Art is a Gift of God

Like all gifts that God gives, I believe the gift of art is to be developed and then used for His glory. Sugar and Spice Graphics is an expression of my love for art but mostly the love I have for Jesus Christ and to give glory to God. Over the years I have done various types of artwork. As a young curious girl I loved the smell of a fresh box of crayons even if there were only 8 of them. I looked at the huge boxes of crayons that the other students had with the built in sharpener but I was happy to have my colors because they were mine and I could make scribbles or draw anything I wanted to without having to share them with my brothers and sisters on a brown paper bag. In Junior High I took a semester of art both years, then four years of art in high school. As with most art classes I was taught a variety of art, but I particularly was partial to sketching, painting and pottery. I never thought I was any good at anything in particular because I was introduced to such a variety of forms of art without having time to perfect any of them. I enjoyed working with clay because clay starts as hard and firm and with water and the heat of my hands I was able to mold and shape the most interesting looking creatures. I put much effort into making an ashtray however just for my daddy. It looked better once the kiln heated the glaze that I meticulously painted with delight, knowing I was making something for my daddy. I think he only used it because I made it for him because it was somewhat ugly actually. I once made him a sock doll which I later saw that he still kept in his clothes drawer. What a joy to know that those things meant something to him. I think I enjoyed making things more because of the joy I received in giving them once I made them. The years went on and I didn't do anything with my art ability until my daughter got interested in drawing. We both did the correspondence art course from Art Instruction school and then Harcourt Learning Center. They focused mostly on drawing and I started taking magazines, calendars and about anything that had pictures of people on them and drew with pencil and charcoal and did some acrylic painting. I even got good enough to do a huge painting of the Lady of Guadalupe for a hispanic woman. I later realized that the commandment of not making any graven images applied to that painting. I began to use painting as a way to express the abuse that I had endured most of my life. Most of my paintings were dark but I was able to express the inner torment that plagued me as no other way of expressing what happened to me could. I put some of my art in a survivor art show and also in a gallery and sold some. As I healed from my abuse I began to do pencil drawings until I started doing graphic art. Most of my art was portraits of women. I would take pictures of women from playboy magazines and put clothes on them with my graphic design skills. This was another way to heal from my abuse. My art took on a sexy flirty theme and I started making screen savers with titles and music. I became a Christian and my art became totally different. I started doing graphic art and began making tags and incredimail stationary using bible verses and my art took on a whole new dimension. I began to use the talent that I had to give glory to God. I am thankful for the years I was able to use art as a tool to heal and I pray that God will continue to use me for His glory.
This graphic was made with a tutorial from http://www.carolaineweb.us/