ARTIST NOTES |
|
Week 22 7/24/2016
Title of drawing: "The Vulnerable God" (Luke 2) Artist thoughts: Today's drawing focuses on the vulnerability of a newborn. Any further effort of my own to visually portray the infinite wrapped up in the finite doesn't suffice. To elaborate, I'd like to quote artist Makoto Fujimura's Christmas Eve address at the closing reception of a benefit exhibit in Japan. "A Japanese pastor wrote that the most important message of Christmas is that Jesus was born as a babe, weak and vulnerable to the world. A baby is utterly dependent on a mother and a father, and others helping the baby to survive. Imagine, one who would claim to be the all-powerful Creator in flesh, becoming vulnerable and DEPENDENT on fallen human beings like us! But when you think about it, a baby’s strength also lies in this weakness, as he or she draws people together. The message of Christmas is a paradox. It is through the weak that power is displayed. It is through the vulnerability, that true lasting security is gained. It is through being utterly dependent on others, that a true community is created." View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 21 7/16/2016
Title of drawing: "Reviving Hope" (Nehemiah 8, Malachi 1, 3, & 4, Ezra 7) Artist thoughts: We may mess up but God is always faithful, always good and his discipline restores us. After returning from bondage to the Babylonians, respect and honor for God's word was renewed when Ezra read God's law to God's people. That led to prayer, confession, and repentance. Like a mirror, God's law showed God's people their lack but it couldn't cleanse them. God's character and provision is what cleanses. This drawing of a balloon represents what happened next. Ezra called for a celebration. Aligning our heart with God's isn't just about where we're at and what we do but who God is. God's people had a festival and the focus shifted from their lack according to God's law to their life according to God's character and promises. Hope was a result. Hope in the one who God would send to save us all from ourselves, to save us from our sin. I see this balloon as a celebration and a hope that God's people were choosing to cling to rather than the despair that ensued when their sin was revealed through God's law. We know that hope to be Jesus Christ. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. -Proverbs 13:12 View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 20 7/10/2016
Title of drawing: "The Danger of "Us" vs. "Them"" (Jonah 1 -4; Hebrews 1:1-2) Artist thoughts: Willful, uncoerced obedience depends on trust. Trust for honesty, trust for fairness, trust for compassion, and trust for justice. History reveals God to be trustworthy and our willingness to trust God to be inconsistent. When our heart harbors hate, revenge, or prejudice we forsake the faithful love of God towards us and towards others. Mistrust will infest a heart like that. Through God's marvelous mercy toward Nineveh God saved Jonah from Jonah. Unknowingly swallowed up by God's love and mercy, Jonah was humbled finding himself presevered in the belly of a huge fish. Jonah was given a moment of clarity that transformed his "Us vs. Them" mentality into an obedient act of "Us FOR Them". Jesus tells us to love our enemy. Nineveh definitely met the criteria of an enemy for Jonah. Let's choose justice, mercy, and compassion toward others. Choosing to walk around in a self constructed box of our own prejudice will perilously veil us from the heart of God. Our "us vs. them" scenario must break down and become an "us for them" mindset. This drawing is a warning. What are these people doing in a box? I propose this box can ask each and everyone of us two personal questions: "Will we be inclusive or exclusive when sharing God's love?", and "Will we react with fear or respond with God's love in the face of distrust, revenge, and anger?" View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 19 7/3/2016
Title of drawing: "A Miraculous Rescue" (Daniel 6) Artist thoughts: Sometimes the right decision can have scary consequences. Trapped in the dark of night and finding himself prey to a room of hungry lions, Daniel faced certain death when a decision to worship God ran counter to man's authority. What did Daniel see? Could he see anything? I think it's safe to assume he thought his death would be violent and immediate being thrown into a lions den. But it wasn't. He didn't die. Did he sit there for hours? Did he dare to move? When his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him how many lions could he count? By his release at sunrise Daniel could bear witness to the supernatural. His faith led him to a circumstance where he saw God move. God miraculously rescued Daniel. The expressive marks in and around these lions merely hint and point to God's power at work that night to close the mouths of these lions and rescue this man. Changing our selfish hearts and rescuing us from our sin is also miraculous. Only God himself can do this. All our efforts of perfection and consistency fall short and miss the mark. When we accept Jesus's life, death, and resurrection as authoritative to our lives God miraculously rescues us. A new relationship with our creator can begin. In every day life or in the face of death what have we seen? How can we bear witness to the rescue and transformation of our own lives because of what God has done? View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 18 6/26/2016
