Redeemd:1 ~ Graffiti Art

New Exhibit at The Gallery @ Common Grounds - LWCC

Redeemd:1

Ramon Trevino

Graffiti Fine Artist

http://www.redgraff.com/

Click here to read Ramon's story from The Heart Behind the Art - gallery companion booklet. You can pick up a copy of the gallery booklet in the coffee bar at Living Word Community Church.

About this exhibit ~ July 19-August 23, 2009

I’m excited about this exhibit, not only for the dynamic colors that fit so well with summer-time, but because ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a graffiti artist. In fact, it was my goal to grow up and have a graffiti wall right inside the front door of my house. Any time friends or family came over, I’d let them draw or paint on the wall, filling it with color, shapes, and short messages. I had all the plans in my head and couldn’t wait to be old enough to own a house and implement my dream.

We’ve all seen graffiti on the sides of buildings or trains. Some is pleasing to look at, others—rather offensive. Graffiti gets a bad rap due to the nature of the art and the crime associated with it. But, even graffiti can be created with a clear heart and a positive message. Ramon Trevino’s story is one of redemption, not only of his own life, but of his artwork as well.

Ramon’s passion is to glorify Jesus in and through his artwork and one way he does this is by educating youth that graffiti can be done legally and with a purpose. As Ramon travels to New York City and other cities saturated in graffiti, his love for Jesus is obvious and he’s not afraid to share his faith with graffiti artists in that culture. That is pretty cool.

We hope you enjoy Ramon’s story and maybe come to see graffiti in a whole new light.

deAnn Roe

Director of Creative Arts

LWCC York

717.755.0089 x126

Vertical Creativity

Vision

Vision

by David Adam

O Lord
Extend our vision
Our clearness of sight
Open our eyes to see
Beyond the obvious
To perceive that this is Your world
You are in it
You invade it
You pervade it
You enfold it
It is immersed in You

I ran across this poem/prayer while on a silent-creative retreat last month. To me, it's such a beautiful way to live, especially as artists, "open our eyes to see beyond the obvious." Simply gorgeous.

As you move out into your world this week and into your creative endeavors, may you offer this prayer up to God. Ask Him to extend your vision - to not only look, but to really see... Him.

Grace & peace ~ deAnn

Laughing Can Change the World

I've been thinking a lot lately about: what if every person lived into their creative potential. Not just "fine artists" but engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. How would that change the world?

So, above is a super creative and funny commercial shot in England for Evian Water. Now, that is using your creative potential. (It made me laugh. Laughter changes the world.)

May you live into your full creative potential ~

grace & peace ~ deAnn

The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

This is one of my favorite poems and it was due time to post it for others to enjoy. May you come into the presence of still water and rest there, in the grace of God.

peace ~ deAnn

Photography (c) 2009 by deAnn Roe of Vertical Creativity
Lake Redman, October 2008

Seeing, For Real

"Creative thinking involves imagining familiar things in a new light, digging below the surface to find previously undetected patterns, and finding connections among unrelated phenomena." - Roger von Oech -

I'm doing some research for a talk I'm giving titled, "Embracing Your Creativity," and I came across the quote above. Unlike so many other definations of creativity, this one speaks to a "new way of seeing" - which is the foundation of the other definations which basically are, "to bring something new and orignal into existance."

As a creative being, which you are so don't deny it, how well do you really see? I was challenged by this quote to pay closer attention to that which lies below the surface of life and existance, to sense God's presence in my life with more ferver, and to see Him no matter where I look.

Life is full of God.

Grace & peace on the creative journey ~ deAnn

A Wii Little Lesson

Yesterday my son showed me how to use the Wii FIT (on the Nintendo Wii). I was amazed by the technology! The Wii FIT comes with a "balance board" that you stand on for all the Wii FIT games. Wirelessly it senses pressure from your feet and the game on TV responds. It was crazy!

As a typical fourteen year old son, he thought it would be fun to watch me try the YOGA moves on the Wii FIT. Let's just say that I'm glad his iPhone doesn't record video footage...

I actually didn't do all that bad for a Wii newbie. I completed the "breathing" exercise with high scores. Then I moved on to the "side stretching" exercise, which my virtual instructor told me I did very well. Lastly, I completed the "tree" exercise. It looks really cool in the picture above, but wow - it was challenging to stand motionless in that position for 30 seconds.

