A 60-Second Year

So now the year of “Daily Crosses” is complete.  Looking back on all the crosses that I found—in nature, on buildings, and in so many mundane places—I have this new sense of Christ being everywhere.  It’s a great feeling.

 

I also love how this project engaged my friends and acquaintances from all over the world who commented on my daily Facebook postings and even contributed photos themselves.  If you’re one of those people, thanks for participating.

 

Here is a video that shows all 366 crosses in one minute.  I hope you enjoy it.  I am also making a book for those of you who want to look at all the photographs at a more leisurely pace.  Let me know if you’d like a copy!

Seeing the Cross

At first, my “Daily Cross” project felt merely playful to me. It was fun to bring my camera with me everywhere and search for hidden crosses. I started in my backyard and on walks with my dog. Then I took some photographs on my trips to South Jersey and New York City. It was always surprising where I found them. And there were so many crosses everywhere! Soon my everyday life began to feel like one continuous game of “Where’s Waldo!”

But, in searching for crosses all the time, another aspect of the project began to emerge. I began to think more often and more tangibly about the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The project constantly reminds me that Jesus acted physically in the material world to grant us His life. He carried His Cross through the sweltering streets of Jerusalem. He felt real, soul-wrenching pain as He was nailed to and hung on the Cross. He suffered – and He died a horrific death. He did this for the joy that was set before Him: His creation brought to the fullness of its intended good. That's us.

Everywhere I look now, I see reminders of this great life-giving love, this beautiful divine mystery. And tomorrow I will be reminded again.

Gathering

As believers, we are called to live our lives in Christ. So if our living, breathing and being is in Christ, then our art will be in Him also.

This means that the artwork we create does not have to be directly based on an explicitly religious topic to be “about” God and His redemptive work. It can depict a landscape or the human form. It can be representational or abstract. It can be a painting, an installation or any other media. As long as we have our being in Christ, the Spirit of Christ will manifest in our art—which means we can touch the viewer with the message of the gospel and thereby change a life.

This is one reason I believe it is important to pray before we start working. We want to remain open for God to inspire us, to drop a vision into us for our next work. This time of seeking divine inspiration is essential for the Christian artist. Sometimes, it only takes a nanosecond for us to get a completely clear vision of what we should do next. Other times, we may get a powerful but vague feeling that only becomes clear over a long period of time. But we do our best to seek—trusting in the promise that we will find.

I often walk around for weeks with several ideas for new projects forming in my spirit. If I am working on a project already, I have to push other new ideas more to the background to be called on when I feel am ready to execute them with God's blessing. But when I have finished a project and I’m ready for the next one, I walk around "gathering" for a while. I keep my eyes and spirit open to any and all input that might possibly be helpful to my next project. It might just be a certain color or shape. It might be an existing work of art by someone else. It may be some mood or idea that I'd like to convey. I might cut out a picture from a magazine or print out an article from the web.

This is also the time when I think about what physical materials would work best and where could I get them. I may start to buy and collect what I think I’m going to need for the project—even if I’m not entirely sure exactly what the project will be yet.

If this is a group project, this is the time to share with the group. By discussing the vision, everyone can start getting more inspired and make decisions about what they should do. Discussion also allow you to uncover any weak points in the vision or the work plan.

Often, the ideas that God gives us are a surprise. He will give us something to do that we could never have thought of ourselves, something completely unexpected. So, as Christian artists, we should always be prepared to gather inspirations for projects that God wants to birth in us by His Holy Spirit.