Title of drawing: "Ears to Hear and Eyes to See" (Isaiah 9, 11, 40, 50, 53, 55, 60) Artist thoughts: Similar to the days of Isaiah, today's culture bears witness to lives lived walking in darkness never perceiving the truth or knowingly supressing it to live their own way. In contrast, God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. He is the light by which we live and breathe yet we stumble in our own sin thinking we can figure out a better way to live. We are designed by God and find fulfillment in him. Knowing us better than we know ourselves, he provides exactly what we need in our darkness. Isaiah bore witness to the promise of a Savior. In the light of the cross we see God's rescuer to be Jesus Christ. Today's drawing depicts the marvelous transition from having eyes but not seeing and ears but not hearing to the restoration of our senses and an awakening to the Author of all creation. The blindfold is loosened and the headphones are disengaged. An excerpt from a hymn by Charles Wesley sums it up: Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray-- I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. - excerpt "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 17 6/19/2016
Title of drawing: "A Leper Healed" (2 Kings 5) Artist thoughts: Naaman, an army commander and brave warrior, was highly regarded by those who knew him or knew of him. As we see in 2 Kings 5, he didn't want God's way unless it was his way, but he needed a miracle. He had leprosy. Because of his status he followed a chain of command expecting to get a miracle by way of a king's command. That didn't work. When directed to visit the prophet Elisha he expected the prophet to greet him with honor and magically wave his hand over his leprosy and be healed. Nope. Elisha wouldn't meet him face to face but relayed instructions for healing through a servant. Naaman balked at the instructions to wash in the Jordan river thinking his rivers back home were greater than the Jordan. Can't we all act like this sometimes? Our way always seems to make the best sense and our status determines what we deserve. But living with a prideful sense of entitlement is the quickest way to invite interpersonal conflict and hostility into our lives. Dissatisfaction and a false self-image emerge. When Naaman decided to follow Elisha's instructions he was healed. Naaman went from proud and easily offended to converted, grateful, and humble. So can we when we trust in God's ways and not our own. Stripped of his status, this drawing depicts Naaman choosing God's way and not his own. I'm reminded of verses like: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12, HCSB) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways." This is the Lord's declaration. (Isaiah 55:8, HCSB) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6, HCSB) Time lapse video UNAVAILABLE Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 16 6/12/2016
Title of drawing: "The Good Shepherd" (Psalm 23, 2 Samuel 7:1-16, 27-29 ; 2 Sam. 11 ; Psalm 51) Artist thoughts: King David's life is biblical proof that even the best of intentions, steadfast hearts, anointed lives, and highly favored positions are not immune from moments of temptation to imagine God as less than who he is and our wants to be greater than our needs. My best friend showed me that Psalm 23, 51, and 2 Samuel 11 come together in the parable of the lost sheep found in Luke 15: 3-7. He loves us enough to personally come and rescue each and everyone of us. Jesus can woo and rescue us even through the pitfalls, hardships, and consequences of our sin. When we are weak, he is strong and heaven rejoices with every repentant heart. Praise God that we have a good shepherd in Jesus! I'm also reminded of this verse from the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by thy help I'm come And I hope, by thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home, Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love, Here's my heart. O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above. Remember in 1 Samuel 7:12, an "Ebenezer" refers to a stone intentionally placed and named specifically as a reminder of God's help, and faithfulness. May this drawing be an Ebenezer to look at and remind us today that God dearly loves us. We are safer walking through life holding his hand and guided by his wisdom, love, and mercy than if we walked alone with only the light of our own power and intellect. We are his sheep and he is our shepherd View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 15 6/5/2016
Title of drawing: "Rocks" (1 Samuel 17) Artist thoughts: Rocks. Naturally found, uncut or altered by human hands. In Exodus we witness alters built from rocks providing a place for proper sacrifices. We see water come forth from a rock exhibiting God's provision and the commands of God inscribed on stone tablets establishing guidelines for life. In Joshua we see rocks used as memorial material symbolically representing and reminding God's people of his trustworthy promises. Today we've seen five rocks in the hands of a person whose heart and skill set were yielded to God. In the face of what seemed like an insurmountable fear David did what all of Saul's army would not do for the 40 days prior to David's arrival. He decided to accept the one on one challenge declared by an over-nine-feet-tall giant representing the army of the Philistines. David didn't bear any of the king's armor, sword, or shield. He took what he had, a shepherd's bag, five river rocks, and a sling; what he knew, how to protect the sheep he looked after from bears and lions; and placed it all along with his trust at the Lord's disposal. God provided what David did not have through Goliath; a sword at the right moment to finish the job. Art tends to present itself in a way that sparks questions in the mind of the viewer. What do these stones mean or represent?Within the context of today's sermon, I'd like this drawing to reinforce the application and question of this morning's message: what do we currently have at our disposal that could be used by the hand of God? Let us submit ourselves to his word, his will, and his ways. View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 14 5/29/2016
