Just a little sidetracked, that's all

Hello Bloggers!

Don't we all love getting letters in the mail? Or even multiple-page emails from a dear friend, for that matter? Yet, we aren't very consistent, are we? At least I'm not. Facebook has filled that void, sadly. However, with my brother at boot camp in Parris Island, SC, I will be forced to write letters if I'm to let him know of anything important going on in our lives over the next three months. Those Marines like to make your life their own--so no cell phones. no calls of any kind. The only exception was when the recruits arrived, they were allowed to call home and let their family know they arrived safely. The recipient of that call could not talk back to their recruit, and the recruit had to read off a specific script that was given to him. Wow. Talk about breaking the will. So, yes, I will be spending more time chronicling the in's and out's of life.

Stephen and I have been a bit sidetracked lately. Six months ago, we were sitting in Chick-fil-a on a Saturday night. One of those rare instances when we were going to go grocery shopping together (gasp!) and come home with way more junk food than is necessary. But before that, we were trying to curb our appetites (and thus our Walmart bill) by eating a few chicken nuggets and waffle fries. This turned into that, and we ended up having one of those deep, life changing, God conversations. Marriage is kinda like that. The two are one, and moments like those, you really feel the oneness. I had been recently researching a grad school in Columbia, SC. I had filled out my application, visited the department head, and signed up for the GRE test. Yet, this conversation changed all of that. We decided to move home sooner rather than later. This was a vague concept, and I thought that meant we'd be home within six months or so so that I could go to school in the fall.

Well, there's only so many times you can email your contacts and spread around your resume. March and April rolled around, and I was painting up a storm, so I quit my job! Stephen was looking in to getting his MBA in Augusta that his company would help pay for. Which would also mean that we'd be here for a couple more years. Then, we got to thinking, maybe we should look for a house! Aiken's not so bad! I went and met with a Realtor broker about getting in the business. We were making very different plans in May compared to January. Yes, indeed. The day before I met with the Realtor, our perspective changed. Stephen told me that he felt like we needed to get back on track and pursue moving back home. Ok. He was very clear that this is the direction we needed to go in, and it was what was spoken to us several months ago. We just got a little sidetracked.

So, I went to the meeting with the Realtor the next day. It lasted two hours. It was pretty much an orientation to the company I could possibly be working at. What a relief, right? To find a career possibility that I could commit to, and that people actually want me to work in? Well, I got out of the interview, and I immediately got a text from Stephen saying that he had a phone interview with Entergy on that Friday. This is not just a company that is near his family, it's one that he's been interested in for a long time. Ok, God. Now that we are pursuing this very tenuous plan, here's an interview saying, "Here's a little encouragement"

That's that. We're putting this job hunting process in the Lord's hands. Most of the time, I view the hardest choice as the right choice. Reaching out of my comfort zone has always been the plan of choice. The harder it is, the more I'm in the will of God, right? I have used this approach to many things in my life: the friends I make, joining Chi Alpha, keeping my head high during Stephen's cancer, moving to SC. (Yes, Chi Alpha was outside my comfort zone. Everyone was like, "you should be at the Wesley" But I felt the Lord calling otherwise... long story) So, moving home, where we actually want to be, and where our family is can't POSSIBLY be what the Lord is wanting us to do, right?! It's too easy! Maybe so, but the Lord has spoken as far as Stephen and I are concerned, and we're ready.

Artist Statement:

In the book of Ecclesiastes chapter three, King Solomon expresses his view of time in the form of a poem. Each couplet describes two seasons that are paradoxically related to one another. For example, there is a time for war and a time for peace. Each season can be experienced in one lifetime, and each person may experience a number of these events in their own unique order and fashion. Transpose these seasons to stops on a subway map and you have a complex system that represents a lifetime of sharp turns and linked passageways. Now, the map may imply a certain rigidity. A person can only visit one stop at a time; never two at once. Thus, we find ourselves on a linear narrative that can only go in one direction at any given time.

Maps and diagrams are useful tools that provide information needed to navigate and to decipher complicated or abstract ideas. If I said I wanted to “map something out,” you would imply that I want to explore something. I would want to plan the unfolding of an event in my favor. The drawings inside the cave at Lascaux, France are thought to be attempts at controlling

the future of the tribesmen. If a successful hunt is portrayed on the wall then it hopefully transforms into a prophesy about the next days’ events. They drew what was anticipated. Similarly, the hope of what is looming ahead becomes the subject of my artwork. This process is not to predict the future or even to dream of it. Rather, it is a simple contemplation of the unknown.

The use of the intaglio process has been a great starting point for this line of thought about finding my place. The process leaves ample room for contemplation and meditation, as it is repetitive and time consuming.

More recently, this act of mapping has turned its attention to local demographics. The sectioning off of neighborhoods according to wealth, race, class. How does the wealthy view a town’s history? The poor? Continuing with the aspect of the unknown—these invented histories—and combining that with the hard “facts” of anthropology, I’ve been able to thoroughly explore my place in the community of Ruston.

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Previous Works:

Ruston, 2008

Self portrait, 2009

Ruston, 2008

Giacometti Technique

Still Life, 2007

Langley, 2010

This blog was intended to be an update for all the folks back home, wherever that may be for you now. And just so you know, you're all missed so much! It's been an interesting transition to South Carolina. One that we thought might be temporary at first, but everyone knows that plans and intentions always change! And actually, I'm thankful that we're staying here for a while. Being in one place opens the doors for relationships to form, and that has been one of my TOP priorities lately. Stephen and I have been here for about six months now, which is a nice benchmark to stop at and look back to see what we've accomplished.

