The Inspiration of Illumination

This is the story of my John 3:16 piece, Illumination, and my summer 08 miracle.

The idea first came ot me in Fall ;07, but there was no time to attempt it for my graduate show. In late spring of '08, I dabbled with the drawing, finally sizing it and mapping out the direction. That summer, I began the slow job of painting it.

As the first major shows of the season approached, I thought to enter it in one. It would be a tight race, but I felt it would be a tribute to the One who gave me art. The fair had a prepay entry system whereas the gallery show was day-of enrollment. I entered two other pieces in the fair hoping to finish them and this in the remaining week and a half. Both show deadlines were the same Saturday. By the previous weekend, I realized there was no way everything could get done especially as all pieces required framing including a custom mat for the calligraphy which could take several days to weeks to order! I made the hard decision to focus on the prepaid fair entries and scrap the calligraphy. I told God that I wanted to enter it, but that He would have to provide a miracle if He wanted that piece in that show. That was Saturday.

By Tuesday, the fair entriese that had been fighting me for months were pretty much finished. There was a slim chance I could make progress on the calligraphy... but the final three days all had half-day commitments that had come up over the weekend—interviews, errands, etc. I gave it a shot anyway and while running the errands found a frame shop that could do an overnight mat. Though not what I'd envisioned, the matboard was the only one that remotely worked with the half-done artwork. It later proved the perfect match for the finish! With framing for all work in progress, I turned my attention to actual completion.

I had a certain look in mind, but no clue how to achieve it. Every attempt seemed to be getting worse or at least going nowhere, but I decided to keep trying. If it didn't turn out, I'd just swallow the $85 for the framing... I wasn't going to show a second-rate piece “to the glory of God.” This had to be the best or else.

Then, I looked at it again, and it looked... better. This wasn't the improvement of desperation where it just looks better since it has to (like with a graduate show!) It really looked... better. All I can think is that God was doing the painting and I was just messing around. Sometimes, things went right and I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going with it... It just painted itself. Other times, I made mistakes and then they fixed themselves revealing an even better plan than what I had been shooting for. It was so strange. All I can say is that God wanted that piece in the show and wanted the credit since only He could have done it right anyway.

In the end, every tiny detail in execution and framing fell into place and it was entered. And boy, does that work declare His glory! I still marvel at it with a sense of awe every time I see it. It's not my handiwork, but merely a work my hands were used to create. It glorifies Him with it's very being and I think that is what He intended.

Six months later, I added the tetragrammaton to the four diamond shapes which were previously blank. It seemed the fitting final touch. Out of respect for Jewish tradition, those four letters are not included in disposable prints such as brochures and cards.