my studio

some of you have asked to see my studio space, so here are some photos. when we had the house built in 2005, we had the builder take part of the 4 car garage and section it off as a seperate room for my studio. it has 2 doors (one that leads to the garage & one that leads outside to a patio). there's heating/air, 2 large windows for light, it's plumbed and has a sink, there's rubber flooring, and the rest is shelving for supplies.



half of the room is where i have a desk and bookshelves and supply shelves, along with frames hanging on a wall for storage. the other half of the room is where i create. i paint flat on an art table or flat on the floor. when i'm teaching students i bring in other tables for them to use. there is also a section of wall that i utilize for displaying paintings on easles.

i've painted some of the walls earthy coffee shop colors and have hung up lights for ambiance. i have plans of installing track lighting but i don't know when i'll do that yet. there is a light and fan in the center of the ceiling currently. i can get pretty wild when i paint, so i do utilize plastic tarps and drop cloths when i need to protect things. so there ya go. if you find yourself in Star, Idaho...let me know and we can do some painting together.

art in motion: created to worship

i put together another wee muvee...this time a fast & fun film about me doing art & worship. this is what i'm about...it's interspersed with photos of me in action and many of my paintings created in the midst of worshipping God. the song is "He is our King" by the David Crowder Band.

grand gallery grunt

that's me...the 3G.

i'm in charge of the quarterly art exhibit installations that we have in the vinearts gallery at the vineyard boise.

our shows are juried and themed. we do 4 a year. there are a lot of details to take care of each time we install a show. my responsibilities include partnering with our vinearts director regarding thematic choice, design, and details. i help create signage to title each show, take in & document submissions, oversee the jury process, communicate with the artists via phone & email, and coordinate a team who helps to type up artist statements, photo archive the artwork, aesthetically hang and place the art in the gallery, and plan & put on opening receptions for the artists. i'm also in charge of the take down process once each art exhibit has finished, which includes: contacting artists, taking down artwork & signage, and prepping the gallery for the next exhibit. that's a lot on my plate...considering it's all volunteer time that i give. but i'm not alone. i have a wonderful dedicated team of volunteers who help me out. i call them my gallery grunts. they give of their time and efforts each time we install an exhibit. and i work with an amazing team of leaders who (though they each have their own areas of expertise that they oversee within the vinearts ministry) they give of their time and efforts to pitch in where help is needed throughout each installation process. i'm very blessed by each of them, they make my job easy and fun. and we do have loads of fun and laughter as we work side by side to get the job done. speaking of fun...i love what i get to do within this arts ministry. to be a part of a leadership team...doing art, worshipping God, loving people. i am so blessed and so honored to be a part of something so cutting edge, so upside down, so creative. i get really excited when i think about what a cool thing i get to do. one of my favorite things about working in the gallery is the personal contact i get with the artists who submit artwork. the stories i get to hear about how they created their work, or what God was doing through them as they began to paint, or how God has transformed their lives and their art, or how just even being able to gain the courage to take the risk and submit their art to a show...they feel empowered and encouraged. and then once the art is installed i love to walk through the gallery and sort of be a fly on the wall as people gather to view and read and experience the art. i enjoy hearing the conversations as people discuss how the art has impacted them. it's a wonderful tool for ministry. we just finished installing the latest art exhibit today...i'm exhausted, i'm humbled, and i'm filled with joy. life is good.

workin thru it

i taught myself how to paint years ago. i consider myself an oil painter, mostly. it's my preferred medium when it comes to landscapes. i use oil bars and i paint with my fingers (not brushes) mixing the colors on the canvas flat on an art table. my style has been somewhat of an impressionistic style (i've been told by many that my paintings are Van Gogh -ish.)

a few years ago my art evolved to include abstract painting. i had always wanted to find more expressionistic freedom with my art...and so i let the paint fly. with my abstract paintings i combine oils, latex, acrylics, objects, images, words, papers, fixatives, etc and i use a combination of techniques to create some very unique art (kind of abstract expressionist collage). i have a very Jackson Pollock-like style of painting (even splattering and dribbling with brushes and sticks)...flat on a table or the floor so that i may walk around the canvas and hover over it to get at it from all directions.

i am learning to adapt as an artist...trying new mediums & techniques does help to expand what i do as an artist and my art seems to evolve in new directions with each season.

