Last week I was part of an art show and I wanted to share my experience for other artists. As a Christian Artist, I have learnt that it is not always easy to get a spot in public settings. During one of my recent art show rejections, I was told that they may not be able to take art that’s religious and they did not. That doesn’t change anything for me when it comes to how I do art or life. In a public setting I’m always sensitive to the mixed crowd and never go in with the attitude of being insensitive to others’ right to believe differently than I do. Art is one place where you should have free expression, unhindered by boundaries and walls. I have come to realize that rejections, because of the nature of my art will continue to be inevitable. However, I am grateful that Art Week Des Moines organizers allowed me a chance and I consider it a gift. I had a similar great experience with the Limited Space organizers too. They allowed artists from all walks of life to showcase their art. Thanks to the organizers for that!
Once I set up the show, I was nervous about how people would react but still remained confident God would take care of the things that I cannot control. The audience that stopped by were more than kind and so were the other artists. Most of my audience stopped by to admire the beauty of the colors and stories behind some of the artwork. One woman stopped by to tell that the faith that she sees in these paintings inspires her. Another said the paintings had so much depth and value. Someone said that they can see my heart through these paintings and one person said that it was simply beautiful. One woman, who I don’t know if she had any kind of faith at all, said there was beauty in my paintings and some of the art she sees lately are very dark. One little boy was excited to see the white lion with golden eyes and he was happy he spotted Jesus in my paintings, a story he was familiar with. A little girl loved my flamingo from the Eden Collection. These feedbacks and many more help me believe that I need to continue doing what I love doing. Shining God’s love, beauty and His heart of peace to those that are around me. And if my art is rejected for that reason, I’m going to be okay with that.
The Spirit of God moved in that room during the show and the painting that I painted live revealed His heart too. God’s mathematics is always different than ours, so I am more than happy to let God do His thing while I paint what He puts in my heart.
Some take aways
– Family and community are important- for moral support, for helping with practical stuff and set up. My husband took the day off to be with me and my children helped me with cheering up the space. One of my friends helped haul the stuff back and forth. One friend let me borrow all of her easels. The people from DLR Group, downtown, des Moines were friendly and accommodated most of our requests. Grateful for all the love and trust that my community places on me.
– People are kinder than you think. Simply show up, even if you are an introvert.
– Let God control the things that you can’t.