Circles Conference – Pt. 1

by on September 25, 2012, 3 comments

Circles Conference was amazing. Three total days packed with meeting new people, listening to inspiring talks from artists I’ve long admired, and soaking up some much needed independence. Ismael Burciaga (the event coordinator) has been an online friend for a few years now, but I was totally blown away by him as a person – completely selfless and generous, an amazing host.

Sketched talk notes by Sean Wes

While on my trip, I made it a point to talk to everyone I sat by – at the airport, on the plane, on the shuttle, wherever. This is something I don’t always get to do when my kids are around, because I’m so engrossed with watching them, but it’s become one of my favorite things to do. Remember that rule your mom told you when you were little, “Don’t talk to strangers?” Well, it doesn’t apply anymore. So I met lots of new people en route to Dallas, TX, and had interesting conversations. As I shared in my conference talk, meeting new people helps you discover who you are, having new experiences strengthens your art. This was the case for me.

  • I met Abee, a hard-working Ethiopian who drives a shuttle to put food on the table for his two kids.
  • Vladimir, a young Russian valet who dropped his gambling addiction when he started a family.
  • Gary, a bored gentleman who travels to Florida every two weeks to check on his vacation home while his busy Dr. Wife works – but I don’t think he was telling me the whole story.
  • And two lovely ladies who had me laughing so hard I was crying during my late night wait at the airport to return home.

Many of the speakers told their personal stories. I met so many people at the conference that shared their story. And I shared mine. I talked about my belief in story with a new friend named Ryan Rushing at lunch.

All that said to say, I think I am coming to believe more and more in story. I don’t think life in any way is a story about any of us, by any means. But I do believe that a story can inspire, relate to, and transform other people’s stories.

The very last talk was by Cameron Moll, sort of a web design hero of mine. But he spoke mainly about his work with charity : water. Getting to travel with Scott Harrison to build wells in Ethiopia, seeing first hand the impact made on foreign soil. He showed photos of little children that had never seen their image frozen on the screen of a camera before, and another photo of a house made of rocks that the villagers had unearthed from the ground.

That’s when it hit me.

Being an artist is a privilege. It’s not just a privilege it’s a luxury. As artists, we are given this unique ability and means to shape culture, to be creative in meeting the needs of the world. To do something beautiful and meaningful with it. That was the big takeaway for me – I left feeling inspired, and not just that – ready to take action.

After Cameron’s talk, Dan Mall had an interesting question. That we all know that a non-profit like charity : water is important – one that is a matter of life and death – but what of all the other causes? What about causes that aren’t a matter of life and death?

In retrospect, I think other causes are just as important as preventing unnecessary/unjust death. Because there are so many people that are “living,” but haven’t learned to really “live.” Their story is one of heartbreak, loss, loneliness, or pain. But we as artists, and especially as Christians, have this interesting opportunity to teach and show people how they can really live. It’s building Life on life. It’s showing people the potential in their story, and pointing them to the ultimate Story that weaves us all together.

(more to come)

Check out some other great write-ups on the conference: Kevin / Sean / Dan / Emily

September Illustrations

by on September 13, 2012, 0 comments

The September For the Makers boxes have been shipped along with the illustrations I put together for the month. We are having our first fall-ish day here and it makes me yearn for warm soup, knitting, and picking up embroidery again – especially the beautiful floral pattern they included.

I’m so excited and happy for their momentum and success. They’ve recently been featured on Forbes, MS Living, Real Simple and NY Magazine. Girls, you are on fire! If I ever make it to New York, the top two people I want to meet are Janet Crowther and Katie Covington.

Behnaz, Art & Freedom

by on September 7, 2012, 3 comments

I cringed when she began to rifle through my work. I wanted to melt into the cushy chair I was sitting in and become one with the upholstery. Her work has been compared to Francis Bacon for crying out loud, and here she was critiquing my art. There were a few I puffed my chest out on, awaiting a word of praise, but there was none. She didn’t say much at all. It was agonizing. Until she came to this piece, which I abhorred – in fact I wasn’t even sure why I brought it in the first place.

