Elysia's Artwork (A few things, anyway)

Van Gogh's "Starry Night" made with frosting

Baby Afghan crochet

The Art of Gardening?

I made these school dresses for my girls three years ago.

Watermelon cake :)

Ethan asked me to paint the Lindt bar on his pinewood derby car.

PJ had me paint the Milka bar wrapper print on his car.

Colossians 1 map - calligraphy March 2015

Fill My Cup and Let it Overflow With Love - painted in college

Pastor Vijay - painted this month

Vlad, a Romanian orphan - sketched 10 years ago

My Dad - sketched in high school

My Dad - sketched in high school

My youngest - sketched a couple years ago

Fair Days

Peter John, Lizzy, Gretchen, Amy at the 4H Shake Shack

A couple of Gretchen's drawings

Peter's 1st Prize legos in the yellow box and the pink dress I sewed.

First Prize ribbons for PJ!!

The County Fair is SO fun for our family because we like to create things.  We are not superstar athletes, models or brains, but we love to make things with our hands.  Each of the kids entered items into the fair in the Open Class Exhibit, and EVERYONE was awarded ribbons for their work. This was only made possible because our friend, Christine, offered to pick up our things at the end of the fair.  She took some pictures of our items on display, too.  Our family went to Bottineau, ND for the weekend to visit Ethan's parents, so we couldn't stay to pick up our things at the end of the fair.  We are SO grateful for Christine's assistance.  It is always rewarding to be able to show some of the things we have worked hard on throughout the year.

The Fair Is Fun! We Like to Go to One!

Here are some snapshots from the County Fair this week.

Big Tractors are always a hit!

I think we spent most of our time at the Children's Barnyard petting the animals. The kids are now convinced they want a puppy, chicks, and rabbits for pets.

Peter John did some milking of the goat again (he tries it every year). Success!!

Lizzy at the sheep barn.

Amy loved the sheep.

 The kids and I all entered some of our projects into the County Fair Open Class Exhibit again. Each of the kids got at least one blue ribbon for their work, and they will be able to earn some money from the fair for placing first, second, or third.  It is so fun to see what other people have produced also.  Here is the rundown of our prizes:

 Peter John:

pen drawing - 1st

pencil drawing - 1st

wood construction (toothpick) - 1st

Knex construction - 1st

Lego construction - 2nd

 Amy:

crayon drawing - 1st

weaving - 2nd

color pencil drawing - 3rd

 Gretchen:

freehand painting - 1st

crayon drawing - 1st

stamping - 1st

watercolor painting - 1st

crochet booties - 1st

molasses cookies - 2nd

pencil drawing - 2nd

cross stitch embroidery - 2nd

Lizzy:

beaded bracelet - 1st

pencil drawing - 1st

watercolor painting - 3rd

construction paper and pen drawing - 3rd

Elysia:

watercolor painting - 1st

pencil drawing - 1st

crochet baby bonnet - 2nd

pumpkin muffins - 2nd

canned goods:

cucumbers, sliced, sour - 1st

rhubarb jelly - 1st

strawberry-rhubarb jam - 1st

pumpkin - 2nd

strawberry-rhubarb sauce - 3rd

3 bean salad - 3rd

fresh produce:

pickling cucumbers - 1st

beets - 1st

green beans - 1st

Art and Worship

Last night at our home fellowship, we listened in and watched the 11th session of the Truth Project dealing with the subject of LABOR. When we look at our work from a biblical, God-centered perspective, it brings so much life and creativity to the tasks of six days.  The presenter, Del Tackett, saved an interesting perspective on creative art for the very end of the lesson. In an interview with Makoto Fujimora, this amazing contemporary abstract artist who happens to be a Christian, Mr. Fujimora explained to us the importance of art and of Christians working as artists.
Tonight I found this interview with Mr. Fujimora at patrolmag.com (never heard of this mag before). His intelligence and understanding are very high, so his answers are very deeply thought out and explained, but very abstract (like his artwork).  I particularly resonated with this response to the question:

You speak of “proper worship”—how is the propriety of our worship determined? And, to apply it to art, how is the revelation of something holy evaluated in art?

By “proper worship,” I mean a distinctively Christological way of looking at God, the world and ourselves that is driven by understanding and experiencing God’s grace. I am not merely speaking of liturgical elements, denominations, or traditions. If you follow Tim Keller’s reasoning in Prodigal God, you see that Christ saw the world in grace-filled and extravagantly compassionate ways.

So that means that the enemy of expression is not just waywardness of culture but also legalism of culture, and this often starts at the church. For Christ, we are (and the universe as it pertains to us) the object of affection, his masterpieces. So we need to bring people in to see that we are far more beautiful and transcendent to God as the best of the arts do are to us. But the arts train us, make our hearts and mind more aware, of things excellent and beautiful.

Olana - Matthew Six by Makoto Fujimora

I am inspired. Maybe its time to bring out the brushes again.

Ribbons!

We had so much fun at the WOT County Fair last week. Last year my friend, Angie, told me about an opportunity to earn money by entering items into the fair. Angie's kids have entered for many years and won several ribbons. We decided to give it a try, and the kids and I all entered some of our hard work into the Open Exhibition where they give ribbons and awards to the first, second, and third place in each category. The kids entered several of their artwork pieces as well as woodwork, legos, and sewing (Gretchen). For the first time ever, I entered some of the crochet pieces I have done as well as fresh vegetables from my garden. I also entered two of the preserves I have made this summer: pickled sweet beets and rhubarb jelly. We were so surprised by the results!

Wednesday was the official day to enter all your items. It was SO hot that day (about 95 degrees and humid). The lady at the counter who received our items told me I did not enter some of my vegetables correctly. For example, for yellow beans, you must have 10 beans to display, and I had only 5 beans. I decided to go home and return later with the correct number of vegetables and the proper way to display. I had to cut off the green tops of the onions and the greens off the beets. After some more work, we returned, and all was entered. If I ever enter again, I will know a little better how things need to be done, and I will remember to bring plates to display them on! (I forgot this year and had to borrow from the fair ladies).

Here are the results from the items we won ribbons on. Gretchen and Peter John were in the same category for age. Lizzy and Amy were in another category together for age (up to age 7):
Gretchen -
blue, apron sewing
blue, Father's Day poem
blue, watercolor
red, colored pencil drawing
white, Sacajawea poster

Peter John -
blue, woodwork
blue, pencil drawing
blue, colored pencil drawing
blue, freehand painting

Lizzy -
blue, pen drawing
blue, pencil drawing
blue, finger paint
blue, watercolor
red, crayon drawing
red, marker drawing ladybug poem
white, freehand painting

Amy - She entered only one item and was so proud to receive a red ribbon for her pencil drawing!

Elysia -
blue, crochet baby poncho
blue, crochet infant sweater
blue, crochet baby afghan
blue, fresh beets
blue, canned rhubarb jelly
red, crochet baby booties
red, canned sweet pickled beets
white, beans, yellow
white, crochet baby bonnet
white, white onions