Dabbling to greater fulfillment
I love to dabble in different creative projects. Whether it’s carpentry or gardening or cooking or painting—it all brings me great fulfillment.
Jen Kornelsen, with brushes in hand, ready to get to work.
Artists often talk about the deep meanings in their work and l feel a bit sheepish to say that I don’t usually have a very deep meaning. I often begin a creative project with just the simple thought that the result might be beautiful, or that I’d like to see certain colours together.
I wonder if this is a little like how God felt when he created the world. Maybe once God had created the colour green for the first time, he decided that it was his favourite colour and so he used every possible shade of it to blanket so much of the land. And when he had completed each element of creation, he looked on it with great satisfaction, declaring that it was good. God experienced such fulfillment in his creative work that he imparted creative gifts to the people that he made. And so, I feel like I am a little bit like my Creator when I make something, and I experience the pleasure of it.
“Geese” by Jen Kornelsen
Some of my paintings have an element “below the surface.” I seem particularly drawn to earthy stuff—browns and rusts and soil and minerals—the stuff we don’t see or look at much. I’m not sure why; I guess I embrace death and decay as a beautiful and miraculous part of life. We tend to hide those parts, but maybe it’s important to amplify them in order to recognize the part they play in a whole creation.
A favourite worship song of mine is sung from the perspective of planet Earth. If my art was viewed with a soundtrack, this song would be it!
“Declaring Glory” by The Porter’s Gate
New life begins
Your creatures dance across my skin
Like me, they have your Spirit within
But soon they fade away as I spin
They fall to dust
And dress me in decay and rust
Their secrets buried deep in my crust
I praise You in the layers of dust
Declaring glory, glory!
About the painting:
I see beauty in processes of change and even in decay. When I look at old iron and copper, I notice the interesting colours and designs made over time as these metals are exposed to the elements. Rust and oxidization produce brilliant patinas and contrasts. I wonder about the ways in which we ourselves are changed when under pressure, and what beauty God allows to result from pain and hardship.