What an A.MAZ.ING weekend of ART!

Creativity Workshop taught by J. Scott McElroy at The Woman of Steel Gallery. Photo taken by Irene Deely.

This is me painting live on-site at the 2010 VineArts Gala.

The Creativity workshop taught by Indianapolis author of "Finding Divine Inspiration", J.Scott McElroy, on Friday night was soooooooo encouraging! Held at the Woman of Steel Gallery in Boise, it was hosted by the Woman of Steel herself, Irene Deely. The night was dedicated to learning how to hear God speak to us and applying that partnership to our creativity. We all were created by God who is the best artist & the creator of the universe...and we were created in His image...therefore we have that same kind of creativity within us (it's in our genes)...we just need to recognize this and learn to listen to the Holy Spirit to partner with Him as we create. Scott took us through an exercise where we paired up and prayed silently for the other person...as we prayed we were to listen and ask God for a picture for that person. Then we were to draw or paint what we saw and then share it with the person and then pray for them again. Surprisingly enough...it was quite easy to do (even for those who thought they couldn't hear from God)...and everyone had a story about how the picture spoke to them very specifically and was encouraging in their current circumstances. It was quite amazing and a wonderful blessing to hear from God and learn that we can bless others through our creativity...if we only ask for God to use us in this creative way. Thank you Irene & Scott!

The VineArts Gala on Saturday night was a spectacular event...a night of sophisticated style! The theme was Creating Culture. It was a semi-formal arts event with live classical & jazz music, catered food, on-site artists creating, poetry readings, and special speakers: Irene Deely (metal sculptor & owner of The Woman of Steel Gallery) who shared stories from the road of her 3rd National "Liberty Rising Tour"and J.Scott McElroy (author of "Finding Divine Inspiration") who spoke about partnering with God as we create. Jessie Nilo, the VineArts founder & director, presented the VineArts Leaders and spoke on what VineArts is about and how we're reaching the artist and those who respond to art (within the church, the community, the nation, the world). It was an amazing night dedicated to the artist's heart. Thank you to everyone who made the Gala such a success!