The Nevica Project

The UW Ceramics Program welcomed Jayson Lawfer as a lecturer at the Chazen Art Colloquium January 27.  As a potter, Jayson has grown his own business showing, appraising, and selling ceramics, sculptures, and photography, as well as managing collections, through his Nevica Project.

His website ( http://www.thenevicaproject.com/) offers a look at beautiful objects produced by contemporary artists from all over the world, both for sale and for on-screen visual enjoyment.  Of particular value is the Artists page on the site, with a list of those engaged in pottery, sculpture, photography, and prints, including a short biography and samples of their work.

Jayson used the word "passion" quite a bit in his talk, and it is clear to me that visiting his web page and the worlds he introduces is a way to invigorate one's own artistic imagination.

Virginia Scotchie, Untitled 3, 2013
clay and glaze
From home page The Nevica Project

Dakota Mace Photography

Those of us who work with visual arts in teaching and worship need to continue to nourish our creativity by experiencing what others are doing.  During this spring semester, I am attending a weekly Art Colloquium at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.



The first session featured a lecture by Dakota Mace, a UW grad student and photographer seeking to share and preserve aspects of her native New Mexico Navajo culture.  With an eye towards Navajo arts like beading, weaving, and basketry, she also studies media stereotypes of native women, preserves images of mothers in a matrilineal society, and offers insight into the history of cultural appropriation.

A visit to her website ( http://dakotamace.com/) will offer a glimpse of complexly designed art forms that are sure to expand horizons and nurture visual imagination while offering an introduction to a rich and lively artistic heritage.

Handmade Midrash

Some years ago I attended the first, and what was the only, International Conference on the Visual Arts at the Pacific School of Religion, in Berkeley, California.  Along with meeting many incredible artists working in academics and the church, I attended some amazing lectures.  One lecturer, Jo Milgrom, continues to have a great influence on my own teaching as I introduce art projects into church educational settings, or introductory Bible courses I teach at a state university.

In her book published in 1992 by the Jewish Publication Society (and available used at reasonable prices at amazon.com) Jo Milgrom offers a number of easy art projects that help unskilled/untrained/amateur artists (like me!) to enjoy making art that connects to biblical texts, theological themes, and liturgical forms.

One method I have used with middle high students, college students, and seasoned church members simply involves colored construction paper and glue.  I usually buy a package of large sheets of 12"x18" construction paper and another package of 8 1/2"x11" construction paper, and enough glue sticks for the expected number of participants to share.

Select a theme to illustrate: it could be a scripture passage a group is studying.  It could be something from worship, like "make a picture of a baptism" or "make a Communion picture."  It could be to illustrate a hymn verse.  Assign the project to an individual, a pair, or a triad. They would select their "canvas" of one of the large pieces of construction paper, their materials of several pieces of the smaller paper, and a glue stick.  They are instructed to make a picture by tearing pieces of the colored paper and glueing it on the larger piece of paper (no cutting, no crayons, no pencils, no pens).

Two university students made the picture below, illustrating I Samuel 8 and early Israel's debate over whether to make a king to govern them.

Their explanation of their picture: the crown at left with the red X through it shows the "no king for us" view, and the crown below it without the X, depicts the view of the pro-king faction.  The right panel shows the resolution, with a crowned heart in a cloud (which the students said represented God) who appoints a human king (yellow arrow over middle person).

The students read the story, decided what they would show from the story, selected colors of paper, tore the paper, and glued it on to the base. They then explained it the rest of the class.

Not only is this a simple and fun project in the classroom, but this kind of artwork could be displayed around the classroom, or your church, for others to see.  It could also be photographed and inserted into presentation technology (like PowerPoint) and used as a visual illustration during a worship presentation.  

Screen Use Early 2016

During Advent-Christmas 2015 and the first couple of weeks of 2016, I visited two United Methodist Churches, one ELCA Lutheran Church, and one Presbyterian Church for worship.  Each church used a projector and screen for the entire worship service.  The visuals mostly included words for prayers, hymns/songs, and scripture lessons.  The congregations seemed engaged with these words.  One church added youth ministry activity announcements with recorded music and interesting visuals just prior to the start of worship.  Another church used a visual "anchor" which was a photographic image of the worship bulletin cover. This image was projected throughout the worship as a symbolic connection to the worship theme.

While it is good to see visual technology in use, that use was primarily to show words on the screen. Adding more visuals to the worship service, even to show the main sermon points in 3-4 pictures or diagrams, would increase the visual interest and begin to harness the fuller potential of the linkage between computer, screen, and projector.

I was surprised and pleased to see these congregations comfortable with the use of the screen and projector, and was impressed with how they have integrated these nicely into their architecture and liturgy.  There are plenty of creative options available to them if they want to increase visual interest by showing more imagery/art to make worship themes and messages vivid and memorable.

Published January, 2015

I am pleased to announce the publication of my newest book, Feeding Imaginations: Worship That Engages. Print and Kindle versions are available here at Amazon.com.

The book shows preachers and congregational leaders how to bring more visual arts into worship, not only through the use of projected imagery, but through developing awareness of the architecture of the holy space in which they gather.

On January 30 I am leading a workshop at the 2015 Earl Lectures and Conference Series at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, "Preaching With Your Sanctuary Architecture."

Promoting Media Worship In a Newsletter Article

Pastor Bill Teng of the Heritage Presbyterian Church of Alexandria, Virginia wrote a fine newsletter article last February reporting his worship committee’s interest in developing five worship experiences using multimedia.  

His newsletter introduction to the topic is a fine example of how to explain a worship “experiment” to a congregation. I’m glad he used Silver Screen, Sacred Story for guidance and inspiration!

You can find his article here.

Steadfast Love

Sunday's lectionary readings included a familiar verse from Psalm 107:1, God's "steadfast love endures forever."  How do you communicate the meaning of "steadfast love" in a children's message?  I thought it'd be a good idea to find three pictures that might represent "steadfast love" and then put them into a PowerPoint to project on the screen during the message. 

My three thoughts: 1)a mother goose at a nest of eggs 2) a bird tending to its injured mate and 3) a grandparent with a grandchild.  I went to Google images and searched for each of these, and quickly found appropriate pictures.  I uploaded them into a PowerPoint, and had a three-slide children's message all set up.

On Sunday morning I had the children gather in the first pew so they could see the pictures, as could the congregation.  I noted the "steadfast love" passage in the Psalm, and then showed the pictures one at a time to ask if they showed "steadfast love" and why.  The answers were obvious and the children knew it.  I added a few more sentences of how these examples are like God's steadfast love for us, and the message was complete.

The next day, one of our active worship attenders commented on how effective the children's message was, and how meaningful----and memorable---it was to her.

Three simple pictures, showing a complex concept, accomplished quickly.  This is the power of visuals in worship, linked to a biblical message, tastefully presented, and memorable!