Title of drawing: "A Heart Like His" (1 Samuel 16) Artist thoughts: In 1 Samuel 16:7 God told Samuel that a person's heart is more important than their outward appearance. When God's people lost trust in God's provision they wanted to copy the culture around them. They wanted a human king rather than God as their King. This is, yet again, another example of God's people questioning God's way and choosing to make their own way. When we are stubborn God's infinite patience and grace sometimes lets us have what we want instead of what we need. His grace and our humility allows us to gain wisdom through hindsight when things don't turn out the way we thought they would. Saul didn't turn out to be the best choice for a king. God's grace worked through the stubbornness of God's people and after Saul didn't work out God gave his people what they needed in a human king: a man after God's heart. This king was David, the youngest and least likely of choices to be king if the decision was up to the Israelites. This drawing attempts to show a Young silhouette of a shepherd boy in a field with sheep. However, inside the silhouette is a depiction of a heart given to God. It is King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant as it is returned to Jerusalem. View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 13 5/22/2016
Title of drawing: "With or Without God" (Joshua 3 and 6) Artist thoughts: God always does the heavy lifting. He asks us to do something that requires trust and we get to share in the blessing of his good and perfect will. However, God always does the majority, the part we could admittedly never imagine, organize, orchestrate or design and implement. That is the pattern I've noticed from Eden through Jericho thus far. God told Joshua to instruct the Israelites to march around Jericho in a very specific way over 7 days. The Israelites obeyed and on the seventh day the walls of Jericho fell. God invites us to join him in his plans but it requires a decision on our part. Will we trust him, do as he states and be blessed, or distrust, think we can do it better our own way and rebel. Either way God's plan prevails with blessing or discomfort as a consequence of our own trust and obedience or mistrust, doubt, and fear. In hindsight of God's character and goodness there were visual reminders put into place to help us trust him. Songs are written, festivals are celebrated, memorials or altars are built and stories are shared. The song of Moses, Passover, and Joshua's twelve stones from the Jordan River are good examples. I hope today's drawing can be a sort of reminder. The transition from Moses to Joshua came with discomfort. Rather than entering the promised land the Israelites wondered in the desert for 40 years due to a lack of trust in God's commands. Of the 12 scouts sent out by Moses to observe the promised land, Joshua and Caleb were the only two willing to trust and obey God's command to overtake the land. All 12 observed the same land and bore evidence that the land was fruitful and full of milk and honey. Two were confident and expressed their trust in God but ten were fearful and, with their influence, would incite fear and rebellion against the Lord's command. I drew twelve glasses of water for this morning to illustrate our own potential to see the same thing differently. Two of these glasses are half-full the other ten are half empty. Which is which? I hope it can serve as a visual reminder of the decision we get to make everyday: trust and obey a God offering love and rescue from sin in a messed up world or devise our own way of living life. View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
|
Week 12 5/15/2016
Title of drawing: "Knowing God" (Exodus 16-17, 19-40) Artist thoughts: God knows how to get our attention and He wants us to know him. Christians no longer live under the ceremonial and civil laws that are listed starting in Exodus chapter 21. But the Ten Commandments are different -- they reveal God's character, what he values and his expectations for human relationships. The Ten Commandments are timeless truths. (1) They are a map to navigate life and know God more but like a map they show you what is where and maybe even tell you where to go but they don't provide a means of getting you there. In Israel's case and our case the Ten Commandments as a map show us God as perfect and reveal ourselves as imperfect and sinful because we can't follow the map by our own efforts. We can't "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps". We need a savior because the law can not save us. Jesus came and fulfilled the law that we may know God personally and walk in his ways by the provision of Jesus's sacrifice, and resurrection. In John 14:19b Jesus said, "because I live you will live too." With faith in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can truly live free of the guilt and shame of sin. In this depiction of Moses hiking up Mt. Sinai I have superimposed a simplified version of the Ten Commandments as two graphic symbols. The first one represents God giving himself to us because he knows that He is what is absolutely best for us and does not want us to miss out on him. The second symbol represents how we should model God's love to the world by loving everyone. Jesus simplified the law like this, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:37-40, HCSB) View the time lapse video HERE. Listen to the sermon HERE. |
Artist Statement
The Emmaus road series is a year long collaboration between Ken Webb, the pastor of Christ's Fellowship Church (Valdosta, Georgia), me, and the one in whom we place our faith and hope, the God of all creation. Through the act of drawing, one drawing per week for forty-four weeks, I have sought to bring a form of visual communication that would buttress the pastors heart felt intentions as he delivers a sermon every Sunday morning. I am invited to give a quick artist statement for each piece at the conclusion of each Sunday morning service to summarize my thoughts and intentions for each creation. Each drawing is created live in tandem with the delivery of the sermon, approximately 45 minutes.