When I had had enough, I was told by a creepy little voice that because I had done so well, I "unlocked" another YOGA exercise to use next time. Interestingly, not all the YOGA exercises are available from the get go. As I practice the exercises that are available, others become unlocked and ready to use. This got me thinking about our creativity. As I practice exercising my creative muscles, I notice that more creative energy becomes "unlocked" and ready to use. All of my creativity is not available from the get go. It grows and develops the more I use it.

It's funny how silly things such as a video game system can remind us of important truths.

Keep unlocking your creative potential.

grace & peace ~ deAnn

Receiving

I love receiving gifts. Recently my husband and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary and he had a beautifully wrapped gift for me. I couldn't wait to see what he carefully and lovingly picked out - he knows me pretty well! I opened it, only to find many things wrapped up together, several little gifts inside one larger gift. It was so fun to explore and see that my husband actually listens to me! (haha). I loved every single gift received and he was so pleased that I enjoyed them all.

Receiving a gift is wonderful. But there are a few steps to take in order to do it right.

1. Accept it

2. Open it

3. Use it

Did you ever get a gift that was, well....not really your taste? So you smile and graciously thank the gift-giver while thinking, "I'll never wear/use this!" Suddenly you have a something to "re-gift." Uh yeah, I've never had that experience either.

We can easily accept and open a gift, but not always are we willing to use it, right?

Several years ago, I realized that God had given me a gift. I didn't want to accept it, and I certainly didn't want to open it! He kept pointing to that dusty gift that had my name on it, but I'd turn my head or pretend I didn't hear Him. As my spiritual life deepened through certain prayer practices, such as silence and solitude and sacred listening, it became clear that He wanted me to fully receive His gift, open it up, and use it with all my heart. Finally, I stopped resisting Him and opened up this beautiful gift that is just for me. Now I'm exploring it with His guidance. I can feel His pleasure.

God has given each one of us a unique gift. Is yours sitting on the shelf, collecting dust? Maybe you've opened it but feel it's not a good fit so you put it back on the shelf, all alone.

Do you have a sense that the Gift-Giver is gently nudging you to take that gift off the shelf so you can explore it completely? He picked out this gift for you even before He created the heavens and the earth...

Imagine His pleasure as you fully receive the beautiful gift He's given to you...

Grace & peace on the journey ~ deAnn

With Him

All of life is spiritual. Every single piece. There is never a time when God is not with us. But often we are zooming through our well scheduled days and God is just holding on for dear life! Of course He’s with us, but are we really with Him?

It’s easy to approach our art that way too. Sure, we may pray before or while we are creating, but God is still just tagging along trying to keep up. Instead of simply asking God to be with us as we create, how about making the choice to be with Him as we create. Can you consider how that creative experience could be different?

What would it look like to move into your art as a time to be with God – listening - and creating whatever bubbles up from within?

There are times when we are on a deadline to complete a project and we feel pressure just to “get the job done.” How can you join with God even under those circumstances?

grace & peace on the creative journey ~ deAnn

Photograph taken by deAnn Roe (c) 2009 Pine Grove Furnace State Park

Consolidating

I was driving home from work today wishing I had time for a bike ride. But the sky was so dag-gone pretty I also wanted to set out for some photo taking. I was perplexed - then remembered a hilarious scene from Jim Carrey's movie, "Yes Man." You see, Carl (Jim's character) met a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants girl named Alison (Zooey Daschanel) who had a running photography group, yes - they would take photos while running. In one famous scene Carl has just pulled an all-nighter and was all hopped up on Red Bull when his friends dropped him off at Allison's running photography group. Click here for a full laughter experience from the Red Bull scene of the movie.

For what ever reason, I have many interests and finding adequate time to give each of them is rather impossible. So I'm left to choose. As I drove home, I got to thinking about riding my road bike with my big dSLR hanging around my neck and I almost had to pull over due to erratic giggling. Shifting gears and clicking the shutter all while climbing one of York County's great hills would be something to see! Then there's changing the lens while constantly peddling. Sounds a bit dangerous.

