Christmas In 3-D

Santa was a tall and thin bishop from southern Greece, who was at one time persecuted for his faith. His real name was Nicholas and he started with humble beginnings and humbly gave all he had to the poor in Jesus's name. In the story of Saint Nicholas you will find an extraordinary man whose spirit lives only in part in who we know now as the legendary Santa Claus.

This is the time of year where myth and legend is the most vibrant in the Western world. Our imaginations go wild with anticipation of a new year and an old one passing away. To put things in perspective we must talk not just of the fantasy that has emerged in this season, but also the reality behind the symbols.

As you sit down with your loved ones to celebrate the holidays consider the meaning behind it all. Where did it come from? Why do we do this? What are all the decorations and rituals about? We need to know what this is all about in order to define who we are and what the next phase of our lives will be. And as a way to to ignite your passion for discovery I have included a gift (a toy, if you will) for you to print out to iniate this practice. I guarantee that the flaws as well as the beauty of these symbols will fuel your imagination. Click on this link and you will see what I am talking about: Christmas Cube.

7 Day Work Week

Hopefully, I won't have to do this again. It's easy to enter the week optimistically, but dreadful if you think about the fact that you have no weekend. I wouldn't recommend this lifestyle to anyone.

Inquire Within: Part 2, Life And Art

Not many times in my life do I remember other people approaching me and immediately engaging in conversation. Not unless I am actively doing something creative, that is.

The day after Thanksgiving I was still at my parents house struggling not to become too bored. So I borrowed my mom's digital camera and went for a walk to the park across the river in the town next to theirs. I went for the very specific reason of shooting pictures of the animals in the petting zoo. Because, I do not often get to go to the zoo anymore. This was a prime opportunity.

As I came around the fence I was trying hard to shoot through the fence, I encountered a woman feeding bread to the animals through the chain link fence. Her golf cart was full of cheap or reclaimed bread. She was popular with the animals. Then she started a conversation with me as if we were old friends. 

I admit, I was not too cordial to begin with. I just wanted to shoot pictures of the cantankerous animals that had very short attention spans. But she went on regardless of whether I acknowledged her too much. In the course of her conversation she mentioned how she had had a digital camera and that she wished she could post an up-to-date picture online. Regretably she didn't know how use her own camera. Not mention that a relative had borrowed it and never returned hers. I could only comment on how the camera I was using was not mine and I did not own one either. But, I missed something very important.

“Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, NIV

This was the Exempla Vitae moment I referred to last week. This was the opportunity to do good by someone. A quick photo or 2 and some contact information to send her the photos could have been a blessing to her. A moment like this could create waves in someone else's life. This is where Life intersects Art. These are the times I live for.

My challenge to you is to think ahead about the gifts you have been given: time, talent, resources, knowledge, experience. Ask God what He wants you to do with these things. Imagine the possibilities of using them in unconventional ways. Write down and plan for such times as these. You will be surprised of the creativity utilized when you come to that time, nothing is ideal after all.

Inquire Within, Part 1: God And Imagination

This is when it is hard to see God. When it seems as if you can't see beyond your troubles. In spite of the blessings you are in the midst of, it is difficult to see the end.

The dessert is like that. You go for miles in the stark landscape. You hope for an oasis, but because its so difficult to tell what direction you're actually going at times you lose hope quickly.

This is when we need our imaginations. This is when it is important to bow low. This is when we need to submit to our Heavenly Father. He is the author of all creation. And what we need to get through adversity are our dreams, visions, and imagination. All of these hardships are fuel for our imaginations.

Click this to see the painting: Passage

These are the times that the unseen things benefit us. I often paint with a limited palette. When I put down paint and attempt to show detail and shape and value, I am challenged to do it without all of the possibilities afforded me by a full range of colors. But this practice of depending on the unknown has allowed me to create some amazing paintings with unique feels and atmospheres.

When we come to a point where revelations of God's goodness intersect our day to day life we experience Exempla Vitae moments. This is the Art of Living Story. The times when we are able to learn through doing or learn through remembering. From this lesson learned a remarkable thing happens: We have a new story to tell. Some tell their story through words, some through music or dance, some through performance or building, yet others do so by imagery. I am one of those who uses imagery, but more specifically cartooning.

As a cartoonist I am constantly expanding my visual and written vocabulary. This blog is an expression of that. My thoughts and experiments are often expressed with sequential art or imagery, but they do have broader applications.  I believe you will be able to experience creativity in a new way by taking advantage of the challenges. My challenges stem from the good I have experienced in my relationship with Jesus, and you should seek Him to take full advantage of all the good that you experience.

What is it you are having a difficult time with? What are your current limitations? What do you have at your disposal? Challenge- Try a project with fewer options. Take away what you are comfortable with and create with what remains.

Storytime

Every year the family gets together en mass to celebrate America's first Thanksgiving. We have built the tradition over the years of meeting at a certain relative's house and being fed and entertained in a certain way.

Some years we eat and watch football and then go for walks, because we ate too much. Some years we break out the ping pong tables and try to whip each other at bouncing a highly resilient plastic ball over a faux tennis court painted on a wooden table top.

But for as many years as I can remember, we have always played one game in particular, Dirty Bingo. This is a family-fun game that is a mix of a white elephant gift exchange and taking advantage of the opportunity to give your beloved relatives a hard time.

Often this game is a riot for younger children in the family, because the ordeal gives them an advantage over adults. Which they rarely have.  Each year we play we wrap up the most nefarious object we can find lying around our houses taking up room we can no longer spare. We have seen the range in our family. Everything from a brick, to soap, to toys, candy, and probably any other assortment of mischievous or endearing gifts.

It would not be Dirty Bingo without the classic bingo set. It's like playing the lottery. As the game caller you turn the hand crank of the ball, it magically produces a number and letter combination while churning and mixing variable combinations. At that critical moment you yell out the number and letter. If you want to have fun with it, you can include a bad pun when number and letter. I drew this to remember what fun it is to participate in this game. And of course I am making fun of the use of the ball, but one wonders what it would be used for during the rest of the year.

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I look forward to hearing how you spend this season with family and creatively.