“I definitely look at people differently. I like to deconstruct, to pull a character apart, to work out what makes them tick and my view will not be the same as everyone else.” - Anthony Hopkins.
I overheard the term ‘feeding the muse’ after what felt like an age and two halves at some point this week, so I figured I’d utilise it as a source of inspiration (and corrupt it in the name of art) somehow...
This pen-and-ink illustration was done for the cover of a church statement of faith.
I named this illustration Foundation of America because I believe this country was
founded by Christians who had strong faith in the God of the Bible, and through
faith, prayer, and sacrifice, the patriots overcame the mighty British military. By the
hand of God, a new nation was born: the United States of America. When the United
States was filled with God-fearing people, God raised the country to be a super power,
and the world envied the United States and flocked to her shores, the land of freedom
and opportunity.
Now this country has forgotten the God who gave birth to her and now is setting
up new idols to worship: idols of wood, stone, metals that do not hear or see or
care. Because the United States has forgotten God, it has been plagued with storms,
tornadoes, floods, droughts and her enemies are waging war with her, waiting to
celebrate her fall.
It is my hope and prayer that people who love this country will return to honoring God
and return to giving Him thanks for all the great works He has done for this nation
and turn from our sins and follow God by obeying His Word: the Holy Bible. That
God will remove His hand of judgment and His blessing may return to our country.
This church was fist built in 1890 and is still being used as a church. It is in Norristown,
Pennsylvania. This was the first Bible-believing church I attended when I became a
Christian.
(October 28, 2017)
It's crazy to think that 6 years have already flown by since I first moved onto the Xcel gymnastics team, let alone the fact that I've spent 15 years of my life as a gymnast. Tomorrow, August 6th, 2021, marks my last day as a gymnast on the team since I'm officially a college student. I've genuinely been dreading this day, but it's not the ending I expected...in an oddly good way. I know no one expected to spend the past year in a pandemic, and I definitely didn't think gym would shift so much in the following months, but here we are. Gymnastics has taught me more than I ever imagined it could, and my coaches (especially one of them) have become two of the people I'm closest with, words can't describe how grateful I am for everything. This 'ending' doesn't feel like an end, more so a closing to this chapter. Honestly, my love for the sport has only grown, and it feels like I'm finally figuring it all out. So, although my final practice as a team member is tomorrow, my journey is not over yet. "Goodbyes are the hardest part, and this ending has been something I’ve been dreading, although I know it’s time to let go. I’d like to say this isn’t a permanent goodbye to you or the sport, it’s more of a natural conclusion. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you’ve done for me and managed to teach me in this short amount of time, I couldn’t have asked for anyone, or anything, better. Thank you most of all for helping me achieve my dreams and for helping me get to a point in which I can say I’m proud of my journey.
All that’s left to say is I care about you, I love you, and take care."
Of all the dreams I’ve had in my life, the one I had back in July of 2007 as a 14 year old seems to have stuck somewhere in my memory the longest. It involved some airy-fairy death and rebirth of the world and it all got very 2001-sy real quick.
Here’s a retelling of that story...ish.
Two older works, the first one is definitely one of my favorites. I'm not a big collage person, but I do enjoy browsing random books with patterns and chopping them up.
I often hear music in my dreams. In this case, it was ‘Babylon’ by Oneohtrix Point Never (a.k.a. Daniel Lopatin, for those unaware). I had to respond in the best way possible of course!
