CREATIVITY AT WORK
from sketches to masterpieces
Dream big.
Dream big. Make plans. Enjoy the process. It may get messy. It will be worth it.
If you think that was something out of a life coaching session, you might be right but it was also what took place this past week in our Architecture Camp. I simply love how a creative maker-space lab opens up the creative mind. There are problems to solve, projects to accomplish, a set amount of time, and the supplies you need to get the job done. The experience is so invigorating. Kids move about in organic ways as they experiment with the supplies in order to make their ideas come alive. And besides the occasional danger of enduring a burn on their finger thanks to the glue gun, the fellow architects are happy even when their ideas change or don't come out as they imagined.
Collaborative Mural of Places in Marietta
With various safer gluing options, kids are often willing to risk the glue gun. I suppose they judge that the outcomes are worth it. Or perhaps they like a little danger aspect. In this particular camp, making other things with hot glue became a hit. Several kids discovered that dried hot glue looks a lot like water for a lake in their city block display. Other kids tried to find molds to fill with hot glue in order to make a fish tank for their room design.
Let's talk about the mess that falls by the wayside of a beautiful creation. Can an artist make something beautiful without surrounding himself with unwanted fragments of what it takes to make it? Can the junior architect make her imaginative world without pieces of foam core, and markers littered by her side? This is part of the process and I think it is one of the most enjoyable for me to see. I don't like the clean-up and clutter as much as the next person but I see the fruit of enduring it for the sake of allowing my young friends to be unhindered in their making. Clean-up will take place eventually like my wise mother always said, but the experience of carefree creation is more valuable.
Lastly, is it ok to work hard and have your big plans fail? We attempted to make a giant geo-dome. It mostly worked out! But some of the cardboard triangle units were not strong enough and they didn't hold their shape too well. The kids were still able to go inside it and see light coming in through the star-shaped cracks. We learned that when building something things may not always work out but we gain experience and that makes it worthwhile. We build in faith!
Geo Dome
Thanks to all the parents and partners who support this ministry.
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10 NIV
Showing Up
Lately, I've been thinking about the word, constancy. I am reminded of the beach. I know we are in the middle of winter, and depending on where you live, you may be experiencing it in all its glory. Gray skies included.
But when I think about this word, I remember the waves with a perfect blue sky and white puffy clouds. One day in my 20's I recall visiting the beach alone and just standing there at the shore bracing each wave with my pant legs rolled up. Suddenly, I had this sense of understanding when I realized that one thing was for sure. If I remained in this place the waves would surely come. I may sink a little, and I may even be moved, but the waves would never stop. Constancy. Like His love, like God's faithfulness, like His word. The meaning of the word constancy has to do with being loyal and dedicated. Like being committed to a spouse. But it is also a quality of permanence, persistence, and having an enduring nature.
The beautiful thing about qualities like these is that they are reflected in the Trinity. Also, that we are partakers in this divine nature. This means we either long for constancy or we are engaged in reflecting it in some way. How does this expression of steadiness help us in our studio practice as creative people?
When we are consistent and regularly engaged in the creative process, the outcomes are beautiful and even surprising. We no longer rely on inspiration to fuel us, rather we fuel our efforts by "showing up." When we remain persistent in this pursuit, we discover that we are only scratching the surface. There is always work to do. We can't help but insist on being heard for we have something important to share. The faithful exchange of "showing up" brings about a beautiful body of work that speaks to the viewer. How perfect.
What if we are that sacred place where He faithfully shows up to create and the end result is a beautiful body, a temple, a bride? What is your studio practice? How does consistently showing up to do the "work" end up surprising and even delighting you? How do you push through when you lack inspiration, insight, or lack of direction?
These are some questions we just want you to ponder. We will also talk about these questions in our next Revelations of The Artist Creative Group. You’re invited to join the conversation on Thursday 18th, at 7 pm on ZOOM 299 064 3514
Creatively serving,
Sharing Life, Love, and Community.
We have been doing a lot of walking, thinking, and looking up at the sky. With each step we take, we notice the oxygen coming and going in a cleansing pattern. Highlights from our regular hikes have been the colors of the sunset. We call ourselves Sunset Chasers. Do you love the sunset sky? Sunsets are guaranteed to look different each time you get yourself to your favorite lookouts. We can describe the colors, the scattering of light rays, but mostly we are inspired to just praise.
Recently we were able to host a painting workshop for a small group of children. We had the opportunity to create a space where supplies were just available for kids to explore. There is much to be said for an environment of exploration and mercy, where mistakes are just ideas that need a shift, leading to a new outcome. The freedom of reaching out to grab endless paper and paint is an important experience for anyone and it seems to fit children quite well. I hope you can offer yourself time, mercy, and exploration in whatever you love to do.
