My art blogging theme has shifted from general art journaling to one specifically focused on integrating mixed media with spiritual care. As of March 7, 2016 I will no longer be updating ArtsyTheology. Instead, you can find my how-to create and do visual journaling with mixed media art as spiritual care on my new blog site: artasspiritualcare.blogspot.com and I also have one which focuses on art and personal testimonies of immigrant mothers and children seeking asylum in the US which you can view at refugeeartblog.com
I hope you will join me there...
Hope: Past, Present, and Future
One aspect of the directions invites participants to choose a symbol which they then repeat throughout the art.
Best Practices for Cross-Cultural Art Sessions
From Fear to Freedom (Immigrant Art Reflection)
Cristo
nos libertó para que vivamos en libertad. Por lo tanto, manténganse firmes y no
se sometan nuevamente al yugo de esclavitud. (Gálatas 5:1)The introduction to the art reflection process included the following explanation to provide background and understanding for the writing aspect:
Asylum seekers often need to prove what is called credible
(reasonable) fear of persecution or torture. You are your own witness, which
means you are the one who must tell the details of your story as the proof that
you have “credible fear” of persecution or torture. This art exercise is to
help organize your thoughts and to practice telling your story. It is very
important that you share all of details which prove you have a credible fear
for your life of persecution or torture. Judges look for discrepancies
(differences) between the different times you are asked to tell your story. It
is very important that your story is (a) true; (b) told in great detail from
beginning to end; (c) remains the exact same story each time you are asked to
tell it with all the facts, dates, people, and details exactly the same. This
art reflection is to help you organize your thoughts to tell your full story.
First: Write your story about why you have credible fear of
persecution or torture. Write down all the important details to support your
story including WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW. Pay careful attention to
detail. Write exactly what happened.
Second: Go back and underline important words which remind you
about the details of your experience. For example, you might underline a date
or the name of a person or a particular location. Write these key words or
phrases on the small piece of paper and set it aside. You will use this list later.
Third: Use tempura paint to make a pretty mono print on top of
your words. (If you do not want to cover up your words, you can make the art on
the other side of the paper or you can get a new piece of paper.) Go to the
table with the paint, rollers, and “Gelli Art” mono printing plates and Pastor
Helen or Pastor Sabrina will show you how to make a mono print. Dry the print
before you go to step four.
Fourth: Take the list of words you underlined and write them on
cut shapes which symbolize your freedom from fear. Glue the shapes with the
words on top of the mono print painted page. You might want to put them in the
best order to help you remember exactly how to (re)tell your story. The goal is
to create a visual that helps you remember all of the details of your story. Use
the many art supplies to decorate your art story.
My Love Story (Immigrant Art Reflection)
Nosotros amamos a Dios porque él nos
amó primero.
1 Juan 4:19
During a recent art session with immigrant women seeking asylum, they created a mixed media art piece of their love story. The guided meditation included four steps to guide the reflection and the art process.
First: Use a pen or pencil and write your love story. How do you feel
or experience the love of God in your life? Who are the people in your life who
have shown you love? Grandparents? Parents? Brothers and sisters? Children?
Grandchildren? Aunts and uncles? Priest or minister? Teacher? Friend? What have
you learned about love from these special people. How has their love given you
encouragement, blessing, joy, or hope?
Third: Use an oil pastel (like a crayon) to fill the page with
hearts, start with a small heart and then make bigger and bigger hearts until
the page is full and you have covered the stencils. Use a pen or pencil and
write inside and around the heart shapes. You could write a prayer or a love
letter to a special person in your life.
Four: Add stamped images, cut shapes, and pretty tape. Outline
shapes with puffy paint. Write your name and date.
Mono Printing
Making a mono print creates a fun and inspirational background for whatever comes next.
Adding (Art) Bits & Pieces
There's no excuse for "no time for art." It's clearly reasonable to not have sufficient time to work up a full art reflection, but there's always time for a wee bit of art. Pick up your journal and add a simple art layer...anything that suits the momentary muse!