recently some friends of mine generously gave me a rather expensive artist grade pocket travel watercolor set and paper to utilize on my upcoming month long trip to ireland in may.

in all the years of my travels throughout the States and overseas, i have never really taken to the typical artist thing to do: to plein-aire paint (to sit somewhere outdoors picturesque and sketch & paint the scenery that is right before my eyes.) it conjures up images of masters like Monet and Van Gogh...sitting in French fields before easles with canvas, palettes held with thumbs fixed thru, long brushes dipping into paints....very romantic.

i'm not completely new at it, i have taken a plein-aire painting course from an art university, and i have done a little bit of sketching outdoors here and there...but i've always been more of a studio painter (preferring to take photos of the beautiful landscapes and then afterwards to go back into my studio to paint the scenes from the pictures and from my memory.)

i've only taken a one day watercolor painting workshop...so i'm not very experienced in that medium. but i am willing to give it a try out there. it feels fun...and it does seem so...artsy. i long to have wee journals filled with sketches and paintings of foreign landscapes and architecture, people and impressions. there's always a first time...so, i'm practicing with my new set of paints.

this is my start at working my way through the 'artist block' i've been experiencing. it's crazy...but the freedom is coming not from a medium and style i'm used to, it's coming from something new and different for me. i'm rather excited about it. i wonder what it will mean for my art...am i going through another creative evolution? maybe that's why i've been 'blocked'...it could be part of the process....of change?

the way of the journey

I belong to a Writers Guild in Boise, Idaho. We're a group of about 20 who meet every 3rd Saturday at Barnes & Noble for a couple of hours. We grab some coffee and spend some time reading whatever we've been working on to gain encouragment & critique. Some of the members are published authors and some are just creative types who like to write. We seem to all have a commonality that our faith in God is very important to us. Being that it's March...this month our assignment is to write something (in whatever genre we choose) about marching forward or about our dreams and hopes, perhaps even St. Patrick if we choose. I'm starting to figure out what might be causing my artist block and I'm trying to work through it. I pecked this out on my laptop today. I'm quite excited because it's a start at pushing through this block I've been experiencing. So here is my attempt at writing a poem.

The Way of the Journey.

c. 2008 Lisa Marten

Walk.
Run.
Fly.
Crawl.

Climb.
Reach.
Jump.
Fall.

Just keep going.
Just keep swimming.
Just keep praying.
Just keep living.

Cathart.
Learn.
Dream.
Be.

Embrace it.
Push through it.
Get to know it.
Don’t rush it.

Dance.
Laugh.
Sing.
Give.

Risk.
Fight.
Hope.
Forgive.

Soak it up.
Mess it up.
Suck it up.
Don’t give up.

Breathe.
Cry.
Trust.
Release.

You were made for this.
You can get through this.
You are worth this.
You can do this.

This is the way of the heart.
This is the way of the journey.

Hi, my name is.....and i'm an artist.

paint. sketch. splatter. erase. scribble. smudge. brush. rub. type. dry. layer. glaze. spray. delete. rip. write. draw. wash.

Okay, so I admit, lately I've been dealing with a wee bit of ARTIST BLOCK. What's that?--you ask. It's when yer creativity has seemed to come to a standstill...there's a block, a sort of subconscious/conscious nothingness that fogs up any inkling of artistic passion and productivity.

Do you ever experience this? I stare at a blank canvas and....nothing. I stare at a blank computer screen and...nothing. It's not like I'm not trying. Oh, I can paint little bits of this and that (lately i've been doing little abstract expressionist collage card thingys for friends)...it's not that I'm not "doing" anything....but I'm not painting ...something big, something new, something that has depth and meaning and is passionately from within...it's just not happening right now...zilch. And yes, I can write little blurbs (like this blog or an email) here and there...but to write poetry or stories or essays that are mine, that really have depth and meaning or are even anything remotely fresh and fun...it's not happening for me right now...nada.

Why is this? What's going on? I recognize that sometimes we artists go through seasons like this. I'm no exception. Julia Cameron addresses Artist Block in her book "The Artist Way" (sort of a self-help creative recovery book for artists). "As you learn to recognize, nurture, and protect your inner artist, you will be able to move beyond pain and creative constriction. You will learn ways to recognize and resolve fear, remove emotional scar tissue, and strengthen your confidence."

