I love spoken poetry and I recently found Peter Nevland and his site the Spoken Groove. He has a potent message intertwined in a unique style. You should check him out.



So, what have you been waiting for someone to legitimize? Though no one may have told you, you were created for a reason - are you doing it? Whatever it is, you should be pursuing it, developing it and building your dreams around it!

I've been checking out some cool design websites lately and I found this crazy art by Joshua Heineman on his cursivebuilding site - it is interesting to say the least.

If I were to go back to school for something, it would definitely be in the field of graphic design. Photo manipulations like these are so fascinating to me - see more here.

I love Abram Arkhipov's paintings. I had posted about another of his a little while ago (here), but am always drawn in by his work.

He painted in a form that became known as 'Eventless,' as it was intended to be a simple perspective or glimpse into another’s life. Each of his paintings makes you feel like you are next to the person and, at least for me, I can associate feelings with the painting.

I like this one as it reminds me of the many trips I've taken, driving across the States and (out of boredom) imagining what it would have been like to be an early pioneer. What would it have been like to cross the un-touched land in a covered wagon? What would it have been like to cross the flat plains of Kansas and reach the formidable foothills of the Rocky Mountains? Crazy.

Also reminds me of Oregon Trail - forging rivers, spacebar hunting and family members dying of scurvy.

It's no secret that I love tattoos. I have made a bakers dozen of these pieces of art work permanently a part of me. I was recently asked to explain them and thought I would take the time to post an explanation of the ink that is forever sown under the surface of my skin.

Let me start by explaining why.

There is no reason why - I just wanted to. In fact there is no reason for anybody to get a tattoo, they just choose to. You don't need them, they don't do much for you. It is a lot like explaining why you would pierce some part of your body or why you like watching football - you just do.

With that said, there is also no reason not to. Some Christians feel quite adamant that you should not tattoo yourself because the bible says so. When pressed they point to the only verse that roughly translated states, "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you" (Lev 19.28). Here's a few reasons why that doesn't necessarily work as a reason:

• Many scholars agree that this refers more to a mutilation of the body as a form of pagan worship, not really tattooing as we know it.
  
• When some translation use the word tattoo, it is only trying to attach a meaning we understand in our current culture to what was originally written in ancient Jewish law.
  
• Jesus came to free us from the very law this was written in, the same law that forbid men from shaving and everyone from wearing clothes woven of multiple materials.

This kind of talent blows my mind. How can you take a flat surface and mess with peoples minds like this? This type of art is so fascinating to me. Google image search Julian Beever and you too will be amazed.

Found this new blog and she posts pieces of her art - the above piece I thought rocked. Very captivating and thought provoking. I love the contrasts.

And to make this gal even cooler - she's a fan of the old CO ska band Five Iron Frenzy - who I love and miss.

Abram Arkhipov was a late 19th early 20th century Russian painter. He painted a genre known as Eventless, which is defined as "a moment of observation meant to inspire the viewer's sympathy for its accuracy of feeling."

Basically, at least to me, they are very stimulating images of emotion. I love this one titled 'Washerwoman'. I can imagine the thick humid air, the sweat, the strong and wrinkled hands of these hard working women. I wonder how long their work day was, how many years they've worked those days - how much they've been paid?

It also makes me think about how hard so many people still work for so little - all to have the 'Lowest Price Guaranteed'.

See another version of this painting here or another Arkhipov painting here.

I love birds.

I don't own any birds - nor will I, but I love seeing them. There is something about their ability to fly, their agile and fragile existence. If a shirt has a bird on it, I probably want to own it. Like I said - random.

I found this cool site called The Poster List - they have some really cool posters. I would totally buy, frame and hang posters in my house, but it's not actually mine and Julie probably wouldn't go for it. Too dorm like.

So I've never used the 'next blog' link in the upper left - guess I've never been bored enough? Anyway, found this guy Sheng and he posted this picture he took. I don't know anything about the photo except that it is crazy cool. Where ever it is, it is definitely on my bucket list!

Not sure creepy cool is a valid phrase, but it does capture my initial thoughts of this 19th century oil painting by Leon Joseph Florentin Bonnat. The painting is of Job at his lowest point - and again I say creepy cool.

This is an amazing sculpture made by a group of artists from Mozambique in 2004. It is called the "Tree of Life" and resides in the atrium of the British Museum, which I love, because you wouldn't expect the post-Christian celebration of art in Europe to house Christian art, let alone spotlight it.

But what is more amazing is to think of the profoundly theological implications of this piece of art. The sculpture is created entirely of decommissioned weapons from the Mozambique civil war. It is a very real picture of Isaiah 2.4, which says, "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." I'm not going to lie, I don't do a lot of devotionals in Isaiah, but I do often dream of what it would be like to have God’s peace and justice reigning in our current world. From our countries war in Iraq, to genocide, starvation, AIDS, we all wrestle with the evil of this world and long for peace. This piece of art, to me, embodies the voice of humanity from artists, followers of Jesus and non-followers alike, who yearn not just for peace, but also for unity. Because we were all created, because we all bear the image of God himself, and so we all desire that peace.

It is amazing how that desire transcends language, culture, up-bringing and time. But that desire alone is empty without movement. Like any gift from God, it must move us to action. A blessing from God is to be shared and so a desire for peace should prompt us to strive for peace. But how? How do I become a person of peace? Or the church a movement of peace? How do we become a movement that makes a difference?

Love?

This piece of art is a beautiful picture of what is to come. In Revelations 22.1-3, it says, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.”

But how can I be that image or expression of peace today?

Love?