SJ Pg 2: Soul Armor

ASSIGNMENT
I want you to think about what you need to protect and nourish your creative spirit. Think about the things that sustain you. What’s needed to shield you from outside criticism and your inner critic? I want you to think of strength and protection. Think about what you turn to when you are “under siege”. What does your creative spirit NEED more of? How do we keep all those critical voices from crippling us in our crusade? The only “rule” is you have to incorporate your answers to your homework question somewhere on or around your armor. (Full instructions at Caspiana.)


MY PROCESS
"Think about what you turn to when you are ‘under siege’.” Who is my shelter, my strength, my refuge? Jesus. In His arms, I feel safe from any danger and empowered to attempt the impossible.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath you are His everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

"Meeting on the Turret Stairs” is a painting that, for me, has always perfectly expressed the feeling of being safe in the arms of Jesus. I knew I wanted to use this in some way to convey the idea of “armor.” I used photo editing software to modify the painting so that the end result was like a page from a colouring book and pasted it onto a sheet of watercolour paper. I filled in the drawing with crayons and hid “strength words” within the colours. I also used a gold gel pen on the sword. I painted a brown frame-like shape around the borders and at the top collaged the words “Safe In Your Arms.”


MY THOUGHTS
The photo editing and colouring turned out far better than I even dared to hope. The whole process was cathartic and inspiring.