Take Me Deeper - October Week 1

Running a little behind thanks to get so ill, but am hopefully on the mend now!

October Week 1 
I had a hard time with the prompt for this week! I kept reading and re-reading but, and I'm sure it's a result of the hassles at Church, the disbelief that Clergy from priest to Archbishop can act the way they are, and me then getting ill, there was just this huge disconnect between my heart, my head and my hands!

In the end I didn't even read other Bible passages,  and just opened up Photoshop with the idea of creating something that had been inspired by a picture online I'd seen. Utter fail! I knew I should be able to technically create the piece but it just would not work; no way, no how!

So I just stopped and thought about the beginning of the year. I remembered my piece which came about as the result of a disastrous walk in the forest, where we got lost, were out walking through forest and muddy field after dark, with no idea where we were and only moonlight to guide us. I remembered the butterflies, dozens of them, that I used in that piece. So I decided to start from there with one large butterfly.

It seems to me that looking back over the year in art so far, that has been a transformation in itself! I've found a new style, tried different things, and developed more trust in what I do - not least because of all you lovely people at HKC! My faith has been undergoing one huge transformation, still not finished of course, and this has been pretty traumatic at times.

So rather than only small butterflies I wanted the huge one, prominent and I felt drawn to use the digital painting I did of my youngest daughter 

So I clipped her to the butterfly brushed shape and duplicated and changed blend modes. I also used a photo of mine of the sunrise to add the colour. I then had a happy accident! The abstract tree shapes are actually a photo of the sea here turned on its side. Changing the blend modes, this effect happened and it just smacked me in the face how the look of this echoed the trees of the forest idea!

I then just added some small but various-sized butterflies representing the ongoing transformation of myself, my faith..life even! Plus some border work and grassy stuff at the bottom!

It's different to what I'd usually produce and I have no idea how I'm going to follow this for the rest of the month lol, but this is all I have and I'm pretty happy with it!

My own photos, CU brushes and texture and my own digital painting.
TFL!
Bernie x

Take Me Deeper - August Week 3

As the school summer holidays seem to be passing way too quickly, we've been super busy with house decoration and garden reorganisation and decoration...the past week it seems there just haven't been enough hours in the day! So, here it is, my August Week 3 Take Me Deeper response! You can find the class HERE at His Kingdom Come if you'd like to join in!

August Week 3 - Put It Into Practice

Continuing with this month's nature theme for the art, I chose to make a piece depicting the kind of place we like to go walking! Inspired by photos taken last year of a forest covered in bluebells, I embellished a little more lol!

I think getting myself out and closer to nature is the fastest and best way for me to feel and keep feeling thankfulness! I really feel closer to God even just sitting in my garden under our big tree! As I tend to hide away indoors from the sun and heat in summer, I know I definitely need to get out there more at present!

The readings that really spoke to me were:

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

Ephesians 5:20 - In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father.

Colossians 2:6-7 - Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him.

Colossians 3:12-17 was also so meaningful, perhaps particularly the verses...You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

It reminded me of Week 1 and the grass being 'clothed' with the wild flowers - so I added in more wild flowers to the 'bluebells' in my piece to represent my attempts to clothe myself with these attributes! Then just added in a few butterflies to represent transformation.

Four CU textures and a load of CU brushwork!
TFL!

Bernie x

Take Me Deeper - Week 4!

The end of February! How did that happen?!! Without further ado here are my thoughts, the readings I was led to, and my piece for Take Me deeper this week!

February Wk 4
I wasn't at all sure about this one for some reason but my eldest (18) said she loved it so am keeping it!

2 Cor. 5:19 - God,through Christ, is making the whole human race his friends. I found some commentary:

- we are to be reconciled to God - i.e. to accept what God has already achieved - it is not that we must reconcile ourselves.
Through Christ we truly assume his righteousness, just as Christ assumed our sin.
I read that in Paul's writings, God is always the reconciler. This is the reverse of Hellenistic religion where the human seeks restoration of God's favour, and also of Judaism, where confession of sin and repentance are the means by which reconciliation with God is sought. The initiative now is with God, who changes a relationship of enmity to friendship. This is accomplished through Christ.
not sure if I was going off on a bit of a tangent there, and being Catholic, that commentary gave me pause for thought as growing up I've heard a lot of the need for confession of sin and for repentance...ie everything coming from the human.