That's it, isn't it? I mean...it's about working through the inner stuff to figure out what's really going on with the creative stuff. To move forward ya gotta deal with the here and now. It means being willing to let God undo me. Being an artist is about being real with myself. It's more than just what I DO, it's also who I AM.

"batter my heart, three-personed God; for you

as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

that i may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

i, like an usurped town, to another due,

labor to admit you, but O, to no end;

reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

but is captived, and proves weak or untrue.

yet dearly i love you, and would be loved fain,

but am betrothed unto your enemy.

divorce me, untie or break that knot again;

take me to you, imprison me, for i,

except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

nor ever chaste, except you ravish me."

-john donne, sonnet no. 14

So I guess it's back to the drawing board.

the heart of this artist

sometimes i get the opportunity to look at my heart (it's motivations and desires, it's movements and responses, it's thoughts and emotions)...and i get the chance to see (or wake up to understand) that the mural that is my life is still in progress of being painted. though i desperately want it to be completed...and many times cry out in angst that it is not. the picture is still rough, unfinished, and at times, unrecognizable. and there are reasons for this. there are many cans of paint of various colors that still need to be mixed and applied. there are several parts of the canvas that still need to have primer brushed on. there are still slops and spills that need to be forgiven and worked in. there are still details that need to be carefully painted in (at the right moments, only after the base colors are applied)...and all the while, i am in constant need of refocusing on the pre-liminary sketches and tweeking the current layout to reflect the original idea...and yet, allowing for spontaneity and creativity to bring the mural to become an even deeper more intimate and beautiful painting. that is my heart. that is my life. sometimes it feels like an un-mixed can of paint (goopy and unwilling to show it's true color). and sometimes it feels like a slopped on, muddled, and overworked area of the canvas (will it ever be salvagable?). but every-so-often i am given the chance to experience my heart from a very tall ladder or scaffold high above the canvas...to see it as a whole mural from above...to understand that though it is still in progress of being completed...my heart is good. God is painting a beautiful mural with my life.

RE:FORM

have you ever found yourself in the middle of doing something and you realize that there is something very special happening in the midst of it all? this week was one of those moments for me...and i'm finding it hard to put into words how i feel. what i do know, is that my heart has been impacted in a very profound way due to some very spontaneous and creative events that have taken place at my church recently. as you know, i am an artist...a full-time self-employed painter. i've been doing this for almost 10 years...walking the journey of making a career out of what i love to do. i call my business "REVELATORART". the name is after Saint John the Revelator (author of the book of Revelation in the Bible...a letter of prophetic imagery revealing all kinds of phenomenal spiritual & supernatural aspects of God and His Kingdom)...it inspired me that God is the ultimate artist who has filled me with His creativity to do art (and not just "pretty" art...but art that creates emotion, that takes action, that says something, that goes deeper). and i live my life as an artist who desires that God would be revealed in creative & prophetic ways through the artwork that i create...that others may experience something special with my art and be inspired and perhaps even challenged. about 4 years ago i began a deeper creative journey...i became a part of a new art ministry called vinearts at the Vineyard Boise *i talk more about vinearts and the role i get to play in leadership as the gallery coordinator and a task force member, on the left sidebar of this blog site...just scroll down some and you'll find the info about the ministry and what we're about.* this week our vinearts director was commissioned to gather a team of artists and paint a very large mural as a backdrop for the sanctuary stage. the mural would depict the theme of our all-church Bible study in the Book of Acts. our pastor has called us all to be reformers...to make a difference in the world by "engaging in the Spirit-filled advent-ure" (that's "believing for the advent-ure by living a life of daring faith between Jesus' first & second coming"...which is NOW!) he sees reformation like a ripple effect...a rock dropped in water creates ripples that move out from the center farther & farther & farther out...making a bigger impact than the original rock (that rock being Jesus and us being the ripples) so our director called a few of us to task and we set to making this large piece of art a reality. she came up with the design and we all worked on it together. we stretched 3 panels of canvas (equaling 51 feet long and 12 feet high) onto a garage floor to prime. this was truly the largest painting i've ever worked on (and i've done some large murals over the years). then we hung the canvas & traced the outlines of shapes from a projected image of a multitude of ripples (creating a paint by number on the canvas). then we brought the canvas back to the garage floor to be painted. there were 7 of us artists working for days all hours using large brushes fashioned to long sticks, mops, & brooms to paint the majority of the mural. then the canvas was rehung in it's resting place as a backdrop for the sanctuary stage. and then themed wording was traced from a projector & painted on top. and if that wasn't enough to get us all excited...the director and myself (specifically chosen) were able to put finishing touches on a strategic part of the mural (the spot where the rock is plunked into the water) by being a part of the worship all 3 Sunday morning services for the paintings' unveiling. the director & myself helped lead worship with the band by painting alongside of them! it was the first time the Vineyard Boise has had that sort of thing take place in a main Sunday service (i know that there are many churches out there who regularly incorporate art in their worship services). a couple of years ago our arts ministry held some special art & worship nights at the church for people to come and interact with art as worship (but we haven't done one for a couple of years), and of course we do have an art gallery that displays themed art exhibits (4x/yr) which i am in charge of, and we have various teaching workshops & inspirational monthly meetings for the artists of our community, and we have had a guest speaker visit twice who is a potter (he throws pots and gives a sermon at the same time)...but honestly, painting during worship (as worship) on Sunday morning...this was a first! and i must say that i was totally honored to be one of the two people who got the opportunity to break it loose in this way. WOW! not only was it a dream of mine to be a part of something like that...not only was it an extremely fun experience (unifying & meaningful for all involved)...but as the band played and the singers sang & us artists painted...we were all worshipping and proclaiming God's majesty & His faithfulness & His glory. i could hear the congregation responding with more enthusiasm than i've heard in a long time, as they sang and danced with their all amidst such creativity....GOD's creativity! it wasn't about me. it' wasn't about vinearts. in fact, it wasn't about art at all. it was about God...to God, for God. it was a memory that i will hold dear to my heart and cherish for the rest of my life. it was truly a moment that transformed us all. and it was the beginning of re:form.

