ECHOES

Art and the Work of God

By Lindsay McLaughlin

  The atrium is a greenhouse of creativity.  At any moment you may find chidren painting, arranging flowers, practicing calligraphy, planning a play, writing stories, or composing a song. The atrium is a greenhouse of creativity. At any moment you may find children painting, arranging flowers, practicing calligraphy, planning a play, writing stories, composing songs. These artistic expressions flow effortlessly from each child in an unstoppable stream. The children are bold, eager to try out any art form. They are not inhibited by any concerns or judgments about the end product. For them, the process itself is exciting, energizing, and quite satisfying. There is no fear. There is only joy.

 In the environment of the atrium, each child comes to know more deeply and understand more fully the essence of faith: God is, and God loves. One fruit of this knowledge is the freedom to create. Our work and our art is an expression of ourselves. If we know that we are loved, we also know our creations will be loved and blessed. Children understand this intuitively, and so they draw, dance, sing, paint, write with abandon.

 The art coming to life in the atrium is not just a resounding confirmation of the child's relationship with God. It is also part of God's great work of redemption. In an earlier issue of Echoes we spoke of the power of story and storytelling used in the parable method. What is true of the creativity inherent in storytelling is true of other art as well. Clarissa Pinkola Estes in her little book The Gift of Story says about storytelling, "... the ultimate gift of story ... is that by the recounting of the tale, the greater forces of love, mercy, generosity and strength are continuously called into being in the world." I believe that is true of any creative act, that by the very doing of it, the greater forces of love, mercy, generosity and strength are continuously called into being in the world.

 What is true on the cosmic scale is true on the personal plane: creation comes out of love and by definition gives form to chaos and releases "soulforce" , life energy, love into the universe. The act of creation is redemptive.

 It gives a new perspective on the atrium to think of it as a center of redemption in this way. We see that artistic expression is not just something that we let the children do because it is good for them, or because it releases tension, or because they need a break from the "real" work of learning about Jesus. Their artwork is essential to their relationship with God, and it is part of the mystery of faith.  

 This issue of ECHOES includes reflections on art work created by children in the atrium, an overview of the Developmental Stages of Children's Art, and practical suggestions on how to support the child's creative work in the artium.

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