Thanks to parents and all that contributed to this creative program.
"It was very good!"
I am not surprised to find the craft section in Walmart practically bare. I chuckle when I see there is a shortage of tie-dye, Mod Podge, and even paint. It’s also interesting to find that even needles are in low quantities in Hobby Lobby. We have all had some level of having to hunker down recently. It’s no wonder that with time on our hands, and our kids on our hands, we have begun to have an itch to make something. I recently asked students if they found themselves making something during the quarantine. Some have begun to play instruments, create beats, write songs, make leather crafts, and tie-dye (of course).
There is something so satisfying in making something that wasn’t there before, something that is unique because you’ve added your personal point of view and flair. Can you imagine how magnanimously more fulfilling it must have been for God to speak things into existence? It was void, and then it wasn’t. The emptiness was swallowed up by light, life, order, and beauty.
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
When the Bible says that He beheld what He had made and saw that it was very good, I think what He felt was satisfied. (This is my very puny human word for what He felt.)
Meditate on that.
How many times do you look at something that you have made, struggling through it, seeing only the failures? Pushing through the ugly stage of creating is hard. It feels vulnerable, but once you have finished your creation, I hope that you have experienced seeing that it was very good. It may not be what you imagined. It may have imperfections. For us, the “very good” comes not only by how something looks but also by how we felt during the process. There are many studies out now that explain what artists have known - art making is good for the soul, mind, and body. Handicrafts like weaving, bookbinding, carving, sewing, and woodworking have equally positive effects. It spurs that inner joy and peace that is part of our DNA as creators after God’s own image. Right before school started in our state, we were able to squeeze in a couple of small art camps with kids who braved going out in order to have art and community.
One of the camps was called Art Maker Mash-Up. It was good that it was a small group because we used a lot of supplies, techniques, and it was messy at times. But what a joyous young community. One of our projects failed. I blame the mesmerizing effect of watching my husband and the kids mix water and cement. I forgot that the mixture should have been like peanut butter rather than like runny pancake mix. Alas, our mosaic stepping stones cracked in the end, becoming excavation opportunities for the kids who decided to dig out the sea glass. An attempt that led to a failure presented a new opportunity—the opportunity to fail with grace and to still call the process GOOD. The kids never wavered. No one was too disappointed because it is not only the product that brings joy but the process as well. We looked at our cracked cement and smiled. I think God called it “very good,” and so did we.
STEAM Camp
Our first ever RC-STEAM camp where our focus was to build, construct, and marvel at God's creation.
Although we initially hoped for our usual group of about 15 kids, we realized understandably, that the current situation was going to keep most families home. Of course, the Lord had such great plans through this. Our own kids were able to participate and my older son was “the expert,” having built several RC kits in the past. It's important at this time to see each opportunity as valuable, no matter how small. And if we could be a light and a source of rest from such heavy and troubling times, then we were very willing to serve. Perhaps we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, but indeed, the outcome we received from the Lord was so sweet.
We believe the impact was deeper and the individual attention and assistance we were able to give each child were greater. On the first day, the campers and our two kids (ages range from 10 years old to 15) got their race car kit. The box, containing 250+ pieces, was gigantic. The skill levels needed to build this kit could be on the adult range, but we knew we could empower kids to try and to be successful. The kits took about 6 hours to build and it was spread over three days. The final touch was spray painting the body of the truck. The results were great. Each truck was of the same model but was individualized by the kids to result in a shiny, large-wheeled, fully charged powerhouse.
Although a bit of a learning curve, the kids had a blast learning how to drive them. On the fourth and last day, we built cardboard ramps. The amount of mechanical building, concentration, construction, and fine motor skills used in this camp was on a high level. The kids made sour faces at the mention of math, but we assured them that although math is unavoidable in a STEAM camp, the math required included a satisfying result. And so, we thought about a geometric shape - the triangle - and how it can be used to make ultra-strong structures. Once complete, the handmade, measured, and planned-out-by-kids ramps would possibly make the cars fly for a second, that’s the satisfying part. The outcomes were amazing!
The cars crashed, flew, flipped, and ride over each other. It was hilarious fun but we did not forget to have daily devotions centered on Intelligent Design.
It was serendipitous because we had just ordered a book titled Made In Heaven. It was a perfect addition to our camp because it highlights God's creation and man's attempt to solve problems using technology from the natural world. We learned that a mantis shrimp has 12 color receptors, whereas we only have 3, and can see thousands of colors we can't. We learned about the design of our hands and how scientists are trying to recreate prosthetics as high tech but still can't. We read about God's response to Job as he highlights the "treasures of the snow." We pondered what a Leviathan or Behemoth was as described in scripture. We have to tell you, as a nerdy science and history enthusiasts, We were all about it!
