Sketchbook Project: The Things That Change Things

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Genesis+Art Studio participated in the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project and submitted a sketchbook of work that will be on exhibition in Brooklyn, NY; Austin, San Francisco, Portland, ME; Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC and Winter Park, FL. You can also check out our journal, along with hundreds of other artists by going to the Brooklyn Art Library site and look under our GenesisArtStudio link. arthousecoop.com/library

© Genesis+Art Studio

Saint Paul Snow

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

The recent snow storm in Minnesoata offered a morning of image making. After 36+ hours and over 17" of snow had fallen, we had a blanket of white that quieted both sight and sound over the Twin Cities.

© Genesis+Art Studio

New Jerusalem Series at the Bigelow Chapel

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our New Jerusalem Series will be part of the worship space at the Bigelow Chapel on the campus of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities through January 2011. The series consists of seven 40 x 40 paintings from our Gensis+Art Studio.

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Black and white, left, right, good, evil, conservative, liberal, I have it right, you have it wrong, faith divided by moral and political ideologies, not budging from our sense of beliefs, just waiting for the power structure to change or better yet, move off with our own tribe of like thinkers and wait for the next dividing issue. How can we move towards one another? How can we begin to see God in the color that resides in both the black and white? What could happen? Would life be more rich in celebrating our differences with understanding? Could we have a sudden outbreak of hope? Can changing our lens from seeking differences to finding understanding lead us to new truth? Can our imaginations and creativity lead us to grace margins and a compassionate and faith filled way forward? For those who dare the possibility to become transparent and to interact with one another we think we not only connect with creation, but find out who we are in it, and who we are in relationship to others. Could it help lead us back to our humanity for the love of Christ?

© Genesis+Art Studio

What does art have to do with reconciliation anyway?

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

It has been a time of both sacrifice and learning over the last couple of years. My study at Luther Seminary has taken me deeper into the questions for which I don’t have any answers. Perhaps asking and wrestling with sacred questions is what it is suppose to be about. How do you answer the questions of suffering in the world. How do we hold one another up when the weight of the questions press to crush us with despair? Where is God in our suffering? The Book of Job seeks the questions and while not answered directly Job seems to be satisfied with the depths of mystery. When all we seem to want is answers we are given more questions. Questions that make us look deeper into each other and into ourselves. Art helps me bring that internal eternal mystery to the surface and gives me hope.

Let's continue the conversation for peace

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We hope that if you have spent some time being with our art, either at our Genesis+Art Studio, gallery or on line, that you have reflected on what it might say to you. Our thoughts might be very different from your own or you may have a very point of view from either one of us. We hope that our art has evoked something in you, and that you will become a participant in a dialogue with us.

We would like to hear from you. Let's together start the conversation that can inpsire our imaginations and creativity for a peaceful world. If you are inspired or just want to express your thoughts either in word or image send them to us on email and we will share our responses with all of you. Email us at studio@genesisartstudio.com. Peace be with you. Hope to see you!

Chuck + Peg

Works of Reconciliation at St. Anthony

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

chuck: A wall can be defined as a thing perceived as a protective or restrictive barrier either physical or as in a wall of silence. Our experience in Northern Ireland brought us in contact with physical walls that both protected and divided. If you have not experienced this sort of setting, it can be a challenge and a threat to achieving a sense of community. I can't really judge the short-term merits of building a wall, but I know at some point you really can't build them high enough. There is a perception that building walls will either keep others out or keep them in, depending on who controls the power. Perhaps we can learn that listening and creative dialogue can build mutual bridges of trust and hope.

peg: Walls, whether they are built to protect or divide, bring a constant reminder to fear what's on the other side. The walls in Northern Ireland were meant to mitigate violence between the Catholics and the Protestants but the net result is to maintain division. Chuck and I have been working to bring down the walls in Belfast as we watch them being built between Israel and Palestine. This painting was a reminder that the oppressed nearly always become the oppressors.

