Does anyone else struggle with the fact that art is so nonlinear? I doubt there is any path that any artist has taken that is exactly the same as anyone else. I guess that is true of all of life, but sometimes it feels too abstract for me. There are so many choices, so many mediums, so many paths to take. In walking with the Lord, I know His desire is never for us to find the easiest and least bumpy path, and so I suppose that carries over to art as well. His chief aim is not our comfort, but rather growing us up in Him. While I know there is a certain ease that comes in His presence and glory, there will still remain in this life what the Bible calls trials and tribulations. We are still living in a fallen place, and we still always have choices to make every day. I’m not sure if I’m expressing myself clearly. But I also know that the enemy of our souls desires that we quit, and so he tries to overtake our thoughts with overwhelm or imposter syndrome, or both. I heard a sermon where Bill Johnson said that he can’t afford to think thoughts about himself that God doesn’t think. And I couldn’t help but wonder last night if that doesn’t apply to us as artists as well. What it made me realize is that I have been trying to do this in my own strength. There will always be career acceleration paths and training and ten step programs, and those are all good, but only in Him can we find our purpose. He knows why He called us to be artists, and so we can expect that He can work out the path we need to be on. And so I’m going forward today expecting Him to show me. I’m going to bring this gift before Him and ask Him to breathe on it. I’m going to submit my plans to Him, and daily involve Him in the decisions I make in my art. That is my intention and so I’m placing it here, and perhaps you can help hold me accountable if you sense I’m going off.
Proverbs 3: 5-6-Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [a]direct your paths.
I went to look up Philippians 1:6 to copy here, and the first website I came across had this image:
image by Sue Chastain/Pixabay
Isn’t that just like Him?
He is good.
Thanks for stopping by!
emstudiocreative.com 
I think the fact that art is so non-linear makes it exciting and enticing. It also allows you to find your own voice and expression, which could be many different styles if you want it to be. I love that. Sure, I do struggle to finish certain things for exactly that reason. My mind starts to wander or get excited about something else before I’ve finished. It’s usually a lack of skill or proficiency, which gets me stuck or takes the fun away, so I need to work on expanding my skills. That is more of a challenge if you have such varied interests, styles, and mediums you work with.
As far as life goes, I am often overwhelmed. It’s satisfying to be able to release those feelings and express that through art making. I think God wants it to be fun for us to use or gifts, so it shouldn’t feel hard or like a labor…I believe…but at the same time it takes practice and diligence to get the skills so that it is fun and more smooth and intuitive a process. Most of all, we have to invest in our talents by taking the time to develop them further. I think it’s a sin not to do so. I’m glad God made me who I am, even if my life has been a bit challenging. All those parts in my life and in my art making may seem overwhelming and maybe even like it doesn’t fit together, or parts maybe we’re mistakes or shouldn’t have happened, but in the end God incorporates all the scraps of our life into something beautiful that all makes sense and fits together beautifully. Maybe that’s why I love art making so much because it is a reflection of our lives. God will help us figure out how to pull it all together into one beautiful, cohesive work of art!!
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Yes I totally agree! I am excited by it most of the time 😊 Thank you for such thoughtful encouragement, I appreciate you! 💗
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You’re welcome.
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By the way, I loved these two pieces, especially the first. I love the different textures and patterns and the lace. I love how you use stitches. I want to learn how to do that. Also, I like the reflective questioning in this post. You really got me thinking!
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