Tag Archives: VineArts

Ardell's Art House, General

Finding Sunlight Inside A Hallway or The Mystery of Simplicity

IMG_0937I had a few moments to kill, so I decided to take a close look at the paintings at the art gallery inside my local church. Every quarter this gallery hosts a new exhibit displaying the work of artists from within and without the church community.

The current exhibit is about God’s Creation with paintings and sculptures of types and skill levels reveling the different aspects of the Creator King. Next to each work of art is a short artist statement with a little glimpse into the heart behind the piece.

Meandering through this gallery, I saw oil paintings, mixed medium pieces, water colors, sculptures, pen and ink. I also saw gorgeous pieces by professional artiest next to those done by recreational amateurs. Everyone was invited to submit a piece for consideration in the exhibit.

As I wondered through this wonderland of visual stimulation, my feet suddenly stopped working as a huge smile cribbed across my face. There in front of my eyes was the best piece in the whole gallery. I had found my pot of gold, the foundation of youth, the Holy Grail of Creation art hanging on a wall surrounded by fleeing clouds of color and texture.

You may think I jest, but I do not as the joy I felt when I first saw this painting comes back even as I write these words.

What was this painting that I saw that brought me such joy?

Well, I’m glad you asked as I took a picture of this jewel which I now display below along with the artist statement:

IMG_0938artist statement

So, you may ask, why did a child’s painting stop you so suddenly? That is a question to which there is no easy answer…. Perhaps it was because I have had several science versus religious discussions lately in which Genesis was used as weapon on both sides… perhaps my emotions were triggered by being a father with two young children….. perhaps I have no eye for art and should be banned from all art galleries in the tristate area….. perhaps I’m just a crazy fool with very little gray matter between the ears…

Or perhaps the smile came from the simple manner in which a child can standup and say “God made the sun.” Complexity is removed and simplicity is embraced along the mystery that surrounds all simple answers.

Perhaps…just perhaps we humans of the 21st century could stop trying to figure out everything for a moment and just relax in the mystery of a Creator Love. Yes, physics and science are wonderful pursuits and should be studied and discussed (it sadness me to have to state that as I don’t see science and following Jesus has being opposites…but if conversations over the past month taught me anything, it is that this false dichotomy is still embraced by folks on both sides of the steeple door.)

Perhaps…and this is my last perhaps… I should just let fathers of old guide us along this journey around the sun.

“In love did He bring the world into existence; in love does He guide it during this its temporal existence; in love is He going to bring it to that wondrous transformed state, and in love will the world be swallowed up in the great mystery of Him who has performed all these things; in love will the whole course of the governance of creation be finally comprised. And since in the New World the Creator’s love rules over all rational nature, the wonder at His mysteries that will be revealed then will captivate to itself the intellect of all rational beings whom He has created so that they might have delight in Him, whether they be evil or whether they be just.” – St. Isaac of Syria

“God is everywhere. There is no place God is not…You cry out to Him, ‘Where art Thou, my God?’ And He answers, “I am present, my child! I am always beside you.’ Both inside and outside, above and below, wherever you turn, everything shouts, ‘God!’ In Him we live and move. We breathe God, we eat God, we clothe ourselves with God. Everything praises and blesses God. All of creation shouts His praise. Everything animate and inanimate speaks wondrously and glorifies the Creator. Let every breath praise the Lord!” – Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Vineyard Movement

Creative Church Conference (July 25-27)

creative church conferenceWhat is the Creative Church Conference?

  • Creative:  The way you were born: in the image of God, with enjoyment for creating.
  • Church:  Where two or more are gathered in Jesus’ name.
  • Conference:  A time to learn, share, be inspired, and inspire others.

In 2012 a handful of art ministers launched a small conference in Boise, Idaho, to gather like-minded artists who follow Christ and also care about the glory of God being reflected in local churches. The conference was an overwhelming success. Artists were encouraged and refreshed, non-artists discovered their creative potential, pre-Christian artists were introduced to the Artist who designed them, Christ was glorified, and lives were changed.

This year’s Creative Church Conference will be hosted at the Vineyard Boise with a focus on “community.” We’ll experience the beauty of God when it comes to the arts He created. Seasoned art ministry leaders will bring community to the forefront as they provide wisdom and insight on being the body of Christ. Our workshops will put this into practice as together we explore creative applications of ministering to one another through the arts, and share practical lessons learned from our mistakes. Please take these opportunities to share your knowledge with us!While the conference is coming up fast, it is not too late to attend.

Check out the Creative Church Conference website for more information.

Vineyard Movement

Stories Around The Web About The 2013 Vineyard National Conference

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vineyard all inAs mentioned before (here and here), the 2013 Vineyard National Conference in Anaheim, California, was an amazing conference! In fact, I even heard folks who have been around the Vineyard for 20 or 30 years say that it was the best conference they have been too since the 1990’s. They also mentioned that this past conference was the LARGEST gathering of the Vineyard family ever. Yeah, ever. The Anaheim Vineyard church was packed out with over 3,500 people – 800+ of which were youth and 400+ were children under 14. Big family, lots of fun. 🙂

And being a big family, here are other bloggers out there who have written about their experiences at the conference. Knowing that it is always good to get more than one option on a subject, here are some stories about the 2013 Vineyard National Conference:

A Day by Day Account

Luke Geraty (Trinity Christian Fellowship in Stanley, WI) wrote a great four part series detailing the main points and highlights of each day of the conference. If you want to know the ins and outs of what happened, then this is the series to read! (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4)

celtic cross vineyardThe Quick Summary

On the flip side, Jason Smith (Mason Vineyard Community Church, Mason, OH) wrote a quick summary of the conference.  Even though he didn’t details things out as much as Luke, Jason does have some good comments about the state of Vineyard worship and the Kingdom Ministry momentum in the movement.

The Art Piece

Six artists from the Vineyard Boise (Boise, ID) made the trip to Anaheim with one purpose: to create a prophecy piece of art live during the worship sets of the conference. The result was an huge Celtic cross interwoven with symbolism. If you are part of the Vineyard Movement then you NEED to read Jessie Nilo’s description of this art piece as it was created in the middle of a family gathering for the entire Vineyard family.

Deaf No More

One of the individual pieces of art created during the conference and interwoven into the Celtic cross mentioned above was a mold of an ear.  God used this ‘ear’ to start an conversation between the artist and a gal who was deaf in one ear. The reslut …well, you will just have to read the post to see what happens. 😛