Living the Advent-ure: grace in retrospect

“the glory of God is man fully alive.”
-Saint Irenaeus

Hey there! Well this has been a year of high adventure and diving deeper. I’ve journeyed to the top of a mountain, I’ve zip-lined at amazing speeds high in the air across a canyon, I’ve waded out into the middle of a river to fly-fish, I’ve illustrated a book, I’ve continued to lead in ministry , I’ve reached new levels of creativity, I’ve even become a dog lover despite my life-long fear of dogs. These are all dear memories of overcoming fears and pushing forward in the adventure.

It’s been a great year of creativity. Along with painting a lot I’ve taught a great deal of art lessons & abstract workshops. I’ve even had the chance of illustrating a book that should go to print by the end of this year. And I’ve written a lot of poetry & short stories, as I am now a part of 2 writers groups in the community. I’m still very involved as a leader with the VineArts Ministry at the Boise Vineyard church here in Boise, Idaho. I oversee all the art exhibit installations in our art gallery. I’ve enjoyed getting to know some amazing artists this year who are very talented and who have a heart to let God shine through their creativity (no matter what their medium of choice). It’s also been a year of soul searching & deep intimate growth. We’ve been studying in the Gospel of Luke this year as a church focusing on believing for the Advent-ure (living a life of daring faith between Jesus’ first & second coming). I attend 2 home groups focused on deeper Biblical study and application. One group that I attend has been studying the Gospel of John and is now doing a book study of Randy Alcorn’s “Heaven”. The second group, I actually lead, and it has challenged me & enriched my life as a teacher and leader. We’ve begun a book study of John Eldredge’s “Waking the Dead”. I’ve also had some great opportunities this year doing some really fun stuff with my friends & family. Some of the highlights have been enjoying winter carnival, sledding & inner tubing, bowling & playing games, hiking up Tablerock Mtn, taking up beading & learning mosaic, going to rodeos & the fair, fishing, doing some watercolors & abstract collage paintings, getting back to the gym, embarking on road-trips, watching movies, taking in art galleries & concerts, eating a lot of great food, zip-lining, laughing hysterically, talking & sharing deep thoughts, playing with kids & pets, AND supporting each other through some tough times with love & tears & prayer.