What a blessing we get to empower and inspire campers in this way. Can’t wait to have another camp like this!
2019-2020
Twenty-nineteen was a great year full of creativity, challenge, and change in the horizon. Our summer camps were so much fun and we were also able to do various workshops, including a sewing workshop, a clay workshop, and some art contests. Our art contests, in particular, were a lot of fun because we had local sponsors in Cobb County and we created The GOYA Box. Kids were able to get a small kit and participate for a chance to win prizes. Freedom was able to visit Ecuador twice this past year to continue building relationships with ministries, missionaries, and churches. During his time he felt called to gift portrait paintings of a Quichua pastor and his wife. We both returned to Ecuador on a vision trip and experience the beautiful service at this indigenous church. At this time we presented Freedom's paintings and learned more about this amazing pastor and wife team. Pastor Luis shared with us his story of faith through persecution and poverty, not knowing how to read, and not even owning a pair of pants until he was a young man. With his woven wrap around his waist, and with the encouragement of his mother's faith he pressed on and found a way to receive biblical training and support from a nearby ministry to start and build his church. We encouraged them with the meaning of the painting, a word we received from the Lord, and with prayer. After our return, we felt from the Lord that things would change. Perhaps He is calling us deeper, and to be more engaged in the woven tapestries of new and existing relationships.
Pastor Luis and wife Laura receiving their portraits and a word of encouragement.
Twenty-twenty is our anticipated year for growth and is already in full swing with the vision of full-time art and ministry to look forward to. Our camps for summer have a STEAM focus and we are working on putting together a new GOYA Box to inspire kids to create and show their work. Pray about donating to help us create a new art kit for kids, or donate toward our camps so we can give scholarships to campers. We are more assured than ever of our calling to empower the minds and inspire the hearts of youth. Our core methods include meaningful creative experiences and a maker culture that is infused with God’s truth, beauty, and goodness. Our vision is to instill a life-long sense of wonder, servant-leadership, and a fearless approach for craftsmanship while keeping God at the center of life’s purpose. Let's go!
Don't forget to follow us on social media to stay updated on our projects and whereabouts.
Check out what’s coming up!
Summer Creative Camps
For Creative Game Camp we focused daily on the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and let its virtues be our guide. It was an amazing time! It seemed as though the virtues of peace, patience, kindness, and self-control just flowed through the group. They created a quality chess board, their own unique game with handmade pieces, a travel game box, played hours of Wall Ball, and Kickball.
Campers at play with watersabers
Joy and goodness permeated our community. I'm really thankful to have the opportunity to spend time playing with and getting to know these kids better. I hope they gained a renewed passion for board games and team games to share with their siblings, friends, and families. We hope that parents and grandparents enjoyed a good game of chess, knowing that this classic game was handmade, piece by piece by their kiddos. A warm thank you to the participating families.
Safari Camp Crew
For our Safari Art Camp which included a visit to the Atlanta zoo, it was amazing to see the kids sit and make simple sketches of gorilla, panda, and reptiles. We were delighted to find out that Zoo Atlanta generously allows educators to borrow Cases For Conservation. Cases For Conservation are giant rolling boxes with hands-on activities and manipulatives for students of different grades. We borrowed the fourth and seventh-grade boxes, which included skulls of a wolf, orangutan, giant panda, gorilla, and several birds that kids were able to draw and manipulate.
Gorilla Skull
From day one we invited the campers to use the space to the max, maker-space style. Although we had projects at hand, we encouraged the kids to be free, curious, innovative, and proactive with almost any material we had as long as it wasn’t a heat tool which require more supervision. Speaking of heat tools, one of our projects included wood burning and it was an instant hit even for younger campers.
One of our highlights included sculpting a safari animal and thinking about elements that make that creature a hippo versus a rhino, for example. The kids really became passionate about sculpting, using high-quality clay and asked for more. (An advanced sculpt-it clay workshop is in the works! Stay posted as this will be a great opportunity for kids to learn high school level wire armatures and standing figures!)
We did have a blooper in this camp. As we tried to get the kids prepared for our field trip, we learned of a technique using spray paint on t-shirts. Everything we read on it seemed so good but when we tried it, the outcomes were less than excellent. It was so scratchy and stiff, with a paint odor even after 2 washes. I appreciated their can-do, positive attitudes as we talked about the possibility of a failed project. Really any project can fail. We do as much research as possible. Sometimes we even make samples or troubleshoot through the mind of a 10-year-old but there’s always a chance that lessons or projects will be a flop. The kids took it in stride and some of them still loved and wore their shirts. They sure loved the chance to spray paint! This is a perfect example of “it’s all about the process, not the product.” The empowering experience and process of making stuff is so deep and important, even when the outcome or product may not show it. The art show at the end of the week turned out to be one of our best! Thanks to parents and student campers for making this an amazing camp. Here are some more pics.