“This is good.”

Wait, what? Of all the examples I brought, she thought this one deserved the one and only accolade? And I slowly began to look at this painting with new eyes. I previously viewed it as a tragic mess, but she praised me for my “freedom” in it. Yes, I told her. That was one that I didn’t really care what the outcome was, I just did it in a way that felt like freedom at the time. But all I could see in the end were all the mistakes and not an ideal finished piece.

That hour I spent with a beautiful Iranian artist named Behnaz Sohrabian, I will never forget. Her with her thick Iranian accent, warm but firm rebukes, and humble offerings. Who’s work literally left me breathless when I saw it at an art gallery months ago. I toyed with the idea of asking her to mentor me – fully realizing what an extremely bold ask it was. I rustled up the courage and ended up emailing her and we met together twice.

I’ve always struggled with how art relates to my faith, and I now I realize I’ve been looking at it all wrong. Art is from God. Art is our search for beauty and meaning, and freedom. Art communicates God, whether the artist knows it or not. God in his symmetry, his perfection in composition, his color, His beauty, His wrath, His creation.

She told me, emphatically, in her beautiful Iranian accent, “Be a brave lady” and, “don’t be a coward.”

“Be free” she said, over and over, like a mantra. And somehow, this encounter with this artist and her art has leaked into my life as a whole and broken down walls that have been erected by false belief. Despite knowing better, I have always felt that I had to DO to EARN. That love was conditional based on what I did right and what I did wrong. It affected my relationship with God – I felt like if I had things together, he loved me – if I didn’t and life looked messy, surely he was mad at me.

Art by Behnaz Sohrabian

I had a lot to process on the way home from that meeting, and thankfully both my children were sleeping so I could get out my journal and try to write everything down. Then my sweet husband – not knowing anything about the experience I just had – corrected me about something I’d done wrong. Well, in my current state, all I could say was, “I don’t want to hear that right now.” I told him to give me a few minutes and I walked into my 1.5 year olds room, where he had just woken up from his nap. He looked at me with the sweetest love in his eyes, and at that moment, I broke. The tears came. I let God do a work in me. I realized in that moment that freedom is not just about an ideal state of living – it’s about knowing that you are loved, despite your flaws and imperfections. And in that moment, I understood how God sees me – because you see, He knows I’m flawed. He knows that sometimes I’m angry, prideful, unforgiving, unloving, a broken person – but a broken person who has accepted healing, redemption, and freedom.

I love that God doesn’t stop making us. We are constantly being created by our experiences, relationships, and circumstances (good and bad). And I love how God sets up meetings like the one I had with a lady from Iran, who taught me my biggest lesson about freedom.

Speaking at Circles Conference

by on September 5, 2012, 5 comments

Circles Conference is coming up in just a few short weeks. I’m excited to hear from amazing designers I respect and admire – Promise Tangeman, Cameron Moll, Blaine Hogan, Kyle Steed, and more. My talented friend Ismael Burciaga from Oven Bits is organizing this 2-day conference as a non-technical meetup for creatives. I love the format.

When: September 20-21, 2012

Where: at Palace Arts Theater in Grapevine, Texas

Cost: $225

I’ll be speaking on the topic, Work, Art & Purpose – get your tickets everyone, this will probably go down in history as the longest I’ve ever talked on anything. It will be good though. I’m excited.

Let me know in the comments if you are coming and let’s arrange a meetup!

A New Adventure

by on August 20, 2012, 14 comments

Thought I’d let you in on some personal news – we are moving. To a neighborhood referred by our friends as the “Shartel neighborhood”, known in other circles as “The Jungle.” Blocks away from the OKC’s downtown homeless shelter, the Shartel neighborhood is home to crackpots, prostitutes and drug dealers. It’s what author Shane Claiborne would call, “an abandoned place of empire” – neglected by the city and forgotten.