Sure, consolidating interests is a "good idea" but not realistic. Besides, one reason why I love photography so much is because it causes me to slow down and really be where I am and see what's before me. It's a very contemplative practice, interacting with God's creation and listening to what He may have for me in it.

Although, I just may have to take my dSLR on my next run and see what I come up with. I'll let you know how that goes.

grace & peace on the creative journey ~deAnn

Colored Lines

I could never become bored with the beauty of the Northern Lights. The mystical ribbons of color dancing gracefully below the heavens, in rhythm with unheard music. Only on television and in images have I witnessed this amazing event. My heart longs to stand under the wide night sky and witness their dance - in person.

Admittedly, I know very little about longitude and latitude, only what I can remember from Junior High. I grew up in Redding, California - the very top of the CA valley and surrounded on three sides by significant mountain ranges. This area is way Northern California (most people say Nor Cal is San Fransisco. Yet, Redding is about 220 miles north of there.)

When I was around four years old, I recall my mom and dad saying good-night to friends who came over for dinner. They stood in the driveway as the cool night air rustled the leaves from the towering sycamore trees that lined our quaint and quiet street. I was supposed to be in bed, but my rebellious side was developing well, so I stepped outside onto the darkened front porch. I have always loved the sound the wind creates when it passes through the trees. In a clearing, I looked up to the darkest sky I had seen and was stunned by number of stars above. Then my young eyes witnessed something that, to this day, I can not explain or haven't seen since - "moving colored lines in the sky." I was mesmerized by them - yet at the same time, nervously glancing towards my parents who were talking with friends on the driveway - I shouldn't have been out of bed. In pure childlike wonderment, I watched the lines move aimlessly before the stars and desperately I wanted to reach up and grab them. Then my parents moved toward the house and I bolted inside, down the hall, and jumped into bed. They never knew I was there.

I carried this mystical image with me as I grew up. In ninth grade science class, we studied astronomy. Of course, we touched on the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. "Northern Lights." My teacher said you can see this phenomenon in Canada, Alaska, and other extreme northern reaches of our hemisphere. Bravely, I raised my hand and asked if we lived far enough "north" to have them appear in our nighttime sky. It was explained that they are extremely rare in our area, but possible - particularly if there is a strong solar storm (wind).

As a little girl, did I really witness these dancing colors above? Or did my young mind imagine this scene? I don't know for sure. But what I believe to be true, after interacting with my memory, is that I saw the hand of God painting beautiful strokes of sparkling color across the sky just for me - a rebellious curly blond-hair girl standing on the front porch in a flannel nightgown - when I was supposed to be in bed. Maybe that was the early stages of my sensitivity to God's presence in the world - and in my life...

Before I enter eternity, I'd love to travel north and see His artwork first hand, with my own eyes. Again.

grace & peace ~ deAnn



2009 (c) deAnn Roe

Reflection

I took this photo last October while on a Photo Outing with the Aperture photography group. As I look at this image, I see it relating deeply to my spiritual life: I am to be a reflection of the beauty of Jesus. But, because I’m a broken individual, what I reflect is a distorted version of the Original. However, because of God’s grace, even in the distorted reflection, there is beauty.

Lake Redman
Photograph by deAnn Roe -2009 (c)

Hammock Time

Today, I retreat, once again.
Rest, solitude, listening, creating. Intentional time to be still before the Lord. I schedule these two day silent retreats every other month. Some people laugh at me when I tell them this. Others long for the same opportunity - to trade in the demands of day-to-day details for a cotton hammock strung between two ancient trees.

I take with me:

• watercolors, brushes, and paper
• colored pencils, drawing pencils, and my sketchpad
• digital SLR camera
• laptop - for writing (there is no Internet access)
• Bible, journal, and a few books
• most importantly, an open heart eager to hear God's voice and a desire to respond

These silent retreats are an inward journey for me. To interact with the God of love and allow Jesus to rearrange my heart as He sees fit. The art that emerges from these time with Him are the result of intimate prayer and listening - allowing myself to "move with God." My most meaningful artwork comes from these sacred times.

I always return to my life a changed person. Even if I can't see the change right away.

May you gift yourself with an intentional retreat with God - just for you and Him.

Grace & peace on the journey ~ deAnn

Photography by a Flickr.com artist.