Prayerful beginnings

Twelve Tribes © Genesis+Art Studio

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

The artistic direction for our Skainos prayer paintings took into consideration the intimacy of the architectural form created for this sacred space. The size and treatment of the painting surface and color were created to give a sense of prayerful intimacy. Each piece of our art began with our own prayers penciled onto the raw canvas. Beneath our many layers of paint, the prayers began a dialogue with the Divine, blessing and invocation calling the viewer into a glimpse of the mystery of God’s intimacy, love and grace. We offer our paintings as a visual pathway to prayer and contemplation.

Skainos: Where life abounds

Living Waters © Genesis+Art Studio

FROM OUR JOURNAL PAGES:

We recently completed and delivered our series of painted prayers for the Skainos Project and the East Belfast Mission in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Our inspiration is grounded in the writings of Glenn Jordan of Skainos titled, The City of God in the Here and Now; the re–imagining of a sacred community in East Belfast that birthed Skainos. Its many mystical references to imagining, thin places, creativity, transformation, garden paradise and renewal conjured portals to the divine and of a space where we find walls soaked with stories.

The mystical references drew us to the creation story and garden paradise narratives of Genesis, seeing God as creativity. We were also inspired by John’s proclamation in his Book of Revelation of a new vision and imagining of the heavenly city breaking into this world. The thread that connects these stories is love. We have the living waters of Christ found in the Gospel of John and the love poems of Solomon. In John 7:37–38, Jesus refers to himself as the living waters of all creation. John writes, “On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says."  And in Song of Sol 4:15 “Thou art a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon.”  We have worked with both of these texts for inspiration and the central element for the larger painting. Water is a vital component to East Belfast, (meaning river mouth) and creations element that allows life to abound both physically and spiritually.

The Song of Songs, are the sacred and sensual love poems of Solomon. We see these love songs as figurative in how they speak to the great mysteries of God’s shared intimacy with us, where we’re witness to love, and also to love’s response. Beauty and sanctity in human love becomes a reflection back of God’s Divine love for us. Embedded within Solomon’s words, we find the One who most intimately holds our hearts and binds us to one another.

Where the water flows

Watching the water flow © Genesis+Art Studio

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

Two weeks in the mountains at Holden Village offered us a time for connection with new friends and a time for silence and contemplation. We facilitated our workshop, Heaven of the Heart: Creating a Space for Sacred Imagination and found time to hike into the mountains with sketchbooks and watercolors. This sacred space offered us an opportunity to create within this beautifully rugged creation. It changed our lens for seeing and hearts that opened us to wonder of God’s creation, both in the mountain lakes and the people we shared meals, art and conversation. What a blessing!

Transformation by water

On Lake Chelan to Holden Village © Genesis+Art Studio

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

We have never been to Holden Village, deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. You can only get to the Village by mountainous trails or by boat, it’s that secluded from the world. While we have heard many stories over the years about its transformative nature, we have never experienced Holden first hand, until now. Our excursion began at Fields Point and arrived at the boat dock in Lucerne some two and half hours later. It became a spiritual journey as we shed our world that so desperately wanted to continue to claim us and transported us by the mystical realm of water. As our boat docked, we were greeted by a driver and a yellow bus to take us up the switch backs the remaining 14 miles into the Village. We arrived to strangers clapping a warm welcome to each of us. We gathered our bags and found our new home atop the road in a chalet that overlooked the Village and the mountains that surrounded us. We had arrived someplace amazingly special. 

Working from the Chaos

Whether at work in our studio or in our workshops,
we explore and allow the chaos to give rise to transformation.
Photo © Heidi Hoffman Photography

FROM OUR STUDIO:

Our work is the result of collaboration. We go beyond the conceptual sense, to include working together on the same canvas. We paint at the same time, forging ideas together that neither of us could create alone. We experience this as both visual and verbal communication. When we begin our conversation in paint, it is important to let each of our voices be heard, allowing expression of our unique perspectives. Chaos seems to be necessary to get to the deeper order that unifies our work. Because we know that ideas usually don’t move in a straight line, we make intentional space for a more organic and flowing nature to take hold. Sometimes it takes courage, faith and time to allow ourselves to be transformed by the process. We have found that our usual rushed and me focused behavior finally gives way to the quiet gift of being together. We bring this process into our workshops where we create paintings in large groups, much the same way we create our own work.

In life, and in conversation, things can get messy. The visual language of color and shape, helps us think about larger issues together. Perhaps it is because most of this conversation takes place on the visual right side of our brains, rather than the verbal side. When we look at our results, we see evidence of our individuality, as well as the presence of a third dimension–the spiritual. We are always surprised by what we have painted and discovered together and what we find in common. It is what we call Painting as Prayer.

Heaven of the Heart

Painting as Prayer at Ghost Ranch in the high desert of 
New Mexico © Genesis+Art Studio 

FROM OUR TRAVELS:

Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico offered us a thin place for art and the spirit. This space invited us into a time of art and prayer where we could share conversation, both visually and verbally, around our humanity and the divine. The sharing of our creativity, caring and open hearts helped us make our way through the week. The week helped me to be hopeful. I wonder about what becomes available to us when we meet each other as fully human and when we do, believe that we actually see the divine shining through our humanity. A hopeful future is possible, as this dynamic group illustrated for me. We can only get where we are going with each other and that seems possible by giving space to our precious human goodness. 

Painting as prayer in East Belfast

© Genesis+Art Studio photo by Heidi Hoffman

FROM OUR STUDIO:


We try to create a space for both the physical and spiritual aspects of our art making. We have a studio where we have a physical space in which to create or at least attempt to create. But perhaps a greater challenge is to create a spiritual space in which we can be truly present and mindful to one another and to the creative process. Peg and I work together on the same canvas at the same time, forging ideas together that neither of us would create alone. We experience this as both visual and verbal communication and believe that it takes courage, faith and time within this space to be transformed by the process. We believe we have to allow chaos early on in order to get to the deeper order that unifies. Our rushed and thoughtless behaviors give way to the quiet gift of being together.


We bring this process into the workshop setting as well, where we create paintings in large groups. As with our own work, these workshop settings involve prayer, silence and visual conversation. The visual language of color and shape facilitate thinking together and, as in all life, it can get messy. But out of the mess can come transformation. In life, as in conversation, ideas don’t move in a straight line. Idea development is organic and flowing in nature. When we begin our conversation it is important to let each of our voices be heard, allowing individuals to express unique perspectives. Arising from this conversation is a third element: the spiritual. At this stage, we begin to uncover the collective wisdom revealed from the depths of the painting. If we are willing to listen, be curious and respectful about the possibilities that come from these diverse voices, unification can rise from the chaos. We are always surprised by what we discover, what we hold in common through this process we call Painting as Prayer.