I’ve had this up on my chalkboard wall for some time now. And I imagine if Jesus were to walk in my living room and tell me to come follow him, he would most likely take me to a place like Shartel. But I’m getting ahead of myself – here is how it all went down.

I can only explain it as a call. One that I wasn’t expecting nor did I really welcome at the time. For a few years I have been challenged in my thinking of what it means to be a Christian. And I have a confession. I’ve grown pretty tired of mainstream American, evangelical Christianity. Maybe it’s how safe and boring we are. Maybe it’s because we don’t really live out the Gospel. Maybe it’s just because we don’t really know Jesus, or maybe it’s because we don’t want to give up anything to do what He says.

If we read the Bible, we see that He was kind of a wild man – he took risks, he was a friend of sinners, he met the needs of the poor and oppressed, he rebuked religious people, he told stories, he was radical. And, in the words of Rich Mullins, “I think when we identify with Christ, when we take on the name of Christ, when we become a Christian, I think that means that our lives should be infused with the character of Christ. And the character of Christ is that of a wildly, ridiculously generous and compassionate Man.”

The moment I knew we were supposed to move in the little, rundown, ugly 750 sq. foot house, I immediately began a dialogue in my head of all the reasons why we couldn’t, shouldn’t, and why I just plain didn’t want to. I’d grown comfortable in our beautiful mid-town home and didn’t have any intention of leaving. I didn’t share any of this with my husband until a week later.

Well, I couldn’t shake it, so I let the cat out of the bag and told him what I was feeling. Let’s just say about 36 hours later he was telling me, yes, we should do it. I began to regret sharing it and proceeded to have about 24 hours of complete crazy talk in my head – questioning the very basis of my faith, wondering what in the world we were getting ourselves into, knowing our friends, and quite possibly our family might think we are insane. I felt depressed and completely wanted to shoo the whole idea off a cliff and forget the whole thing ever happened. I prayed. I wrestled with God in my prayers. I asked for confirmation. Anything. And after I’d said all I could, I felt that we should just simply, come.

That’s all I needed. It reminded me of a verse and some words that resonated with me months ago -

Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. Hebrews 13:13

Jesus is not standing back saying, “Go there.” He’s saying, I’m out here! You’re in there where it’s so comfortable. It’s so safe inside the church, inside your house. I’m out here! Come to me.  -John Piper

I could cry writing this, because now I’m so eager to just sell all my stuff and go. I know it will only be a step on a long journey. I know we will make mistakes. I know we are going into this naive and unprepared. But like Abraham, he had faith in God that when He called him into “a land he knew not,” he would provide.

Community
We won’t be doing this alone. For at least a year I’ve been hungry for that biblical community that is mentioned in Acts 2 and 4. I’ve never truly experienced it before in my decades in the church. God has led us to a community of people – at least 50 of them – young families, singles, entrepreneurs, business people – people that are crazy enough to live like Jesus. With the same goals and passions – living in biblical community, loving and building relationships with people, seeking after peace in the city, restoring the broken places, creating beauty, pointing people to the true Rescuer.

But to be honest, I’m simply going to meet Jesus. Because the call is to come, and I know I will find Him there. And most likely I will meet Him in disguises, much like I’ve found Him in the homeless that I’ve encountered here in mid-town.

Bottom line, I can’t continue life the way I have been for the last 20 years. Because the life I imagine worthwhile, is the one where I give it away. And I don’t think it’s any accident that this is all coming about before my 30th birthday. It feels like a new time. New faith, new adventure, and a new calling.

I leave you with some quotes that have fueled my quest and journey for the last year, and I hope that maybe, just maybe you might also hear the call to “come.”

My desire and prayer for you is that your life have a radical flavor. A risk-taking flavor. A gutsy, counter-cultural, flavor to it that makes the average, prosperous, Americans in your church feel uncomfortable. A pervasive summons to something more and something hazardous and something wonderful. A saltiness and brightness, something like the life of Jesus.
- John Piper

Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my Savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.
- Rich Mullins

We are called by Jesus to give up everything. His call is to come. When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, He is doing much more than calling us to endure the daily, circumstantial troubles of life. It is a call to radical faith. Jesus is calling us to be willing to suffer anything and forsake everything for the sake of the Gospel. To consider everything a loss for his sake.
- Francis Chan

It’s about learning to live the kingdom and to create pathways for others to experience it with you. Throughout the scriptures, we see God calling his followers to live a life of “sentness.” Stability, social comfort, relational control, safety, success, respect, or clarity were not expected. Outcome didn’t matter: faithfulness did.
(from the book, The Tangible Kingdom)

Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life. // Rather than waiting around for God’s special plan for your life, you should just go find where God is at work and join in. // Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity, but concrete acts of love. // While the ghettos have their share of violence and crime, the suburbs are the home of more subtle demonic forces – numbness, complacency, comfort – that can eat away at our souls. // It is risky but we are people of faith, believing that giving is more contagious than hoarding, that love can cover hatred, light can overcome darkness, grass can pierce concrete. This is precisely what we commit our lives to. // He dares and woos us to come and follow, take up our cross, to lose your life to find it.
- Shane Claiborne

Calcuttas are everywhere if we only have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta.
- Mother Teresa

Cruelty, devastation, death – this is what happens when God’s compassion and love leave a place. It is when people do not allow God to show up through them, that the world collapses in on itself.
- Don Miller

I’ve realised, that it’s not at all, and never was, about how much you have. Because in actual fact it means nothing at all. Nothing, nothing, nothing at all. It doesn’t add to your peace or your joy or your love. And that’s all that matters. To live selflessly, to live for another is not only so fulfilling but just so FUN.
- Unknown

Consider the Birds

by on July 30, 2012, 8 comments

The birds and lilies either oil or spin, yet both are fed and clothed and receive their daily portion without being anxious for them. They need earthly goods only for their daily sustenance, and they do not lay up a store for the future. This is the way they glorify their Creator, not by their industry, toil or care, but by a daily unquestioning acceptance of his gifts.

-Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship)


I picked up this Blue Jay feather the other day. You can ask my husband, I regularly pick up random things that I find beautiful on walks and outings and put them in equally random places. Unfortunately my “treasures” often get quite mistaken for trash – so this find I carefully tucked away on my art desk with the ideal of doing something special with it.

So I decided to give it center stage in a $1 wooden frame I found at a thrift store. Using a single stitch to hold the feather on a piece of watercolor paper, it was complete. I painted with acrylic paint over the photo/canvas that rested within the vintage frame and I have a reminder of God’s perfect provision. I love that the Lord uses nature and beauty to give us glimpses of His character. And I also love that some of my favorite things around my home, are the simplest.

Summer Giveaway

by on July 17, 2012, 16 comments

Hey there! As promised, here is a little summer giveaway for you. Thank you to my sponsors for this giveaway, Freja Moon from Bulgaria and Mark and Zoe from Scotland.

Freja is a hand knitter/crocheter who makes beautiful fiber jewelry and wearables. This mustard yellow necklace can also work as a headband or bracelet. Mark and Zoe are the founders of YOKE. A fun and vibrant duo making illustrations and prints that are perfect for summer.

TO ENTER: All you have to do to enter is leave a comment sharing one memorable trip, event, sunset, whatever – from this summer. Comments will close next Tuesday and a winner will be updated on this post the following day. Can’t wait to hear what you say!

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Update: Our winner, picked randomly, was comment #8 – Astrid! Congratulations! I will be in touch to get you your goodies. Thank you to all who entered and shared your wonderful summer moments!

My Lately

by on July 16, 2012, 3 comments

I can’t believe it, the summer is almost over. I have a lot to share with you – things I’ve been thinking, and things I’ve been working on.

