Mark making is an integral part of a mixed-media painting. Without it, the colors are simply that…color. No interest beyond the initial image. No texture. Nothing to make the viewer look closer at what is beyond the surface. This concept transfers remarkably well into how we present our faith and beliefs to those around us.
Jesus was really into making people look closer. He told stories that made them wonder what in the world he was talking about. He told tales that they could relate to, yet would make them think deeper about its possible applications. He made marks with His words and created texture with healings as he went about His Father’s business by drawing in closer those He encountered and getting them to look below the surface of their lives.
We are to be salt and light: to show others the God-colors of this world. (matt:5 the voice) Are you reflecting those colors? If everything in life was black and white, and variations of gray, life would be quite dull indeed. It is the colors that we see each day that draws our eye and makes us look again. Then when we look, the textures there entice us to look deeper, to reach out and touch the surface and see what it feels like. To see if it is as pleasant as it appears to be.
Pleasing to the eye draws them in, but pleasing to the touch gets them to ask questions.
What makes this so different?
Why am I drawn to it?
How can I too be a part of this?
It’s when people start to ask questions that we can share what we know, what we have experienced, and the reason we have HOPE. How are you sharing? Is it through your written words or artsy gifts? Do they see God’s love in how you reach out to meet a need or your genuine concern for them?
Every day, whether you realize it or not, you are being creative with the knowledge you have been given, the love that was first given to you and then shared because if it isn’t you just might explode with its growing presence. What would happen if you were to be intentional about making your mark, about creating new ways to reach out and show the enormity of the love of God? What if everyone who believed, created something beautiful today and then shared it with someone else? Someone they don’t even know.
Let me give you a challenge:
Create something beautiful
It can be small like a tiny canvas or even a small piece of card stock. Choose a simple central image such as a flower or a heart. If you aren’t confident in your drawing abilities, you can cut a picture from a magazine or an old book to use. Cover the canvas/paper in paints and even some other papers. Add a lot of texture to entice the recipient to touch it or pick it up to see what it is all about. Fabric pieces and yarns are another possibility for texture. Add in your main focal picture that you drew or cut from a magazine and then add some more texture, even if it is a layer of clear gesso left chunky. Add in a word of encouragement such as LOVE or COURAGE. or even put in a piece of poetry in leiu of an image. Make it your own, evidence of your creative voice. Sign the back….and then give it away.
This is the fun part.
Leave it on the table at a restaurant, coffee shop or even the local library. Maybe tuck it in the branches of a tree at the Local Park or zoo. Attach a note that lets them know that this is a gift of art for them to keep- free of charge. Think about the eventual recipient while you are creating and what their needs may be. Let the spirit guide you in how you embellish it. You just may bless someone by giving them this random act of art.
There is actually a group on facebook that does this. They post where they will be leaving the free piece of art and a picture of it. Then when it is found, the recipient is supposed to comment that they found it. This group is in Florida, so if that is your beat…check them out! https://www.facebook.com/RandomActofArt/
For me, I plan on leaving something at the pocket park at the corner of my street on January 24th, 2017…if you live near Almont MI, you know what I am talking about. Go and check it out….I will leave it somewhere there in a ziplock since it has been so wet lately. If you find it, come back here and leave a comment. I would love to know how you like it!
Now, let me encourage you….create something beautiful, and give it away. You will then be spreading God’s love and colors to the world, sharing with abandon something you received for free!
On the topic of Mark Making, here is a quick tutorial on using some things you probably have lying around the house, to create more texture in your art and journals: Enjoy!
Creative Soul-Journs 