God Dreams

So i haven't posted in such a long time but i have genuine reasons.
Firstly i have started my degree course. I have just received my feedback from my print tutor and it couldn't have gone any better.
I got my creative writing feedback a few weeks ago and that was also really good. A good start all around.

Kids church which i head up has been hectic of late. Not enough team and a light party to organise. But yesterday 9 kids gave their lives to Jesus!!! Yessssss.

We got back from visiting my new Nephew yesterday in Manchester. Oh gosh he is so scummy i could have eaten him up.

And this coming Saturday i have organised an Art Festival.

This has been a dream that i have had with God for a long time and it is actually happening. I have organised it all myself. Its been quite a task. So this week i will be getting all my prints ready and making sure everything is ready for Saturday. Its all in his hands now. I have done my part so now i trust in God that it goes well and the festival reaches the right people. And we all make lots of money for Christmas. 

Today is the best day. (Praise report)

So about 3 weeks ago i felt God lead me towards applying for a degree. Someone at my Studio mentioned the OCA - Open college of the Arts
God normally gives me little nudges like this and i am obedient even though i don't know where it may lead me.
I was then really challenged with being Joyfully Expectant.
I had one of my fortnightly meetings with my Pastor and i was really wrestling with feeling expectant in God.
In my natural ways i mentally plan to being let down. I think i won't get it or I'm not good enough and this prepares me for when i do get let down and then i won't feel as bad.
This however doesn't even work.
If i get let down i still feel totally rubbish,( even knowing that this is Gods plan) and cry and cry. real nasty, ugly tears, by myself and still question why God makes me go through these kind of things.

So both me and my lovely Pastor (and good friend) prayed about being joyful and expectant.
God doesn't want us to expect the worst when he clearly has the best for us.
HE HAS THE BEST FOR US! Yes.
When has he ever let me down?. Never.
He always has the best for me.
If i look back at jobs that i have wanted and not got...... it was always because God had a better plan for my life.

God gives me jobs and opportunities to go for to stretch me. So that i seek out his guidance and he can point me in the right direction.
I hear the other day that an elastic band is useless if its not stretched.
If God didn't stretch me. I would be pretty useless, as its in those times of stretching. That i grow and lean on him.
He doesn't want us to do life on our own, relying on our own judgement. He wants to have a relationship with us. So that we chat to him and listen to him pointing us to the right path/direction.

Psalm 16:11

You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In your right hand there are pleasures forever.

So a couple of weeks ago, we prayed that i would joyfully await whether or not i would be given finance to do a degree.
Its not like God can't afford for me to go. Money is nothing to him.
But it was in the waiting and listening to whether God wants me to go that path or if he has something else for me.

I buried the doubt. I didn't think the worst. I waited JOYFULLY and EXPECTANT for the good things to come.

God wants the best for me.

Today i got an email saying that i have been offered finance and have been accepted to do a degree with The Open College of the Arts.

Can't quite believe it. Feeling elated, JOYFUL and shocked. And sooo sooo happy. A part of me is jumping in the air.

God is so in the little details.
So this also happened today -
I won 3 prizes in my studio raffle
I got given a huge Thank you card from my sons class for helping out this year. All the kids wrote little cards each and stuck them on:)
I prayed for a car park space at the sports park as my kids had swimming lessons. They had a massive school outdoor comp on and the guy showing people to spaces said to me - you can go in and look but there is no space.
I got one straight away...... and at the front.
My trainers arrived that i bought. I was told they won't be delivered until next week when i am away. And they arrived. Today. As God wanted to remind me of something -

His promises are always faithful and true.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Summer Exhibition

Exhibition time. Details below. Come check it out and try your hand at printing. 

So much doing and so little time

Its been a while since i blogged last. I feel that so much has been going on. I will try and fill you in.

I painted a 2 sided mural for my kiddos school on a gazebo. I thought that it wasn't going to be a big job but it was in fact a massive job and quite tiring. It took me 3 days to do the parent side and 1 day to do the reception kids side.

This is the parents side. I was given 90 flowers designed by the kids in class and asked to paint flowers on the board. I chose as many as i could. I think about 30 in the end. If i had chosen anymore i would have been painting for weeks. The sun is our school logo which i painted in gold. If you look really closely you can see my sausage dog 'Jedi' running on the hill away from the rain.

The other side -

They asked me to do a theatre scene. So i painted chalk paint and curtains so that the children could draw their own designs. This space is used for dressing up so i think it works really well.

I have been super busy in the studio and have in recent weeks gone back to screen printing. But this time on paper.
Heres one -

 Rocky shores

I borrowed a photograph from a friends instagram. As i looked at it, it reminded me that life has quite a few rocks in it. Things aren't always smooth running and it can be hard to walk in hard time. 