This was a year of stepping into the fear. I'm relieved to say that I made it to the other side! I wonder what this coming year has in store? Perhaps bigger adventures with bigger risks? Hopefully I'll still be having a good time & laughing at myself. As I look back on this year I am so very thankful for the quality of people that I am blessed to be surrounded by. Whether close by or far away...friends & family are dear to my heart & I am better for all that I’ve experienced with you. You’ve helped to make this year a great one! Thank you! May you have a blessed Christmas & New Year and may you also live the advent-ure to the fullest!

DIVE DEEP!

Cheers!-Lisa

Sounds of Creativity

What does Creativity sound like?

Well in my art studio it can sound like many things:

The soft skritchy of a pencil across paper as it sketches a thought, a picture, a plan. The glug glug glug sound of a paint can being shaken to mix it's contents. The popping sound of a paint can being opened with a tool. The swishing sound of a brush moving over the surface of canvas. The squirting sound of a dollup of paint being squeezed from a tube onto a pallet. The splatting sound that wet house paint makes once it hits the canvas after being flung in the air by a mixing stick. The spraying of water in the sink as brushes and sticks and hands are being washed. The ripping sound of paper as images and words are utilized in a collage of paint on the canvas. The sound that paint makes as it's being moved about and mixed on the canvas with fingers (yes, there is a faint sound...somewhat like a squishy sucking sound). The pitter patter of feet or sneakers as they dance and adjust in movement around the painting. The squeeky sound of the art table legs as it moves with the rhythm of the finger or brush strokes being applied to the canvas with force and vigor. The loud joyous sound of worship music being played in the background as inspiration for creativity!

The many sounds of creativity are there...you just have to listen.

Art & Worship

you know that i’m an artist. you know that i’m a worshipper of God. and you also know that i try to live my life with the viewpoint that everything i do can be worship to the Lord…even art. within my art business “REVELATORART” i ask God to be revealed through the art i create, through the lessons that i teach, through the relationships i form. and within the arts ministry that i am in leadership with at the Vineyard Boise called, The VineArts League…i ask God to be revealed through the gallery exhibitions, through the workshops taught, through serving the church & the community creatively, through the relationships we form with other artists, through the art & worship services we hold. For you creative types (and even for those of you who don’t think you have artistic talents)…if you love worshipping God (singing, dancing, playing music, speaking words of poetry, etc.), if you love creating art (painting, drawing, sculpting, writing, filming, acting, etc.)…i encourage you to step out your comfort zone, take some risks, be willing to see God as so much bigger than you already see Him. get outside of the religious box that says “this is how we’ve always done things” or the critical skepticism of “art in church?! you can’t do that, that’s not right!”….YOU CAN! and it is right. God made us creative and He made us to worship…we can do both at the same time!i don’t know if you’ve ever had the experience of creating a piece of artwork during a time of worshipping God (whether alone at home or together with others in public)…but it can be one of the most profound tools of worship for not only the artist who is doing the creative worship, but also for the worshipper who is there amidst it all. i’ve had the incredible privilege of being a part of worship services where art is being created on the spot by others, and where i myself am creating art while worshipping. i’ve also held my own creative worship times in my art studio or outside in a large open area (sometimes by myself and other times with people joining me). God is the Grand Creator and He created us to be creative beings. He created us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. And it’s through our worship (however that looks & sounds & feels & tastes) that we can connect and go deeper in relationship with God…more intimately. God can speak, God can heal, God can comfort, God can stir in us the adventure. it is all about relationship with our Creator.

photo taken by J.D.

To Paint

To paint…

I want to paint like Jackson Pollock.

To let the paint fly and find its’ own way to the canvas. Freeform emotion splattering onto a sea of innocence. That would be freedom to meIf I could paint like Jackson Pollock. I love the feeling of the paint between my fingers. Squishing and oozing into a kaleidoscope of color. The paint becomes a part of me, and I a part of it. We become one with the canvas. Like lovers intertwined we danceI’m intoxicated with passion as I stroke the canvas with my tinctured fingertips. Sometimes gently, sometimes rough. To know my paint is to know me. We are one essence. Shall I raise my hands to the air in praise of the God who poured out His creativity into me? To paint…to live…to worship…this, is my desire.

c. 2002 Lisa Marten

photo taken by R.H.