Here I added cut paper ephemera to a previously "done" journal page. 
Another stencil layer is always a quick addition to a journal page in progress. 
The stamped background from another "no time for art" evening beckened for another layer. I'd just read the appalling background info on the tedious and (probably) unjust procedures for asylum seekers when I scooted to my art room. Instead of hopeful faces of the immigrants seeking asylum with whom I am a volunteer chaplain, I was struck by (literally) bars (to freedom).
My quickie evening art session included laying down a tinted layer of gesso and running a Catalyst texture tool through the wet gesso/paint to express the prison feeling of these immigrant women seeking asylum.
Simple Stamping for an Easy Background Layer
Symbolic Significance
In theological talk, a sacrament is "a visible external sign of an internal invisible grace." In many regards, symbols offer a parallel role for art.
My Love Story Bi-Lingual Art Reflection (Directions)
Mi historia de amor – My Love Story
Primero: Utilice un bolígrafo
o un lápiz y escribir su historia de amor. ¿Cómo se siente o experimenta el amor
de Dios en tu vida? ¿Quiénes son
las personas en su vida que han demostrado que amas? ¿Abuelos? Los padres? ¿Hermanos
y hermanas? ¿Niños? Nietos?
¿Tías y tíos? Sacerdote o ministro?
¿Maestro? ¿Amigo? ¿Qué ha aprendido sobre el amor de estas personas especiales. ¿Cómo ha su amor dado
aliento, bendición, alegría o esperanza?
First: Use a pen or pencil and write your love story. How do you feel
or experience the love of God in your life? Who are the people in your life who
have shown you love? Grandparents? Parents? Brothers and sisters? Children?
Grandchildren? Aunts and uncles? Priest or minister? Teacher? Friend? What have
you learned about love from these special people. How has their love given you
encouragement, blessing, joy, or hope?
Segundo : Elija 1-2 colores favoritos de pintura
acrílica y 2-3 plantillas símbolos diferentes (formas ) de su historia de amor.
Utilice un cuadrado de plástico azul para raspar la pintura sobre el fondo
(cubrir las palabras ) y luego colocar rápidamente una plantilla en la parte
superior de la pintura antes de que se seque y use una toallita de bebé a
borrarse la pintura en la galería de símbolos / agujero ( " arte de la
plantilla inversa técnica"). Repetir con un segundo color de la pintura y
una plantilla diferente. Plantillas limpias con
toallitas de bebé.
Second: Choose 1-2 favorite colors of acrylic paint and 2-3 different
stencils—symbols (shapes) of your love story. Use a blue plastic square to
scrape paint over the background (cover the words) and then quickly place a
stencil on top of the paint before it dries and use a baby wipe to rub off the
paint in the stencil/hole ( “reverse stencil art technique”). Repeat with a
second color of paint and a different stencil. Clean stencils with baby wipes.
Tercero: Use un pastel de
aceite (como un lápiz) para llenar la página con el corazón, comenzar con un pequeño corazón y luego hacer corazones cada vez más grandes hasta que la página
está llena y ha cubierto
las plantillas. Utilice un
bolígrafo o un lápiz y escribir en el interior y alrededor de las formas de corazón. Se puede escribir una oración o una carta
de amor a una persona especial en
su vida.
Third: Use an oil pastel (like a crayon) to fill the page with
hearts, start with a small heart and then make bigger and bigger hearts until
the page is full and you have covered the stencils. Use a pen or pencil and
write inside and around the heart shapes. You could write a prayer or a love
letter to a special person in your life.
Cuatro: Añadir imágenes
estampadas, cortar formas, y la
cinta bonita. Esquema formas con
pintura hinchada.Escriba su nombre y la fecha.
Four: Add stamped images, cut shapes, and pretty tape. Outline
shapes with puffy paint. Write your name and date.
Nosotros amamos a Dios porque él nos
amó primero.
