The prompt for our first ‘Painting from the Heart’ group was a treasure chest in the center of the table. We could use large card-stock, small construction paper, markers, pastels, glue, but no scissors.
The leaders explained the class, showed the treasure chest, read a poem about our hearts and then turned on an instrumental song. We were to first think about the condition of our heart at that moment and then write down all the words that came to our minds. After a few minutes we could start creating. After about 30 min. we were told to journal about what we saw in our artwork and give the piece a title.
The title of my work is called ‘Fully Alive’.
The words I jotted down were: broken, alive, tender, hard, flighty, excited, lonely, weary, full, pulsing, longing, wanting, dreaming, infected, stained, rhythmic.
I folded my very large card-stock in half (they suggested we use this to carry future work in, so I was thinking about how one side would be seen and one side would be unseen).
This is the side of my heart that is seen:
My Heart - Fully Alive/Seen
My journal entry: ‘The heart that most people see is clearly covered by the blood of Jesus – sprouting with some life – fruit, flowers, a bud or two, maybe an open flower and tiny tastes of fruit, sweet evidence of God’s work in my life. Those who get close enough to the center of my heart see the bruised heart of stone – depending on where they look.
TJ Talks 