God is the calm sea in the distance. He is reachable. And if we wait then the tide comes in and we can float and not tread on the rocks. In other words. Lean on God always and the hard stuff, doesn't seem as hard. 

I also did a new drypoint etching - 

You have a new Roar

Your new roar is not a loud and over bearing roar but its a quite and controlled and powerful roar. 

This print has a real gold leaf crown. 

Both prints can now be found in my Etsy shop 

I am busy organising kids clubs that run over august within my church. There are 5 clubs that are for free. It is a big job but it is coming together  nicely. 

I had a meeting the other day with a lady from a church in the centre of my town. I am now in the process of organising at Art Festival that will be in November. So lots of lovely Christians are coming together to sell their wares in time for Christmas. 

This is one of my God dreams. To gather Christian artists together. What a powerful thing this is going to be. 

Selling prophetic art in time for Christ - mas. 

Thats it for now. Im back in the studio tomorrow printing a new print that i have been sketching on mark resist ready for printing. I am really excited about this one. 

God bless 

Where does your authority and Identity lay

I had a bit of an identity crisis today in the Studio. And felt under attack.
2 Ladies came up to me and questioned the price of my art. One said i was crazy for selling at such a low price.
I started questioning myself. Thinking yeah they are right i should be selling my prints for more money.
But something within me (the holy spirit) was feeling troubled and i started to feel off.
This gifting is from God and i make Christian art.
I want my art to be accessible to others rather than charging £80 upwards.

I prayed and contacted my loving Sisters in Christ to pray for me.
I was starting to feel really down and not sure what i was doing. I was questioning my position and authority when i was so sure before of what i was doing.
This is what my sisters said -
My value isn't in what i create, its an expression of who i am. I don't need high prices to validate myself, I'm a blessing full of blessings to people.
That Jesus will give me the strength to stick tight to his best in this. And let it be an powerful opportunity to share my voice and heart to these women who were questioning my motives - because my motives are God.
I operate under the spiritual realm not the earthly one.
I am in the right place for where I'm supposed to be. God has got me and that all i need to be secure under the shadow of his wing knowing that he is pleased and proud of me.

You see where they thought that they were complimenting me, in fact it was taking me off track.
I know what my Father has said to me.
My prints are filled with the holy spirit and ready to bless people. I don't need to put a high price tag on that. I just need to be obedient to what i have heard.
I am not creating for the money.  I have never created for the money. I do it because its who i am. Who i was created to be. This is the gifting i was given. Its a part of me.

I understand that in the printing world that people would expect to pay more.
But i am just starting out.
When i am further in my artist career then i will price accordingly. But as for now i am sticking what God is saying to me.

The enemy is out there to take you off your path. He comes to destroy.
But nothing can separate me for the love of God.
So I'm gong to go forward with a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face, but with great and strong purpose in my heart. 

Shop Now Open.

So this happened on Wednesday. I opened my etsy shop.
Check it out here - VictoriousWarrior

It is full of lots of the lovely prints that i have been posting on here. And a few new ones.
I have already has 2 sales and 1 more happening next week.
I am so excited about my shop.

Studio time over the past few weeks

I seem to have been really busy in the studio the last few weeks. I think i was making up for not being in when the exhibition was on. 

God has been speaking to me loads about different things but one being Wisdom. 

Here is my owl which represents Wisdom. I did the etching at the exhibition.

 I love how he came out.

 I experimented on some textured paper and think i like the way the texture brought up the feather textures.

 I also printed in a light grey.

 With wisdom you need to be wise enough to know when the cute little foxes come to destroy the good things in life.
I think that we don't expect things that look good to do bad. But if its too good to be true...... it normally is.

Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are 

blossoming!

Song of solomon 2:15

 Here is the little fox basking in the sun. Cute isn't he.

God has also been talking to me about the strength of an Elephant. So strong, powerful, commanding and the tower over but there is also such a gentle, timid and quiet side to them. Especially between a Mummy and baby.

This is the latest print i did on Tuesday.  It is called Peaceful Places. To me it represents that quiet time with God. When it is just you and him and you are having a stroll.

 I did quite a few different versions of this but love the simplicity of a dark grey tone.

I will be printing this cheeky wild hare tomorrow in my lunch break.

Sometimes you just have to 'be'.

Today i did the 2/2 of the lino course. Today it was time to get our image onto lino rather than just shapes.

A while ago my friend gave me a bee necklace. She had been chatting to God and felt that i needed to just 'be'. This impacted me and i still think about it. Now when i think about bees, i think about people just being themselves and being close to God.