So I continued on and searched for what the Bible says about loving yourself.
1 John 3:1 - See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (That last sentence really jumped out at me but I felt it was for another time to concentrate on that).
Psalm 139:13-14 - You created every part of, you put me together in my mother's womb. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Phil. 1:6 - And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
John 15:9 - As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
Romans 8:16 - God's Spirit, joining himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children.
1 John 4:4 - Little children, you are from God...he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Genesis 1:26 - And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness...
Psalms 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Reading all the above, my image represents God sending out into the world all of us, His children. Transformed children, (hence keeping the butterflies from the January prompts), thanks to everything God has done for us (see above quotes). I wanted to give a nod towards the theme of creation (God creating us, the world, love, and so used some stars and a bit of a bursting forth theme also to represent that. The 'wind' of the Spirit is still in there, as are the rays of light, among each other, as friends (see above quote).

Basically, it all seems to be summed up as loving yourself is being thankful and appreciating the person whom God has made in you.
TFL!
Bernie x
Hands are a brush from SpiritSigh @ DeviantArt, and the rest was created with CU brushes

Take Me Deeper Week 5

It only seems 5 minutes since I sat here typing up last week's post! It's been a bit of a whirlwind week for us with the Deregistration letter going in to school, then the transformation of the front room/dining room area started lol! We have boxes of 'stuff' to go up to the attic, boxes of 'stuff' we want to keep but don't quite know where to put yet, we've been up to the tip twice with 2 car loads of 'stuff' we definitely could get rid of...and we're still not finished! We're doing more today though so am hoping that with one final push we can get to having an empty conservatory and can then get the bookcases out of the garage and organise 'stuff' and the exercise equipment out there in the conservatory, leaving an emptier dining room area for doing school work in! That's the plan anyway lol!

So, on to my Week 5 piece for Take Me Deeper at His Kingdom Come!

My Week 5 page - came out pretty different lol! It feels to me like a good summing up page for the month though.

I did all the suggested reading plus some extra bits I felt drawn to. The verses I used for inspiration/represented in this page are:

Phil 2:14 You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky.

1Tim 6:16 He alone is immortal; he lives in the light that no one can approach.

1 Peter 1:24 All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord remains for ever.

1 John 1: 5 & 7 God is light and there is no darkness at all in Him. But if we live in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin.

Which then took me on to John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word; the Word was with God and the Word was God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was th

e source of life, and this life brought light to humanity. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

So! I've got us shining as stars lighting up the sky, which fades into darkness - but not total blackness - there is still light there! The butterflies representing transformation are there, attracted to the light and the Word. The withered grass and fallen flowers of humans and their glory are seen and The Word towers above, strong and remaining for ever. There's a path through the grass and flowers to The Word - a path of hope which can be trod confidently and which will lead us to The Word, and the light, and the fellowship with one another.

Created this all myself with CU brushes and textures and the one font smile emoticon
TFL!
Bernie x

Take Me Deeper - Week 3

Well, what a week is has been! Let's just say that I've been having to focus (my Logos 365 word!) really hard on the Lord lately to cope with everything affecting our family at present! Even down to looking into Home Educating my youngest because of problems with school - something I really hadn't seen becoming a distinct possibility!

Anyway, as I've been waking at 3.15am all week, I've made good use of this quiet time to enjoy reading all the extra suggested passages within the TMD prompt. A pattern seems to be forming now where not a single speck of an image for a piece of art around the prompt will even suggest itself until I've done all the suggested reading...and once I get started with the reading, it's all too easy to carry on past the suggested passages! I'm loving it!!

I loved reading all the extra suggested passages, and the 'feel' of an image around a veil and light and keeping the butterflies started forming! Once the idea had formed in my head, I was a bit concerned about how I would translate that onto the page...but thankfully, Altered Amanda's Studio had just the stash I needed to make the vision come to life!

You can find the Take Me Deeper Project and prompts here. 

For this piece, once I had it laid out as I liked, I lightened part of the veil to give a feeling of reflected light - we will reflect God's glory when we are transformed into His likeness. The lady has lowered eyes - submission - and the veil is coming off (ie doesn't cover her whole face any more), showing an ongoing process, started but not yet complete. The light is there to focus on, and the butterflies leading towards the light signifying the transformation that will come once we are joined with Christ (when the veil is lifted).

I'm enjoying this project so much and finding it such a help when life is throwing so much at us at present! if you haven't already, do come and have a look and join with us! you don't have to do digital art if that's not your thing! Whatever response you feel led to is great! Poetry, paint on paper, mixed media, wood carving, fibre craft...the list goes on! There's loads of inspiration in the TMD gallery at His Kingdom Come...just take a look!

TFL!

Bernie x