Please enjoy this virtual version of the Renew Community 2020 Advent Art Experience. If the art moves you in some way, make sure you let the artist now how their work has impacted you in this season.
May you choose to fine hope, peace, joy, and love in the weeks ahead.
Nestger
Catina Light
“My boys often ask me to make a nest with them, we form blankets in a circle and snuggle in together. It’s a place of belonging and warmth. I wonder if Jesus’s manger had a nest like quality? I wonder what it might feel like to allow myself, the safely of belonging with him protected and snuggled in his safe warmth. Nestger is all of these thoughts together.”
Jesus is Born!
Daniel Pitzen
Age 10
Perspective
Erin Class
“This year has felt raw, unpredictable and out of control. This advent season continues to feel the same, and yet, there is hope, there is peace, joy and love to be found if we change our perspective and our focus. For me, nature reflects this idea. Horses are powerful and yet, they don't know the power that is within them - they can be scared and spooked by noises or sudden movements. It seems so silly, but they don't know their own size and strength. What if they were capable of changing their perspective? How would it change the way they lived? What if we recognized the power of Jesus that is within us? What if we asked the Holy Spirit to change our perspective? How could the rawness of this season be transformed into hope, peace, joy and love?”
Wine & Light Poem
Caleb Mangum
Something on paper; something on paper
Women why do you involve me?
From my seat in first class I can see all y’all’s infirmities
I’ll look Jesus in the eye one day,
tell him how I had the right stance on all these
Invent the advent; advent the intent
And i—just stay here for fear of my infirmity
What’s money got to do with crime, or justice?
What’s power go to do with black, or meekness?
We’re all entangled
Making each other sick
Keeping each other alive
Don’t dare get sick
Dare show weakness, dare fearless
Pen to paper—please, pen to paper
Woman it’s not my time yet
I see that jagged line of justice peek through like hope
Like an ember, like a solstice
Don’t talk about the homeless
See, the old was better
Slow down.
Speed up, it doesn’t matter
We’re monotonous
Numb on the new stuff
Drunk on being punch drunk
Can we stop pretending we’re sick
What’s the greater infection?
We’re tired of hiding like this
Hope peace joy love
But advent came like the rest of this year
Crumbled beaten like a body we know
Bumped numbly and the clock kept on
Can you turn water into wine after it was wine before?
Woman don’t involve me.
Advent 2020
Gary Sieling
“Woodblock printing produces beautiful, dramatic results. Modern imagery rendered in an old medium is a metaphor for the Christian experience: living out ancient practices in a modern world.
This piece includes an image for each week of Advent. I tried to interpret these as actions, instead of feelings. This includes frames from a hug emoji animation, a woman protesting for justice, a mask worn to protect others, a child joyfully dancing.
These confront the viewer with uncomfortable questions: can the world be at peace without justice? Do we, modern readers of the Bible care more about one than the other? How can we better love others, and find beauty in small things?”
Everpresent
Lindsay Smith
“I made this piece after finding the original artwork in my parent's trash (depending on who you ask). It hung in my childhood home but has now been deemed too dark and broken.
I saw the sailor looking for the light, but the moon obscured by the clouds and I thought of the light that is all around us even though we can’t/do not see it. This has been an ongoing theme for me for the past few years- the presence of the kingdom past, present, and future all at once is all right here...
‘The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.’ Isaiah 9:2”
Still Life with Fruit
Adrienne
A Angel
Teddy Bielecki
Age 7
Dancing Nee Mourning
Adrienne
The Joy of the Lord is My Strength
Denise Hall
Who knows
Who knows what this world has for me
One thing I do know
Is that I have to be
All I can be
No, not in the Army
And not for you, you, or you
But for me
Who knows when love will come my way
I just keep joy in my heart
And at night I pray
Thanking Him EVERYDAY
For ALL that will come my way
Who knows if I will succeed
What I do know is
If I study God’s Word I will excel
Then, like a helicopter I will be propelled
Into a world that I have never dreamed
Um, because God provides a life brighter than what seems
And who knew
THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH
The Star
Chase Bielecki
Age 9
A Star
Carter Briggs
”Where can we find the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the sky that signaled his birth. - Matthew 2:2”
Deeply Rooted
Chrissy Bielecki
”God has been reminding me of His truth and promises through the image of a tree with deep roots since the beginning of the pandemic.”
The Star of Christmas
Savannah Bielecki
”I painted the star of Christmas with the four advent weeks in the border. It is a reminder and the images of hope, peace, joy, and love that we celebrate before his birth.”
Hope
Adrienne
Purple, Black Manger
Tristan Pitzen
Age 6
Gesien
Collaboration: Adrienne & Catina Light
Kiley Moister
Our Almost Aborted Immanuel
Michael Smith
”What if Mary listened to the world around her? What if she gave into her internal monologue? Being fully human, she must have had a choice. And yet, she chose to hold on to the message of the angel. She chose to believe the words of Holy Spirit ministering to her heart and mind. It’s easy to dismiss other people’s choices, but have you ever imagined just how hard it was to make them?”