Art and word play for spiritual creativity

Over the next five weeks, our church is doing a worship series called "Drawn In," which encourages everyone to tap into their God-given creativity. Seems like a welcome and appropriate theme for this summer when we all need creative outlets.

Here's what the SPUMC website says about the series:

God created the heavens and the earth…and called it all good! During this series, we will connect with our inherent creativity and nurture this foundational aspect of being human, giving us renewed energy for passionate work, delightful play, and creative problem solving to make this world a better place for all.

I've found myself part of a worship brainstorming team, and for this series, I'm working with my friend Stephanie, a visual artist, to create some invitations to "spiritual creativity" that we are sending out to the congregation.

There are five weeks, so five invitations. Each week also has a word associated with it, so we're trying to keep that word/concept in mind as we come up with activities.

This is what we say about our invitations:

This summer, we invite you to be “drawn in” to the practice of exercising your creativity through some art and word play activities.  

These activities are designed for anyone to do--you don’t have to think of yourself as particularly gifted with words or with art. In fact, instead of thinking of art and writing as something that only a few people can do, we consider them as meditative activities for seeing our world and reflecting on our place in it. And you might even come up with some beautiful works of art!

Here is this week's invitation: blind contour drawing. Give it a try: it's fun and relaxing; very meditative in an ecumenical way!

Week 1: Dream

Because the title of this sermon series is “Drawn In,” this week, we’d like to invite you to do some actual drawing: blind contour drawing. Here’s an example:

Blind contour drawing is a simple exercise that involves carefully observing the outline and shapes of a subject while slowly drawing its contours in a continuous line--without looking at the paper. It is a great way to practice slowing down and looking very carefully at something.

To get started, you will need:

• Paper
• Pencil or pen
• A timer

Once you have your supplies:

1. Choose a subject to draw — still-life objects or the figure work well for this exercise
2. Set the timer for 20 minutes (shorter for children).
3. Tape the paper to your drawing surface so it doesn’t shift as you draw.
4. Arrange yourself so you can see the object you will be drawing without seeing the paper.
5. Focus your eyes on some part of the object and begin moving your pencil to record what your eyes observe.
6. Do not look down at the paper as your draw. Rather, force yourself to concentrate on how the shapes, lines, and contours of the object relate to one another.
7. Continue observing and recording until the timer rings

Here’s a short video that shows what blind contour drawing looks like.

After 20 minutes, you know you’ve spent serious time contemplating your subject. You’ve really looked at it closely, and you’ve slowed yourself down. The experience of drawing has become a meditation for you.

Blind contour drawings themselves often look nothing like the object you were observing, but you can see some of the important contours in them--and they often make lovely abstract images!