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My husband had been, for quite some time, encouraging me to get back to my art. I had fallen in love with art and science years ago, however, I decided to pursue the science route in college and got a degree in Chemical Engineering. I worked in an engineering capacity and as a manager at IBM, and when I left to start my own business as a general contractor, many of those skills were transferable, including the skills I’d developed years ago as an artist. So, as a good and dutiful wife, I ignored my husband.
It was a literal call from my friend Ann, for whom I had built a home. My husband answered the phone while I was doing my Bible study. With Bible Study Fellowship International, there is always a short Bible passage to read, followed by a several questions aimed at increasing your understanding of the scripture, then you repeat the process with the next passage. I put down my “homework” and took the call. When I answered, Ann accused me of being the “craftiest person she knew!”
She actually meant that as a sincere complement. Ann is very creative and is always coming up with the most beautiful and clever ideas for decorating her home. Ann proceeded to relay how she was considering taking on arts and crafts full time and I was the person that came to mind. She had several ideas in mind that she wanted to pursue and asked if I was interested in partnering with her. We spoke about wanting to be assured that we were on God’s path, and both agreed to pray about it before making a decision. We both discussed the desire that God make it really obvious what we should do. So on the short trip back to the living room where my Bible study awaited, I asked God to do exactly that…make it really super obvious.
Picking up my homework I was instructed to read Exodus 31: 1-11. It turns out that this particular passage is about artisans chosen by God. It says: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘See I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft, and behold I have appointed with him, Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.” Naturally, I found it somewhat interesting that after my conversation with Ann, I would be reading about artisans working together for God's glory.. But, I can be a slow study. It took the next homework question for me to get the “really super obvious” answer to my prayer. The homework question was: “How is God calling you to use your God given skills to serve Him?”
Needless to say, Ann and I set up a lunch meeting to start the journey. After some time of partnering together, Ann was called by God to a different career, but I have continued on this path that I believe God has chosen for me.
Seasons:
The Call was for me to enter a new season of life as an artist. My art has changed considerably from painting on reclaimed wood, to painting on canvas, to now painting on metal. Both my spiritual walk and my art continues to evolve as I follow the call.
"Seasons" was created using actual leaves to create a base layer of rust on the original painting on steel. The scripture reference under my signature on this painting is Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Reproductions of "Seasons" on aluminum are available in additional colors.
If you think someone you know would be encouraged reading about my journey, please feel free to share. You can also sign up to be notified of future posts, which will be coming every quarter. Please also check out my first blog post that I did 3 months back: https://www.artbyvukela.com/post/claim-new-ground
Next up: Umm, did I hear you correctly?
To purchase this Original Reactive Painting on Steel click here:
Fine Art Prints available here: