Some advice I gave a student about to graduate that is looking to work for a church. Most of these apply to graduates across the board in any creative or media field. (and a shout out for @TheCraigMcLeod he is about to graduate and looking for a position to tie student ministry and video production together so if you’re looking or know someone who is looking let me, or him know!)
and now the blog.
I think a lot of what we do is built upon our childhood. (until we’re told not to be creative any more)
I was talking with @JonathanMalm about things we did as children that very much mimic what we do professionally today. At Christmas I was excited to get presents and unwrap the boxes, but when I go back and look at pictures I’m playing with the boxes more than the toys. I can remember building fake ray guns, space ships and who knows what else with some boxes, tape and a little imagination.
To Be, or not To Be.
Shakespeare penned this over a century ago and yet it holds true to everything we do, copy, instigate or imitate as a church. Are we to be like everyone else? Are we to be on the cutting edge? Are we to desire to be better? Are we to be?
IMAG is short for Image Magnification or making things larger on a projection screen so you can see what’s going on far away like in a football stadium for a game or a concert.
This summer has started off CRAZY, and by crazy I mean crazy awesome. I have been stretched in ways I didn’t think possible, but this is a good thing. Since joining the children’s team I have gotten the pleasure of being creative visionary for VBS this year.
We have a Youth Leadership Conference / Missions experience going on right now here in Houston, Texas and my instructions were to create a cool stage.
Man…I wish constraints were always so fast and loose!
four new albums I’m listening to:
Continue reading
I am so bored at this event that I have to do something.
So you get a blog post, a bit premature on my new stage design.
This stage design was inspired by the talented Mr. Widney
I’ve used screen door mesh before and loved the look and feel of it, so when I saw Jason’s use of it I knew it was time to break it back out (yes i saved it).
I’ll talk a little bit about the process, but There is a description of the process on flickr! Continue reading
This is a post for what inspires me.
Yesterday as I was waiting on my car to get detailed (useless information) I just decided to meander around Sugarland Town Center and stop in some cool furniture and clothing shops to find design inspiration. These are photos and thoughts that I had as I walked around.
<Some cool wall art, a chunk of stained wood with a dremeled out fern pattern. While
this may not directly translate to stage work, it’s a thought on how to create a simple two toned process with a little work
A piece of graphic art I found on the wall>
for sale. Simple and striking with a message that while incredibly british is totally timely.
<This is a floating teardrop candle blind. A cool thought that could be replicated 
with some hinges, 1x2s and maybe some large eye bolts. Just think of a ton of 6-8ft pannels like this covering the back of your stage with candles all lit.
These are metal reeds in a water feature> outside that are made to look like cattails. What if you did something like this using the slightly flexible electrical conduit and wired in a lightbulb to the end and a plug on the other? Just a thought, and then again just using the lines would be cool.
You can find inspiration all around you. I will leave you with a few more pictures from my wanderings yesterday since my 250 words are almost up. What inspires you?
I wrote this for Outspoken a while back and after re-reading it am realizing lately I am struggling with this thought of white space right now. How is your white space, is it all colored in?
Take a second and think about your schedule. If you work in a church you are probably thinking about all of the meetings you have yet to attend, the projects left undone and the ministry hanging out there on the fringes. While the meetings have to happen, the projects have to get completed and ministry above all must be done, you have an obligation to your self. I like to call this obligation, creative white space.
White space should not be considered merely ‘blank’ space — it is an important element of design which enables the objects in it to exist at all, the balance between positive (or non-white) and the use of negative spaces is key to aesthetic composition. – Wikipedia
It’s not all that difficult to see a need for balance. Burn out happens in churches too. If you’re not taking a moment out of your week to feed yourself intellectually or spiritually then how are you going to be able to continue to produce at high levels?
Scripture talks about white space in Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” God has many attributes, God is omnipotent, God is healer, God is father but more relative to us here, God is creative and God is communicator. Now read that verse again, Be still and know that I am creative, or communicator (speaking of God). God desires for us to take a break out of our busy schedules and have some breathing room to create and communicate effectively. That looks different for each person, whether that is 10 minutes in a day or an entire day to remove yourself from meetings, distractions etc. and free yourself up to be inspired.
That healthy white space comes from setting yourself apart with God as well. We’re not going to be effective at our job as creator and communicator if we’re not communicating with the one who started it all. So what in your schedule needs deleted, shifted or boiled down so that you can begin to let yourself doodle, scribble, write, engage, read, observe or listen? Can you put it in a consistent spot or will it have to change each week as the dynamic and flexibility of your passion dictates where a white space will land?
