and professional artists. We also took this opportunity to explain what our message is and why we exist as a ministry. In a nutshell, we offer faith enrichment and life-empowering art programs that share God’s love with all people.
Through the Cre8ive Fest, we were able to raise $2470 towards our goal of $9200. We are very thankful for the support of those who attend the event yet this was just the beginning of our year-end fundraising for 2017. We still have $6730 to go! And we need your help to bring God’s love to local and global communities in need.
Here’s a breakdown of what we can do with your help:
- Latin American Missions $3,500
- Int’l (Art Camp) Scholarships (2 weeks) $2,250
- Local (Art Camp) Scholarships (2 weeks) $2,250
- After-School Art Program (10 sessions) $1,200 for under-funded public schools in Cobb County, GA.
Offering these creative, enrichment opportunities will lend way to deeper conversations about life, faith, and purpose. The art ministry we offer is our way of discipleship and helps to teach others about the love God gives us through Jesus.
Please prayerfully consider a generous year-end gift so that we can have a greater outreach in our local community and in Latin America. Visit artserveint.org/support to make a tax-deductible, life-changing gift today! And thank you.