First of all, we both have settled into our jobs. Hooray for work! It's definitely a blessing to even have work these days, and I'm thankful everyday that we both enjoy our jobs. Just today, a man from Stephen's work (Mark) came over to help Stephen install a new head gasket cover in my Honda! He's been coming over the past couple weekends to work on this difficult car job. I've been so impressed with what Stephen has learned, not only for his job, but also off the job. I.E.--with my car!!

Besides work, we've just been hanging out with people every chance we get. And I think we can go ahead and say that Millbrook Baptist is our current church home. No, we haven't "officially" joined, and I think Stephen would tell you that getting baptized (AGAIN) and signing up to be on the roster isn't exactly Biblical when it comes to being a part of a body of believers. But getting back to the point. Millbrook has a ton of opportunities for us to get involved and serve the community, which I love. Right now we're working with small groups for the middle school kids. The groups meet at different people's homes and hang out and do some Bible study. I'm with the 6th grade girl small group, and being around these kids really brings back some memories. Teaching the G.A.'s class with Kelli, Lindsey, Lori, and Megan at Emmanuel gave us some good experience with mentoring. And seeing those same G.A. girls grow from 4th graders to being in high school is something that just can't be recreated. So, in a way, I feel like I'm starting over with these girls at Millbrook, and it's hard! It's hard because I want to get to know them and be able to teach them to think about the Bible in a deep and critical way. It's not going to happen overnight. I just know that discipleship is where a lot of my passion in ministry lies, so in order to get the ball rolling I'm going to need to build up these relationships. And tonight, I felt like the ice was finally broken. Do you know that feeling? When a group of people FINALLY feel comfortable around each other? I'm very excited about this, and I hope that the next school year will prove to be more fruitful.

Now, speaking of breaking the ice.... Another way to describe this point in a relationship is the tipping point. When you start inviting yourself over... or whatever. No plans. No reason. I just want to hang out. Meeting people that you can connect with on that level is not easy outside of college...or should I say AFTER college. Because having the convenience of similarity and proximity to people who are just like you can be taken for granted! It's true. I meet people who haven't had this experience, and I honestly feel sorry for them on some level because the friendships that came out of Tech are irreplaceable. Yes, I know that college is what you make of it....yada yada. But really. Dorms are like relationship building sessions on crack. You know I'm right.

Excuse me for being so obsessed with this concept right now. It's probably about 45 percent of what I think about. Anyway. Tomorrow starts a new week, and I'm totally pumped about seeing Anna, Bryan, and our nephew Ben on Saturday!!! Look out, North Carolina!

Why is my neighbor washing her truck...

when thirty minutes later it will be covered with a centimeter of pollen? Probably for the same reason that I decided to lay out in our backyard and get a little sun--just a simple pleasure. Keeping it simple is something that brings the greatest joy. Sometimes simplicity turns on you, though, whenever you consider a thought or an act like salvation. It becomes more than simply grace. Because of grace, I am what I am, Paul said. Simple, huh? He goes on to say that "his grace toward me was not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:10). This grace was given and a transformation took place, and no it wasn't in vain seeing as Paul arguably worked harder than any other apostle spreading the news about Christ's resurrection.

My favorite sermon on an Easter Sunday was actually the evening service that only about 75 old people and a handful of young'ins go to. Bro. Bill preached out of 1 Corinthians 15. This chapter is honest, cutting, explanatory, and evocative. Paul talks about Christ's resurrection and its eternal consequences; how it relates to all of mankind. Speaking of eternal life, Paul says, "When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written,

'Death is swallowed up in victory.'

'O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?'

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor. 15:54-57).

Now, I love the imagery of death being SWALLOWED UP in victory! A complete envelopment. It's holistic and all encompassing. For now, we are men of dust (as Paul says earlier in this chapter), made in the image of Adam, but we have the resurrection of the dead. Something that allows us (men of dust) to bear the image of the man of heaven, Jesus Christ. Simply beautiful. Or beautifully simple. Whichever way you want to look at it.

Laying out in the backyard, listening to the Avett Brothers does remind me of the "man of dust" part of myself. The part we like to call human nature. A song called "Ill with Want" says we have "a need for somethin' but not more medicine." And why do we have this need? A lot of people wonder what's missing and pursue more and more "medicine" in the form of many things. Then, the singer admits,"Somethin' has me. Oh! Somethin' has me. Somethin' has me actin' like someone who I know isn't me. Somethin' has me actin' like someone I don't want to be. Ill with want and poisoned by this ugly greed." Thankfully, in Christ, we have no want because he has the victory.

Since we're about 700 miles away

And I don't know when we'll be in Louisiana again before Christmas, I decided to dedicate this blog to the handful of people who would like to stay informed!

The high today was 78 degrees. It was partly cloudy, and the breeze let us know that rain was coming in the next couple of days but not today. Everyone knows that the first day of spring is relative. Generally, it's the day that you spontaneously go to Wal-mart and buy a kite, then find a good field to fly it in. Today, with the event of the Aiken Steeplechase was my first day of spring. Stephen and I had no idea what to expect, seeing as this whole horse culture of Aiken is pretty foreign to us. The only thing I knew in advance was that there would be an array of different people there, from rich to poor. Yet, everyone dressed in their Sunday best. Ladies with their big hats with ribbon and feathers. Men in their plaid pants. So, imagine Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady at the horse races, then add lots of alcohol and young people. This equals tail-gating at a horse race.

It was actually a lot of fun, seeing as I was able to put faces with the names of people Stephen works with at the Savannah River Site. Also, we ran into our friends who are originally from Louisiana, so of course they know how to tail-gate and do it right :)

I'll put some pictures of the races up soon.

In the spirit of this festival, I thought it would be appropriate to launch this website into a fresh season. There will be lots of landscape painting, picnics, and golf in the days to come.

Happy Spring, everyone.

"Be well. Do good work, and keep in touch"

--Garrison Keillor