I’ve been painting some rooms in our house. That has been time consuming, but rewarding in it’s completion. We love our 80 year old house in midtown, but beige walls were everywhere when we moved in, and well, I like color. So now the living room is midnight blue, the laundry room is a cool mint, the dining room is a grey-white. It makes such a difference.

I’ve been doing some art experiments on balsa wood. It’s nice to try out a different element for a canvas.  It’s super absorbent, so it lends an interesting effect.

I also made a few of the earrings I create to sell in a local boutique and used balsa wood and 3-d paint for the packaging. Did you know you can cut balsa wood with scissors? Fun stuff.

I’ve unplugged more from social media – I feel like it’s such a time suck and really cuts down on my own productivity. It’s nice to have less noise and clutter.

Trying new projects like this small clay vessel imprinted with a lace pattern. I’m loving creating little vignettes in my home that offer bits of beauty and serenity – away from the legos, cars and nerf guns that proliferate on the floors.

I’m prepping for my conference talk that is happening in just a few short months. I’m excited, but I’m also nervous and have lots of doubts that this SAHM has anything worthwhile to say.

But mostly, I’m reading. I’m waiting. I’m pondering things about faith, church and art. Reading books like the Tangible Kingdom and learning about incarnational community and being missional and realizing that I need to be completely immersed in God to pull anything like that off. Bonhoeffer’s works, and Tozer that completely mess me up – in a good way. Interesting reads, like A.J. Jacobs A Year of Living Biblically. They challenge my thinking and cause me to ask questions.

So there ya go, and those are all reasons this blog has been a bit quiet lately. :) Not to mention enjoying my summer with the two best little boys around. But I hope to be writing more about things…in the meantime, I will be hosting a summer giveaway tomorrow – so stay tuned!

Celebrating 8 Years

by on June 12, 2012, 14 comments

I married my husband 8 years ago today, June 13th. I had the idea to put this little thing together months ago, because I thought it would be fun to see the impact of what we’ve done together. And because numbers really fascinate me. I’m not good at numbers, but they still fascinate me.

For us, since we live and work together, sometimes it seems as if we’ve been married much longer. I’d like to think we are in a pretty good place after 8 years. This year we’ve undergone so much growth and transformation, not just as a couple, but also as individuals. I’m learning that my marriage is something that refines me. I’m learning that forgiveness is key. I’m learning to have grace for him, and for myself. You’d think I’d have all these things down after 8 years, but it’s still a work in progress. :) And I can say, that through all this, I still love him earnestly.

Eight years seems like a long time, but in perspective, we still could have 65+ more years together if we both make it to our 90′s. What a thought that is! We’ll be old and wrinkly and probably still doing things like dominating bumper cars at an amusement park, or going laser tagging.

Happy Anniversary, Kent Shaffer. I love you.

 

 

Embrace Adventure

by on June 8, 2012, 1 comment

If there is one thing my boys have taught me, it’s to embrace adventure. To do it more, to do it big. To slow down and see the amazing world God created. I love seeing the world through their eyes. Why not run through puddles with your shoes off? Why not run screaming and laughing in the rain? Why not pick dandelions and put them in our hair? Add a little bit of adventure in, and the world will seem that much less mundane, and that much more magical. You can start small. Begin conversations with people you wouldn’t otherwise.  Stop on the shoulder of the highway and pick wildflowers. Venture across the street and meet your neighbors!

(My little Abe, who turned 2 this week. )

So happy weekend. I hope you embrace adventure, however it comes your way. Be intentional and let life amaze you. I leave you with a small paragraph from Don Miller’s book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.”

Your brain doesn’t stop growing until you are 26. So from birth to 26, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you’re groggy and pointing at things saying, “circle” and “blue” and “car” and then “sex” and “job” and “healthcare.” The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn’t that big of deal, that life isn’t staggering. Life is staggering and we’re just used to it. We are all like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we are given – it’s just another sunset, just another rain storm, just another child being born…

PS - Many, many thanks for all your comments on my last post. It was a lot of fun to write something with more story and show you how I’m embracing adventure for myself. Can’t wait for the next one!