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Guest Post: F.ART—Ruminations on Faith, Art, Culture and The Effects of Splatter Paint.

Guest Post: F.ART—Ruminations on Faith, Art, Culture and The Effects of Splatter Paint.

Last updated on: June 14, 2012 at 5:14 pm by Phil Shepherd

Guest Post: F.ART—Ruminations on Faith, Art, Culture and The Effects of Splatter Paint. 2012-06-14T17:14:37-06:00 Phil Shepherd

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Bio: (I don’t know if this should be first or third person…so I’m just going to babble…)
I am an awkward twenty-something. Teacher by profession, artist by need. I seek to know, love, and embrace the beauty of this world and its occupants. You can find my blog, “A Painters Perspective by clicking here. Follow Heather on twitter: @artistandfriend

F.ART—Ruminations on faith, art, culture and the effects of splatter paint.

What I love most about art, is the mystery. Ever tried to find meaning in a Jackson Polluck painting? It looks like the product of a toddler’s tantrum. I love that I can stare at a piece of art for hours and not have a damn clue as to the message being conveyed. Takes the pressure off of forced interpretation.

I fell in love with art in elementary school…exploring techniques, making messes, and licking chocolate pudding “paint” off of construction paper…it was a long bus ride home, don’t judge. Over the last twenty years, my admiration and borderline obsession with the methods and mediums of artistic expression have resulted in a transformation of mind, body, and spirit.

Art is my method of renewal after an arduous day, my avenue of connecting with the community, loving others, and attempting to ascertain the myriad of religious and spiritual possibilities that have enveloped my world since childhood.

From birth until my mid-twenties, I believed strict religious guidelines and principles. There was one God, one Jesus, and one Holy Spirit and God loved me if I said my prayers, went to church, and ate all my vegetables. A few years ago I met a handful of people who challenged me to think beyond the status quo in terms of God, spirituality, acceptance of myself and the way I interacted with religion…and they used art to facilitate the change. I began looking beyond traditions, restrictions, and boundaries within Christianity. Beyond prayer, beyond hymns, and evangelism…God could still be discovered. God could be found in the Hindu Holi Festival of Colors (celebrating the birth of spring by showering colored powders and paint over any object whether it be animal, vegetable, or mineral), in the turquoise beads cascading my prayer rosary, in my renditions of the first Surah of the Quran and Patron Saint Dolly Parton, or as I like to call her, Our Lady of Perpetual Cleavage. Art and religion know no hindrances, apart from the ones we put upon them…

With art, I am simply…free.

If only I felt free in all parameters of my life. If only there was no need to create colorful decoupage to find the courage to be myself, to be adventurous, and be strengthened to approach a world that often frightens me. Though I must admit, I rather like the way art enhances my perspective. It’s like a friend and confidant..one that brings a brilliant array of joy to my life. And I absolutely love that I don’t have to completely define or understand it. Preserves the mystery.

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