Decade of Mission project

I worked on a project in July/August that I can now share with you. The Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia recently held a Decade of Mission conference. They put out a call for artists to create a piece of art inspired by the Lectionary readings for one of the days in Advent.

Although the other artists were from New Zealand and Polynesia, there was a day left over and I was given the chance to participate. The date left was December 11th. One of the readings for the day was Psalm 1, which was the one I used to base my art on, especially verse 3: "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers."

I had to keep reminding myself as I worked that my art was just as valid as anyone else's. Yes, I'm the one who is always telling everyone else to embrace their style and not compare, and here I was, talking down the nagging voice in my head :) Anyway, I gagged the voice and got on with my art.

Each of the art pieces was photographed and turned into a postcard. These were available to purchase as a set at the conference. On the reverse of each card was a thought or a question for contemplation during Advent. As one of the artists, I received a set of cards. It was wonderful to see the range of art styles and media - photography, collage, printing, drawing, painting, lettering - that were used by the wide range of artists involved.