Recently, I was asked if I use art to convey my personal sermon. If you know me, you know that the word “sermon” is not one I would normally use, but in light of its intended meaning here, I’m going with it. Sermon=message.

 

My personal sermon is best described through the two types of art I utilize most…photography and drama. I use photography to document and explore how I see the world and how I approach life. I find satisfaction in photographs that hone in on fine detail, ones that choose just the angle to make the whole of that person or object shine through. It isn’t always the “best side” of a person or the flawless petals of a flower. No, it’s the parts that make the character apparent, and often ignores the cookie-cutter standards of beauty set forth in the media.


The second medium I use all the time is drama. I am director of a small community children’s theatre and I am steadfastly unmoving in my vision for this program. We average casts of nearly 100 kids because no child is turned away. I believe we will find that interesting, flawed face in every child…not the perfect voice, body, intonation found in other programs. But that isn’t what we are about. We are not about the product. We are about the process. We are about taking the child where he or she stands, with what he or she has to offer. Sometimes it doesn’t work the way an artistic director would wish, but it always works in the way I wish to see to world and the way in which I wish to share my vision with the world. Children who are proud of their work, their creativity, their authentic exploration into their unique and valuable offerings to a community that often turns away imperfection.