1 Juan 4:19
Layered Reflection of Courage
Guided art reflections are excellent for helping to process one's life experiences. As I work with women who have little to no experience in mixed media art/reflection (not a "normal thing" to have experience with!!), it has been challenging to break the process into small "layering" steps. It is very counter-intuitive to "cover up" an art something (or even a written word) that is on a lower/first layer. It is only when I break the steps down, ideally with pictures, that it becomes more manageable and understandable.
The example here shows multiple layers of art which began with a written first layer reflecting how the immigrant seeking asylum in the US had embodied courage during her pre/journey. You can see a little bit of the words still visible in the upper left corner in the pink area. As she gradually built the layers with symbols of hope for her future, the story of her past becomes absorbed through art into the hope she is expressing for her new future. She gave her piece a title for the "top layer" of Dios es Amor (God is Love) and also wrote her hopes and prayer for the future on the bottom left.
The art reflection was inspired by the Biblical text, Isaiah 43:1-5 which talks about God calling people from the north and south and east and west and gathering them together to worship God who is the creator of all people. This text then is included in the art piece (I provided the printed words on the peach paper which are evident here on the top left of the art). First-timers at layered art always find it strange to "cover up" the words they have just written with a big piece of anything, such as this scripture. However, as they move to the second and third and even fourth layer during the art process they begin to experience the value of the guided art reflection. Novices always seen quite surprised at how much they like their completed piece!
Courage: Past, Present, and Future
Some of the women write much detail, spending 30 minutes or more writing their experiences and thoughts. Others write only a few sentences. It seems counter-intuitive to the women, but immediately following the written portion they begin adding layers of art. Quite often, the words are entirely covered and it is difficult to impossible to read any portion of what they had written. The idea with the written portion is to "dump" their feelings and experiences, to name their joys and struggles and then to move into the art portion with the vision toward God's presence in their lives (past, present, and future).
During the art process, I talk with the women about the importance of symbols. There are a myriad of stencils and stamps available, they choose symbols and shapes which hold meaning for their lives and/or which bring them hope.
 |
| Flowers symbolize growth and new life. |
 |
| The butterfly (mariposa) is one of the most-selected symbols by the women. |
Reflections on Courage
First: Write your story of
courage. Think back to when you first began to think about making the journey
to the USA. Make a list of your acts of courage before you left, as you began
the trip, and during the journey. Next, write a prayer for today, tomorrow and
the coming weeks, months, and years.
Second: Go to the art supply
table and choose a favorite color of acrylic paint and a stencil shape. Put a
little bit of acrylic paint on one edge of your paper. Take a stencil and
return to your table. Use a small piece of cardboard and scrape the paint
across the page. Quickly place the stencil on top of the scraped paint and rub
off the paint through the stencil using a baby wipe. Repeat with a second color
and a different stencil. Clean the
stencils with a baby wipe. Glue the
Bible verse into your art.
Third: Use a crayon or oil
pastel and draw a large, simple shape over the background (tree, flower, stem
with leaves, butterfly, cross). Paint inside the shapes. Add cut shapes and/or
stamped images of symbols that help you to have courage. Outline the shape with
puffy paint. Use a crayon or dark colored pen to write words of hope and
courage for yourself and for your children. How is God present? How does God
give you hope? How does God give you courage during your journey? Write your
name and today’s date.
Crowns of Joy!
I've used this simple art project is every possible context: when I'm working with children and I have the opportunity to do it...I do it! Here I tied in the theme of King (Baby) Jesus and a "Christmas VBS" for immigrant mothers and children. I had volunteers prep cutting out the crowns from sheets of white poster board so they were cut and ready for the 300+ participants. It saves time and paper to cut "two for one" by centering the crown to trace in the middle of a 7-8" wide strip of poster board. If you make one continuous cut down the length of the board as you cut out the crown, then each side of the cut can be used to make crown, one side is the "shadow" shape of the original, but it works just as well as the original shape. (And yes, the crown is from Burger King!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)