MLK Jr. Day Camp 2019
Each year we enthusiastically look forward to our Martin Luther King Jr. workshop. We are thankful to parents who value what we do and to the kids who invest their time in order to learn about this very important man and his work. Many thanks also to our supporters who directly impacted our ministry by sponsoring a few of the campers who otherwise would not be able to attend.
It is our esteem effort, particularly with this camp, to create an atmosphere of diversity among our group and purposefully teach team building activities to foster community. In order to get the kid's thinking about what it takes to get diverse groups together with the same goal, one of the games we played was a marble run game. It was interesting to see the different personalities, challenges, and problem solving skills that arose. It was our hope to encourage them to work together but also to imagine the difficulties that come with creating, joining, and working toward a common goal. They learned that Rosa Parks was a spark that got the ball rolling in the Civil Rights Movement, but it took effort from many people to actually unified action to accomplish real change.
A highlight of the day came when we sat together and tried to learn a knot using para cord in order to create a key chain. Together, adults and kids, we helped each other, teaching and re-teaching one another to create this pattern of knots. It was an awesome blessing to hear the kids, some of whom just met that day, helping one another. This simple act of friendship was a beautiful picture of tying knots of togetherness and peace amongst those in our community. We had volunteers help to fuse different cords together for the kids to make a finished product. While it was time consuming, the kids showed so much patience and determination to get this done. And so we continued this way working on projects together, collaborating with one another, making way for one another. Although the kids didn't leave the camp with many accomplished projects to take home, I know they left knowing they are a key member in God's movement to love, fusing kindness and respect to our fellow man.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them. Hosea 11:4
- Nancy Rodriguez
Arts Ministry Director
GOYA's First Show & Contest
Gallery Of Young Artists Debut - Opening music by Jeremiah
What a great turn out for GOYA’s debut! Parents where really appreciative and the young artists who participated had fun. Family and friends gathered to support. Sponsors were happy to give back. And we loved giving this opportunity for the young talented students. We are so grateful for those who supported and those who made it out to the event.
14 very creative kids
First Place Winner posing
Our 14 GOYA Self-Portrait 2018 participants
These 14 young artists participated in our Creative Giving campaign.
Whenever you purchase any of our GOYA art boxes another box is given to a child in need. We encourage creative giving. Buy an GOYA art box today!
Summer Review 2018
A Rodriguez Family Review
This year we had an opportunity to visit Ecuador as a family. Our trip had a double purpose since we were able to visit Nancy’s extended family. The other reason for a visit was to explore what ministry opportunities there are available in Quito and the surrounding areas. We hoped to find some really good connections not only for ArtServe but also for our church, Cumberland Community Church. Our hopes were not disappointed as we connected with ministries and missionaries living there full time.
We were able to knit ourselves with the missionaries and the people, even for just a short while, and fully embrace our surroundings.
We visited with ministry teams, directors, and missionaries while gathering information to present to our missions ministry of our church. We mainly stayed in a small rural town, named Calacali. Not coincidentally, our lodging was a short walk from Nancy’s family. It was a retreat cabin run by a Christian couple from South Africa. We had such a wonderful time with them as well and it was such a comfort to Nancy, knowing that this couple lives near and frequently prays for the people that live in that area.
We also spent some time in Otavalo, an indigenous artisan town. The native culture, crafts, and artistry is so strong and beautiful there. The highlight of our trip was toward the end when we went to Ibarra to visit missionary friends who are starting a small church. They invited us to do an art workshop in their community event. It was such a blessing to be able to share an art project that helped point people to the Gospel. The aim was for kids but since the mothers stayed to watch, we also included them.
The Holy Spirit really touched the hearts of the mothers as they created a design on a metal cross while hearing the words, “You are his workmanship.”
As they covered that design with black paint, they agreed that we have a problem that covers up our original beauty, sin. When they received a paper towel and began wiping the black paint off their metal design they saw that the design could be seen more clearly. They understood, as they wiped of the black paint, that…
Jesus came to forgive our sin, that He alone can heal and make things beautiful again. There were tears and grateful hearts, open to the Gospel as we and several others began to pray with the mothers, while their children excitedly made more crosses.
In the end, I think we came back changed..our hearts enlarged, our own children seeing the value of cross cultural ministry. We are truly thankful for these opportunities made possible by supporters and summer art camps. Perhaps this will lead to future ministry and teams visiting Ecuador. We shall see!
~ Freedom and Nancy Rodriguez