Our show titled Works of Reconciliation will be up thru November at St. Anthony Lutheran, St. Paul, MN

The New Jerusalem Series at Saint Andrew's

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Black and white, left, right, good, evil, conservative, liberal, I have it right, you have it wrong, faith divided by ideologies, systems of power and privilege and dynamics of domination and hostility by which we seek to judge and control others…

How can we move toward one another? How can we begin to see God in the colors that reside in both the black and the white? What could happen? Would life be richer in celebrating our differences with understanding? Could we have a sudden outbreak of hope? Can changing our lens transform us to new truth? Can our imaginations and creativity lead us to the grace margins and a compassionate faith-filled way forward? Could it help lead us back to our humanity for the love of Christ?

For those who dare the possibility to become transparent and to interact with each other we think that we not only connect with a new creation, but also find out who we are in it, and our relationship to others.

Our new series of work titled The New Jerusalem will be up through November at
St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Mahtomedi, MN

Reflections of China

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

We were inspired by the people, culture, architecture and art of China. Our travels took us to Shanghai, Wenjo, the landscape we saw from the bullet train between Shanghai and Beijing which took us to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.

Images © 2010 Genesis+Art Studio

Shanghai Inspiration

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

We were fortunate to be able to travel to Shanghai and Beijing, China to be with our son John, daughter-in-law Ye and our families to celebrate their marriage. We were inspired by the people, the culture, the architecture and art.

Hobbs Open Studio Event

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Why should we move towards understanding of one another? Can changing our lens from seeking differences to finding understanding lead us to new truth? Can our imaginations and creativity lead us to grace margins and a compassionate and faith filled way forward?

Join us for an evening of art + conversation on Friday October 8 at the Hobbs Open Studio Event from 6 – 10pm. Studio No. 501

Hope to see you.

Hallmark Creative Leadership Symposium

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We'll be sharing our story and our work at the Hallmark Creative Leadership Symposium September 20 – October 1 at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City. We are part of several presentations over the course of two days. Our story is titled: Living In the Tension and will explore the healing power of art in building community and relationships. We'll be sharing our experiences and art from the time spent with the people of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

New Jerusalem Series at Luther Seminary

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We are grateful to Luther Seminary for their invitation to give our presentation titled New Jerusalem Series at the Annual Donor Celebration on Sunday 19 September. We shared our story about our art, creativity workshops and our experience working in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We also had seven new paintings in the Olson Community Center that explore the grace margins where the divine dwells and draws us together. Our work will be at Luther Seminary thru September, then will move onto Kansas City and back to Minneapolis for a series of shows in 2011.

New work at Luther Seminary

FROM OUR STUDIO:

A new body of work from Genesis+Art Studio will be on display at Luther Seminary beginning Sunday September 19, 2010. The work titled The New Jerusalem consists of seven explorations around drawing together to create something new.

© 2010 Genesis+Art Studio

ECVA Justice & Peace Exhibition: Bonfires

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Bonfires

40 x 40 acrylic on canvas

peg: Bonfires in Belfast have served as flash points for violence and competition for many years. In the painting, the Bonfire also resembles a storm, dangerous but intriguing. We often watched an incoming storm from behind barbed wire. The gathering storm on the horizon wasn't always a meteorological event.

chuck: Our time spent in Ireland and Northern Ireland has put us in the middle of the ancient Celtic culture. While I have much to learn about its history and intimacies, I find myself drawn to its spirituality and the land that gave birth to it. There is a yearly event in Belfast where they light Bonfires, fires that stretch for two city blocks or more. The fire has its primitive roots embedded in our souls, it was a source of heat for warmth and food and became a gathering place for ancient communities to share stories. Perhaps in the gathering of an ancient ritual a new story of community, living in peace, can rise up.

ECVA Justice & Peace Exhibition

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our work is included in the ECVA juried show titled: Justice & Peace. Our work shown here is one of two accepted into the show and was a commission we received from Forthspring Inter Community Center in Belfast, Northern Ireland and is titled: Belfast Peace.

CURATOR'S STATEMENT: In this exhibition, the third in our Baptismal Covenant series, artists were invited to respond to these lines from the covenant:

“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? I will, with God’s help.”

The resulting exhibition articulates the inherent tension between care for ourselves, our own families and communities, and a respectful concern for the broader community of faiths, cultures, and the environment. Each image calls us to a broader world view, inviting us to see ourselves as part of a larger whole and to act upon that understanding.

We invite you to sit with these images and see what response awakens within you.

Diane Walker

Curator

Art as a visual language

FROM OUR TRAVEL SKETCHBOOK:

We stopped along the Great Wall of China to look more closely and try to take in the mystery and magnitude of the mountains and the wall that cut through it for miles. The experience of sharing our art making with those we encountered bridged the language and cultural gaps and brought about smiles and lots of photo taking with complete strangers. Art was the connection point and opened a door and invitation to share something beyond words. A memory that we will not forget.

Great Wall of China

FROM OUR TRAVEL SKETCHBOOK:

We have just returned from a trip of a life time to be part of our son John and Ye's wedding in Shanghai, China. We were richly blessed by the hospitality of Ye's family and look forward to the unfolding of our new connection. We later traveled to Beijing and onto the Great Wall where we experienced awe and wonder over the sites, sounds, mystery and people we encountered. It was truely an inspiring journey into a new creation.

Springfield Road

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Springfield Road

40 x 40 acrylic on canvas

chuck: This work felt like a journey into the unknown. Perhaps the painting of the lines in the early stages of development is like living your life intentionally and in the moment. When you live on this side of your brain, you fully experience all of creation in that moment. As the painting developed, altered, taking many different turns with its essential story trying to emerge, the invisible structure came back from the history of the painting, to alter and frame the creation. Even in our wonderings into the unknown, there lies a spiritual structure and connection to all time.

Peg: Peeling off the resist and revealing the “fencing” was just like experiencing the barbed wire in Northern Ireland, the wire gets so in between the observer and the “landscape”. It becomes the object and what’s on the other side becomes distant and unreachable unknown.

Blessings

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

blessings

30 x 30 acrylic on canvas

chuck + peg: This work has special meaning for us. It speaks to the potential we have as a community when we lift each other up rather than turn away when times are difficult. Reaching out a helping hand, asking nothing in return, can bring many blessings for both the giver and receiver. The light that comes from another’s blessing on our behalf during dark and uncertain times gives rise to new beginnings and blessings in return.

Genesis+Art at 19 Below Gallery

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our show Works of Reconciliation opened at 19 Below Gallery in Kansas City's Art District Friday night and will be up thru the end of September.

Many thanks to those of you who stoppped by Friday night and for well wishes and encouragement.

Intruding Upon the Timeless

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Intruding Upon the Timeless

30 x 60 acrylic on canvas

peg: I was thinking about gratitude and wondering why we aren’t walking “gratitude journals.” I think it’s because to be grateful we have to be attentive and aware, and usually we human beings are neither. By focusing and noting all the things for which we are grateful, we flex our “attention muscles” and begin to notice all the little things that bring joy everyday.

chuck: This work began by reflecting on the word gratitude. The spiritual practice of gratitude can be considered a state of mind going even further to being a way of life. Gratitude links us in relationship to the divine in every part of creation. By practicing gratitude in both good and challenging experiences, we bless others and in turn are blessed. This personal and social renewal also opens our imagination – and more specifically, the imaginative intersection where spirit and artistic vision meet. By starting with gratitude, we risk reconnecting beauty to goodness and truth.

New Works of Reconciliation

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our Opening in the Kansas City Cross Roads Art District is Friday August 6. Our work and story will be on public display thru the end of September. Dad Hoffman got a preview of our work and offered only slight criticism. 19 Below Gallery is located at 5 w 19th street kcmo.

Luther Seminary Annual Donor Celebration

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Genesis+Art Studio will be part of Luther Seminary's Annual Donor Celebration. The event Inspiration from God will be held at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday September 19, 2010 at the Olson Campus Center.

Join us for our conversation titled: Faith and Art. Our World Canvas Project will be part of the community.

Hallmark Creative Leadership Symposium

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We'll be sharing our story and our work at the Hallmark Creative Symposium this fall at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City. We are part of several presentations over the course of two days. Our story is titled: Living In the Tension and will explore the healing power of art in building community and relationships. We'll be sharing our experiences and art from the time spent with the people of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Sacred Ties

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Sacred Ties

40 x 40 acrylic on canvas

peg: We wanted to paint something for John and Ye’s wedding that would not only honor two individuals and their uniqueness, but also honor what happens in a successful union of two people. The marriage relationship itself rises with a life all its own. The task becomes how to balance individual, opposing or different needs and still nurture and grow the relationship. If done with care, this third thing rising is not a burden, but a guiding light for both people.

chuck: We’ve painted with this color palette before, but little did we know that the theme would be part of a painting we created for our son John and his wife Ye’s wedding. As we venture to Shanghai, China for the ceremony, we will encounter the connection being made between families as well as cultures. Honoring and nurturing the best in another gives rise to our greatest self. The poetry of John O’Donohue expresses it this way, Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Dabar

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Dabar

72 x 72 acrylic on canvas

chuck + peg: Dabar is the Hebrew (Aramaic) word for “word.” The Hebrew concept of ‘word’ is far more dynamic than the Greek conception. Dabar is the word that is the divine creative energy. All of creation contains the living wisdom of Dabar with the creative energy flowing through all things, all time and all space. In Genesis, the story tells us, that God spoke and then the powerful beings of creation – light and darkness, sun and moon–into existence. Dabar, which is translated as ‘word’, implies deeds and actions, not just words. This creative energy or word of God we believe is still active today–it is constantly creating and inviting us (all beings) to participate in this continuous process.

Welcoming Family

FROM OUR SKETCHBOOK:

We are just finishing a painting we created for our son John and his soon to be wife Ye. Their wedding will be in Shanghai, China in a few weeks and have commemorated their sacred event with this work. These are pieces of sketches and text.

Leadership + Creativity Workshop

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Last month we facilitated our workshop Leadership + Creativity: Claiming the Artist Within. Twenty two artists gathered at United Theological Seminary's Summer Institute in Spirituality and the Arts. Many thanks for the hidden insights that you shared along with an openness to create some amazing pieces of art. Images © Genesis Art Studio

Imaginative space where faith and artistic vision meet

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our work was part of the worship experience in the Bigelow Chapel at United Theological Seminary. Our paintings were also in the gallery at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis.

Join us for our opening at 19 Below Gallery in the Kansas City Cross Roads Art District on August 6, 2010. Hope to see you.

Work in the studio

FROM OUR SKETCHBOOK:

We're working on a new group of paintings for our upcoming opening at 19 Below Gallery. We are working with the Genesis creation story and with the interest on the Hebrew word דָּבָר Join us on Friday evening August 6 in the Kansas City Cross Roads from 6-10:30. Our work will be up at 19 Below Gallery through September. Hope to see you.

Design + Letterpress

FROM OUR STUDIO:

It was good to have our daughter Hannah spend the week with us in Kansas City. She's a graphic designer and artist. Working in our Genesis+Art Studio and the print shop in the Hobbs, she completed a card series. She's an inspiration in many ways.

Liturgical Arts

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We wanted to share some of our design and liturgical art. We have worked with congregations to give words to their vision and purpose in ministry. We then work with them to transform the words into images and symbols that are used in altar cloths and banners to help create sacred spaces for worship and prayer. Embracing the sacred ensures that symbols, sacrament, sacramental art and space lead people to encounter God. Shown here is a 20' triptych permanent installation at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Port Charlotte, Florida and an altar clothe created for the Earth Day Celebration at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information about our workshops and portfolio go to our web site.

