Anticipation Art Exhibit

I recently walked through the art gallery at our church and took pictures of a sampling of the works on display. The overall theme for this exhibition is "Anticipation." Each artist shared a bit of the inspiration for his or her work. I will include some of their own words next to their work. I hope you enjoy.

Colin Shannon is the photographer who took the above image while on a recent missions trip to Nigeria. He writes, "Even in the buildings, you sensed partnership with the people. Buildings, many old from decades past, are adorned with scripture enscribed on their walls; testimonies of faith in Christ, that he will guide and protect them."

This picture is part of a collage that Colin Shannon and Steven Wagner-Davis arranged. They titled the work "If You Only Knew" for this central image in the collage. They wrote, "We noticed similar looks in many faces. Although not always accompanied by a smirk, it was obvious that the children each had a story they wanted to tell, if we would just ask."

"The idea of creating words from metal came from my wife. She wanted some words of positive encouragement - words that everyone could enjoy. The colors have become a large part of the word. The tone of the word can change with color, just as the meaning of the word can change with usage. - Steve Wilson

Tonia Triebwasser, a writer and painter at our church writes, "This collection of paintings is a result of my struggle with time - my timing versus God's timing. In theory, I believe God is ordering the time and circumstances for my daily small deliverances as much as He ordered the cosmic time for the deliverance of mankind through the womb of Mary with the birth of Jesus. But do I really believe this? If I do it doesn't follow that I should live with a constant sense of racing the clock. Unlike Mary, I have balked and questioned what seems to be a reordering of the natural flow of life's seasons. The war I have painted, is the war I very much want to quit fighting: a war in which winter seems to have arrived before summer; a war which I imagine has required me to blitz through the splendor of a golden autumn. I want to be done with it. I want to enjoy a perennial spring.

This first piece above is entitled, "Summer Pushing Out Winter."

"Winter Resisting Spring"

"Spring Fever"

"Autumn Reluctantly Waiting"

Kristine Mays, our Galley Administrator, creates amazing wire sculptures. Here is what she shared about this piece entitled, "God Became Man."

"Formed from hundreds of pieces of wire, my sculptures become something familiar both physically and emotionally as the human form emerges. I create sculptures with the thought of capturing the soul - the essence of a person. And so in creating this work, several ideas came together - one being drawing attention to God captured in the shell of a baby - the word becoming flesh. I also thought about how God, in all his power and glory chose to become vulnerable and intimately involved in humanity because he so desperately wanted us to know and experience his love for us.