I find myself so much more connected and in tune with each Sunday morning gathering because of the amount of study and preparation that goes into each drawing per week. It gives me the honest opportunity to ponder the story and scripture for each sermon, picture what it may have been like, and pray about what I'm to do with the resulting opportunity to edify the body of Christ. We live in an increasingly visual culture full of signs and symbols encouraging quick assumptions that simplify and deliver decontextualized instruction for living. Ravi Zacharias would describe this as giving rational thought to a subject without a predicate. As a culture we may not truly know how to see due to our expectation for immediate gratification. The appreciation of life through the creation of a simple drawing can slow us down giving more time to recognize what we see. The appreciation of art and its process can help us truly live or experience more of what it means to be human. I feel more connected to God after these drawings are finished. Concerning our perceptions and understanding of the world, G. K. Chesterton explains that, "God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it you cannot look at anything else." Because of this series of work I feel like I can see better both physically and spiritually. I definitely see all 66 books of the Bible as intimately connected.
PROCESS
I receive a rough draft of Pastor Ken's sermon on Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. I read the sermon, the children's Bible lesson according to the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, and the scripture passages that both of these are based upon. Next, I begin to ponder, listen, and imagine the authors' thoughts, the commentary, the story, and seek the heart of how this all applies to me, to us who believe, to the human condition/To what it means to be human. Usually a picture or phrase begins to resonate in my heart and mind. I follow that reverberation, share it with my wife and close friends. The idea clarifies itself and solidifies with a short written statement for each drawing. I seek approval of that statement with the pastor before each service. Finally, I get absorbed in the process of drawing during the Sunday gathering at my church. As Ken preaches, I draw. Together we seek to present our hearts and scripture to the glory of God.
Craig Hawkins
The Emmaus road series is a year long collaboration between Ken Webb, the pastor of Christ's Fellowship Church (Valdosta, Georgia), me, and the one in whom we place our faith and hope, the God of all creation. Through the act of drawing, one drawing per week for forty-four weeks, I have sought to bring a form of visual communication that would buttress the pastors heart felt intentions as he delivers a sermon every Sunday morning. I am invited to give a quick artist statement for each piece at the conclusion of each Sunday morning service to summarize my thoughts and intentions for each creation. Each drawing is created live in tandem with the delivery of the sermon, approximately 45 minutes.
I find myself so much more connected and in tune with each Sunday morning gathering because of the amount of study and preparation that goes into each drawing per week. It gives me the honest opportunity to ponder the story and scripture for each sermon, picture what it may have been like, and pray about what I'm to do with the resulting opportunity to edify the body of Christ. We live in an increasingly visual culture full of signs and symbols encouraging quick assumptions that simplify and deliver decontextualized instruction for living. Ravi Zacharias would describe this as giving rational thought to a subject without a predicate. As a culture we may not truly know how to see due to our expectation for immediate gratification. The appreciation of life through the creation of a simple drawing can slow us down giving more time to recognize what we see. The appreciation of art and its process can help us truly live or experience more of what it means to be human. I feel more connected to God after these drawings are finished. Concerning our perceptions and understanding of the world, G. K. Chesterton explains that, "God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it you cannot look at anything else." Because of this series of work I feel like I can see better both physically and spiritually. I definitely see all 66 books of the Bible as intimately connected.
PROCESS
I receive a rough draft of Pastor Ken's sermon on Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. I read the sermon, the children's Bible lesson according to the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, and the scripture passages that both of these are based upon. Next, I begin to ponder, listen, and imagine the authors' thoughts, the commentary, the story, and seek the heart of how this all applies to me, to us who believe, to the human condition/To what it means to be human. Usually a picture or phrase begins to resonate in my heart and mind. I follow that reverberation, share it with my wife and close friends. The idea clarifies itself and solidifies with a short written statement for each drawing. I seek approval of that statement with the pastor before each service. Finally, I get absorbed in the process of drawing during the Sunday gathering at my church. As Ken preaches, I draw. Together we seek to present our hearts and scripture to the glory of God.
Craig Hawkins
