When you read the Bible, do you “see” images? Do you “smell” the flowers? “Taste” the fruit?
The Faith Formation Commission invites you to use your imagination and help us bring the Bible to life. Pick a Bible story or scripture passage that speaks to you. Stay tuned for a list of Bible stories and themes to spark your creativity.
You provide your imagination and paint, draw, sculpt, photograph, quilt, dance, write a poem, build a Lego model, etc. to illustrate the passage. Write a brief statement reflecting on how the passage spoke to you and what it was like to create a piece of art about it.
If you would like some help or support with your art project, we will connect you with a volunteer mentor artist from the congregation. We would like to display your creations at a community art show in Late Summer 2021. We encourage submissions by individuals, families, groups of friends, or even entire commissions! Questions? Contact Connie (connie.knapp@icloud.com) or Eric (erickreuter@aol.com).
Meet a Mentor for Bringing the Bible to Life: Jane Amato
Our congregation is blessed with many talented artists. Those of us who are working on Bringing the Bible to Life have invited some of them to serve as mentors for this project. Please consider contacting a mentor with questions like, “How do I get started?” “I have no talent—how can I contribute?” and “Where can I buy fill-in-the-blank art supplies? I interviewed Jane Amato who has agreed to be a mentor. Jane describes herself as a “crafts person.” She saves odds and ends hoping she will find a use for them. As Jane puts it, “I’ll paint until I run out of paint.”
Jane was an elementary school teacher, which left her with lots of art supplies. During her time as an elementary school teacher, she found herself drawing footprints on the floor for another teacher who just couldn’t draw footprints-no problem, Jane to the rescue! During this COVID time Jane has been painting designs on bottles-Santa Claus for Christmas, flowers for spring. I was most impressed with the Bible scenes Jane drew on eggs, as both a gift for Chip and her contribution to the Bringing the Bible to Life project.
You may also remember a recent article with a picture of Jane and the Peace Pole that she painted for a project in New Paltz. That was the largest project she has completed to date. Jane believes that all you need is time and a purpose. She likes to create something as a gift for someone, to make their day brighter. She likes to think of the person when she’s creating the gift.
Jane will be happy to answer any question except “Where can I buy fill-in-the-blank art supplies?” because she has a ton of art supplies at home and hasn’t had to buy any in a very long time! Find something you are interested in “bringing to life.” It could be a fruit, vegetable, tree, or familiar Bible story. You could do this by drawing, sewing, painting. Jane has painted a bottle with animals on it, showing off all of God’s creation-what ideas do you have? Jane can help you!
~Submitted by Connie Knapp