Those who know me know I have a testimony that accompanies my artwork. I've always loved being crafty and drawing but in 2003 God presented a turning point to me. I was sitting in a dorm room trying to draw and was getting pretty frustrated. I stopped and cried out inwardly, "God, why would you give me this desire to draw if I cannot create the things I see in my mind?!". And the Lord actually answered me- I almost audibly heard a quiet voice tell me, "I will guide your hand". I was shocked, I just sat there letting it sink in that I was pretty sure God had just spoken to me. As I processed it, I decided that was cool and all but crazy. Crazy that God would really guide my hand in artwork. I mean- that's just CRAZY. So about a month later I decided to submit some artwork to an artist's guild and when I finished the ink drawings....I cried and my hands shook. Because the hand that drew them was not my own. I had never been able to draw like that. God had not lied to me, of course not. I finished the drawings with color pencil- suddenly I understood shading & shadows. I'd always struggled with it before. I was and am overwhelmed with the amount of Grace God has for us; even in my imperfectness He still gave me a deep desire of my heart. When I took my artwork to the post office, the man helping me commented on the drawings. I excitedly told him my story. He smiled a polite smile but I walked away and realized I'd just become "One of Them", one of those Christian's that talks crazy talk about miracles and wants you to believe them.
My story is true, believe if you like- here are the before and afters.
Before-Drawn fall 2002 (it's okay to laugh)
After- Spring 2003 (if you want to laugh it's okay it may hurt my feelings now)
Spring 2005
They do a great job of convincing me on days when I think God has abandoned me or I have nothing to offer. Since that prayer, I've increased my grasp in areas of art I've attempted. I am not perfect but I get better with practice, just like all artist's.
As I've grown in this I've been so thankful. As I was folding clothes this morning I thanked God for showing me, finally, who He created me to be- a creative person, creating for others.
So that's why I started Ruby Coco, it's an outlet to create for others. We'll see what the Lord does from here...
5 comments:
Love it :)
Just wonderful, just as our God is wonderful!!
its so rewarding to see the changes and growth, jen. you are very talented. and for what its worth, i still love my paper doll. people are charmed when they see it in my sewing room.
I think you may want to put a twitter icon to your blog. I just bookmarked this site, but I must do it by hand. Just my 2 cents.
Dear anonymous, thank you for bookmarking my blog. I'll consider your two cents, it's a good idea.
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