Instead of simply having an art reception, the community came together under one roof in multiple ways. It was a great time - a very full evening. The church did an event called “The Hanging of the Greens” where people were given an opportunity to create Advent wreaths. There was also cookie decorating for the kids and a few Christmas carols sang as a group to get in the mood for the holiday. This was all in addition to the opportunity for people to wander around and look at the artwork on display. The lobby was also filled with people signing up for the Angel Tree, a program where you can purchase a gift for a child who might not otherwise have Christmas gifts.
Here’s some information about the show:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6
The artwork featured in this exhibition is inspired by Isaiah 9:6. Offering a personal perspective of God’s character through creative expression, this exhibit not only marks the coming and arrival of Jesus Christ but it also expresses a sense of expectation, anticipation, preparation and longing. The work explores the nature, personality, and qualities of Christ in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture and photography.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the work shown in this event…
One night I found myself making crowns. With each bend of the wire, thoughts associated to crowns came to mind. The song “Crown Him with many Crowns” played in my head for days as each crown took shape in my hands. I considered making a crown of thorns, and I thought of the sharp contrast between glorious glowing gold and thorns of ridicule. I reflected upon the crown of salvation that each of us is given. I thought about the Magi kneeling before the newborn King and acknowledging that despite their positions within the current culture, Jesus Christ was the ultimate authority.
I was excited to get my blogger friend Claudia Mair Burney involved in the show. I asked her if we could feature one of her written pieces and she graciously agreed. You can read her entire piece here.
A really nice guy from the gallery I just joined creates these really cool metal words. He agreed to be a part of the show, offering words like sacred, wonder, rejoice, faith and shalom.
I offered this quote to go along with the wire baby I created:
For the Son of God to empty himself and become poor meant a laying aside of glory; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice, and misunderstanding; finally, a death that involved such agony – spiritual, even more than physical – that his mind nearly broke under the prospect of it. It meant love to the uttermost for unlovely men, who ‘through his poverty might become rich.’ This Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity – hope for pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory – because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear. – J.I. Packer (from Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas by Nancy Guthrie)
A group of eleven people from our congregation just returned from a two-week missions trip to Nigeria. Our church has an ongoing involvement in Nigeria and one of the things they did on this trip (among many things) was to visit the villages where wells have been dug with the money we raised as a church. The people who went on this trip did a variety of things from building benches to teaching hygiene classes( about water usage)... This exhibit features the work of two great photographers who just arrived home from the trip.
There are many other great works of art in this show as well. This is just a small sampling of it all...
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