Meet Rudy

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Meet our dog Rudy. He's full of energy, very intuitive, curious and a mix that even the vet puzzles over. Our best guess is that Rudy is a mix of Norwich, Bull, Cairn Terrior with legs of a Corgi. He has a vertical leap five times his height and loves coming to the studio with us for hours on end with little complaint or criticism of our work. Rudy was a great addition to our family two years ago. The boy will be 6 on July 1.

Image courtesy of Heidi Hoffman Photography

Art Opening August 6, 2010

FROM OUR STUDIO:

We've been busy in the studio preparing for our upcoming show at 19 Below Gallery in Kansas City's Crossroad District on 6th August. Along with a show at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis and our work in the Bigelow Chapel at United Theological Seminary, our work will be at Gloria Dei Lutheran in St.Paul. Work continues on Luther Seminary's commission for their Prodigal Son Collection. Hope to see you on the 6th.

Forged

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

Peg: When we first went to Northen Ireland, tension in the neighborhood where we worked was high. People were constantly on edge and suspicious of those around them. The hostel where we stayed was locked and gated at dusk and teh IRA and paramilitary were acting as vigilanties. People were divided, yet in the midst of the troubles there ran thin golden strands of hope holding everything together.

Chuck: I don't think that I can put words around this image. It took a long time for it to emerge and continues to immerse me in contemplation.

Borderless World

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

This painting had a unique significance for us because we knew for whom it was being birthed before we started. Most often we create paintings together without knowing who will bring it home to their own space.The fact that it was created for Pam Kelley’s birthday has even more meaning. Birthing has been a reoccurring theme for us. We refer to our art as birthing images, so honoring the birth of Pam into the world in a painting, takes on the mystical wonder of creation.

Peg: My vision for the painting centered around the dawn of creation. Symbols, language and possibiity emerge into the darkness, bringing light, carrying the potential for communication and creativity. The cerulean blues cannot contain the energy and strength of the written word and the symbolic languages burst forth with a spirit of their own. Creation truly imagines a borderless world of peace and inclusion.

Chuck: The work brought me to the place of wonder and mystery of ongoing creation. Pam uses language to express and birth her ideas into the world, and all of these thoughts and prayers went into this piece. My thoughts and reflections centered about creation coming out of darkness. This became the birthing of something new. The new being hope for a borderless world, a new world that emerges in God’s continuing creation. Letter forms stream from the light with the hope for new dialogues that bridge differences and change to a healthy, mutual world, celebrating diversity and the harmony that can be created together.

The painting for us has become a contemplation of creation in space and time, visually depicted for all to contemplate the ongoing formation of the universe, our hearts, minds and spirits.

Tension

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

PEG: This is the first painting Chuck and I created after he moved to Minneapolis to go to seminary. Somehow I expected us to paint like we had for the last two years, but it was a struggle. We spent weeks trying to get back to our normal painting process, and each other. We didn’t get comfortable until our subject matter matched our emotional state. Finally with the help of the painting we dealt with the reality of the changes we’d experienced. It reminded me that reconciliation is a process and requires tending. Relationships between people, communities or countries need attention.

CHUCK: Tension when managed can lead to new discoveries. When left unattended can spin out of control and can lead to divide. This painting has been a dialogue of working through our tensions of creating together. Our process and each other needed tending and nurturing. Working through our process of listening, responding and creating again confirmed for us that holding in the tension can lead to something new. The risk being that tension left unbalanced can lead to destruction.

Global Missions prayers offered on World Canvas

The World Canvas Project was part of the Global Missions Institute gathering at Luther Seminary. Students from around the world, faculty and friends of the seminary gathered in community and to hear a presentation from Dr. Guillermo Hansen.

World Canvas Project begins at Luther Seminary

The World Canvas Project is a prayer canvas where your prayer is first penciled onto the canvas, then select a color to paint your prayer into the canvas. The canvas has been part of the Minnesota Without Poverty gathering, Luther Seminary, Global Missions, United Theological Seminary and the Summer Institute in Spirituality & Art. A second canvas is currently in Iraq. Photo's by Holm Photo.