It Was Good Part 2

This section of the book, It Was Good talked mostly about craftsmanship, and what it means to be an artist of God when dealing with the issue of craftsmanship.

"I remind myself of His deliberation in setting the slant of the earth at the odd angle of 23 degrees. A small thing, but but crucially important. If the earth had not been tilted at that exact angle, vapors from the ocean would move north and south, piling up continents of ice." [1] (129)

This quote really stuck with me because God's craftsmanship is always perfect. No less than the best. To achieve such a level of craftsmanship, the artists (in this case: God) have to invest much of their time, effort, but most importantly they have to invest their care into the creation. Craftsmanship is one way to measure how much the artist cared for the piece or cared about the artwork itself, cared that it can be nothing less that perfect. There are a lot of small details that HAVE to be EXACT in order to function. Every multi and single-celled organism in our body were designed to carry out specific duties or processes to keep us alive, to keep us breathing, and to keep us conscious. Every microscopic organism and creation were created with the upmost care. Therefore, I can't help but see the love of God. It's everywhere. Can you imagine what the world would look like if God decided to not care as much or give as much effort to creation? Luckily, we don't have the weight of entire universe on our shoulders while we try to create, so when we mess up we are able to try again.

Si Scott - Illustration

This illustration of a hummingbird by Si Scott is an example of great craftsmanship because every stroke seems to be a vital part of the bird and at the same time the strokes are thin and thick when and where they need to be. 

Because God loves us so much that he perfects his creations makes me want to invest the same care and effort to my pieces of art. Of course, we as humans cannot come close to the level of God, but if we were created with the most care, I want to care the most for my creations.

"With every gift comes the requirement to use it well, 'to whom much is given much is required' 

(Luke 12:48) ...  people [who] receive gifts is applicable, as is the expectation that we 

invest those gifts to multiply them." [1] (139)

This drawing shows not only the aging process, but also that God's creations are very complex and each creation will have an impact on the world, whether it's a negative or positive effect. 

This quote inspired me as an artist to use the talents I have been gifted with and to care for my creations in the same way God cared for his creations.

"We were created with God’s exquisite craftsmanship, where He used Himself as the blueprint for our design. In biblical terms, we were created in His image (Genesis 1:26). While we share certain physical characteristics with other creatures, like arms, legs, heads, etc., we share certain characteristics with God. Classically, theologians tell us these include having emotion, intellect and will. But also included are the ability to have a personal relationship with God, to have both soulish and spiritual self-awareness and to have the capacity to willfully share in God’s creativeness... we were created to reflect Him in our lives." [2]

This quote from my second reference is very powerful because like it says in bold, 'He used Himself as the blueprint for our design'. God used Himself, and so we should use the qualities God has given us to use for our creations. I see no other way to effectively use our gifts that God has given us than to reflect Him in our lives 

and in our artwork because He created it All. 

This is just a cool picture I have that shows the SUBLIME beauty of one planet.

References:

[1] It Was Good: Making Art To The Glory Of God, McCleary
[2] http://bible-equip.org/emed-daily/2012/05/07/original-craftsmanship-ephesians-210/