My lino is of a bee on a flower. I did a slight lino reduction on the flower which gave it a 3d effect.

 My flower and bee cut on separate lino pieces.

 After printing all my flowers i started on the bees

 My bee closer up.

 Here is the print with a grey background.

 Here is one of my prints on the yellow i did last week in preparation. I really love the bright colours.

 My prints drying in the racks.

I learnt so much from the tutor. It was so enjoyable. Its encouraging to look at things from a different perspective and have someone encourage and stretch you in a different way. 

I will continue to 'be' me as i am just as God created..... I'm a creative girl that can't and won't stop creating. And i love that God gave me this gift. 

Going back to the Maker

Why is it when we are struggling at life that is when we cry out to God for help?. Why leave it to the last minute to cry out.
For me i feel like i cry out on a regular basis. Deep desperate prayers. And i wonder if i pray in between them.
I do.
But when you are in a cycle of desperation, it really feels that desperation is all i do.
On the positive, and there is a few of these. When i am in this state this is when i am closer to God and i can hear him more clearly.
And this works through my creativity.
God is the ultimate creator and i love how he speaks to me through my creativity.

After my first attempt at drypoint etching i felt drawn to do another.
Its called -

Lion of Judah

Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father],
And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and strength,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the [reverential and obedient] fear of the Lord—
3 
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;
4 
But with righteousness and justice He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth;
And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 
And righteousness will be the belt around His loins,
And faithfulness the belt around His waist.

6 
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatted steer together;
And a little child will lead them.
7 
And the cow and the bear will graze [together],
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 
And the nursing child will [safely] play over the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den [and not be hurt].
9 
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

10 
Then in that day
The nations will make supplications to the Root of Jesse
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious.

 Here is my etching plate held up to the window light so you can see my marks.

 I inked up my brown/black hawthorn ink

 And then spent arm aching time taking off the ink in small circular movements making sure it was even. Then using a cotton bud to take off some detailed pieces of ink.

 Here is my first print.

 Each print i did ended up slightly different giving the lion a slightly different expression. This was not planned. Just God.

 I experimented with a bit of colour and added some turquoise to the last 2 i did.

I then printed some lino cuts that i have been working on at home. An Easter bunny.

 Squirrel

 And Red Poppies.

Tomorrow i am finishing my lino course that i have been a student on for 2 weeks. I have been designing my lino and tomorrow i will be cutting and printing it.
Its another busy week. And i am also looking at putting my prints onto Etsy for sale. 

Old and new Technics

So studio time this week consisted of doing 3 of my prints and also purchasing some materials for a new project which i will mention at the end of the page.

I started with my Thistle print which i managed to reduce at home. I didn't want to take too much off as i wanted to give the illusion of a morning glow around the thistle. I went for darker colours to make it pop. I will do a few more reductions on this print. 

I really like the result so far. I have kept the rest of my ink in some pots so i can add a richer colour next week. I soaked the paper and it gave it more depth.

Teasel

This is a new lino print that i have been working on. I love the textures of seed head plants. Especially when they are all dried out and crisp.
I used my burnt umber Hawthorn ink on this print. The sharp edges have really popped. I think i will refine the colour a bit next week. I was having some issues with the press i was using and didnt manage to get the pressure quite right. It is an old press and normally it is my favourite. I used a different press so i could at least get 4 decent prints completed. I found out from my boss later that the press didn't need to be measured on the bolts both sides but rather do it by feel. Which is something that i always do but this time did not trust my own instincts. I won't make that mistake again.

The last print i tried out was a cut that i did over half term. It is of a Humming bird diving into the water and a mirror image -

I went with a rich blue and it came out better than i hoped. In the last print i did a graduation and made it slightly darker in the mirror image just to define it in the water.


So i have decided to try out some drypoint etching. When i started back in the studio in January as an exchange i felt at the time that God was prompting me to try out different ways to do print. In my head i said i would do something different each month. Realistically i am doing a different print each month so i am not bothered that i have not done other technics so far. This week though i felt drawn towards trying out some etching. So i bought some perspects and asked to borrow an etching tool which is like a sharp needle. I am sure a needle would work just as well but the handle helps stable it.
I took it home and really thought about what to etch. This was the hardest part. I prayed that i would be given an image and that he would bring something to mind since it was a new thing and i have never done it.
I settled on a close up image of a dandelion clock. The details in a photo i found was just what i wanted.
I stuck the image on the back of my plastic and scratched away.
This is my result -

I held it up to my lounge light so you can see the image.
I will try a print out today but i think that really i need to use the studio press. I am just impatient and want to see what it looks like.
I'm really happy with the image and hope that it prints out nicely.
Watch this space.