For the first time since 2020 I was able to head out in person on an Art Ministry Trip. This time as a Road Trip headed to a neighboring state...the beautiful Big Sky Country of northwestern Montana.
It was a trip that was birthed out of prompted intentional prayer that would be answered within minutes. In fact, that's a great way to describe this trip overall...it was a trip filled with heartfelt asks, listening to God's voice, paying attention to Holy Spirit promptings, and being open and obedient within intentional Jesus loving action. A lot like some of what I experienced on my last in person trip to Texas in 2020, it felt very much like I was being invited in on a "treasure hunt" with God (the treasure being people; known and unknown) coming alongside Him to come alongside others. Getting to be a part of what at first seemed random moments, which quickly became evident were purposeful encounters of love being lavishly poured out, was so much fun!
The whole trip anchored around traveling up to the northwest corner of Montana to the small town of Trout Creek in order to paint a mural on the side of a barn for some long time friends from college that I had not seen in over 30 years. The ask came earlier in the year when I was in the midst of painting several series of commissioned embellished prints for the RÚACH project. Speaking of RÚACH (the breath, wind, spririt of God) this trip felt like it was breathed into existence and sparked alive by God's Spirit. It truly was beautiful to watch as it unfolded before me and to be invited in to be a part of.
I was on Instagram scrolling my feed when I noticed my author friend Kimberly's post of beautiful photos from their new residence in northwestern Montana. I was struck with a thought that it would be fun to do a trip to her and her husband Robert (the 3 of us had attended the same Bible College together in the Seattle area and have kept in touch throughout the years) I thought it would be fun to encourage her in her writing (she is a prolific award winning romance suspense author, *sidenote: she has even utilized some of my art gallerycurator experience for research in one of her books) and get a chance to catch up after all of these years. 15 minutes later I received a private message from her asking what I would charge to paint a mural for them (the barn sits very close to their house and she was desiring to have something nice to look at out her kitchen window other than a wall). The timing wasn't lost on me, I knew this was God prompting both of us...so I offered the trip as an Art Ministry trip instead of her hiring me on my Art Business side of things. Later I found out that this offer was an answer to prayer for them too!
This kind of Holy Spirit led conversation was woven throughout the trip. The drive from where I live in southwestern Idaho up to northwestern Montana where Kimberly and Robert live would be a long drive. Doable...but long. As it turned out I had 2 sets of friends who live along the path I would be driving that offered to have me overnight. One set of friends I would stay with on the way up: Kim and Jonathan. I had known them for years but only through social media and had not met them in person. Kim is an Artist and Art Minister and her husband Jonathan is a Pastor. I had a scheduled roadtrip to minister to them back 2021 when they lived in the Seattle area but because of the trip needing to be canceled due to Covid I ended up not going and instead shipping them the art and paintings I was meant to minister to them with. Recently they moved to Montana and they happened to be on my route and this would give me the chance finally to meet them in person. And the other set of friends I would stay with on the way back: Tami and Trent. I have known them for years as they used to live in Idaho. They had moved to Montana a few years ago to be near family after being out on the mission field as Missionaries in Germany ministering to refugees for many years. We have helped support each others ministries through prayer and financial donations. It was going to be a great way to reconnect in person. So the trip with it's main connection up in Trout Creek, would be bookended with additional Art Ministry time on either side of it.
Kim and Jonathan. Kimberly and Robert. Tami and Trent.
TRIP PREP:
Like with any art project, prepping for an art trip requires a lot from me. Along with the physical side of things (communicating well with my hosts, planning the details of my travel, planning the schedule of the trip with my hosts, designing/practising for whatever art projects would be implemented, purchasing/gathering art supplies for those projects, figuring out what and how much to pack, getting funds together to take on the trip, meeting with my Commissioning Circle to talk through the trip and pray), there are other aspects of prep that require a good deal of my attention and intention (praying continuously: listening in on the conversation that God is having with the people/friends I'll be staying with and coming alongside in ministry and the people I'll be connecting with and ministering to throughout the trip).
This oftentimes comes with experience of knowing how to listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit and what to listen for. For example: I had no idea why...but I knew in my knower last year I was to create a particular painting for Kim and Jonathan and I was able to ship it to them when I could'nt travel in person. And for this trip I was to bring a particular painting of mine to give to Robert (and I didn't know why) and particular painting of mine to give to Trent (and I didn't know why). I really didn't know what the paintings would speak to each of them but I was prompted to bring them along. It turns out the painting I had created for Kim and Jonathan was speaking some incredible things to Jonathan (I had the chance to see it hanging in their house and he took the time to show me what he saw in it) and when I presented the painting to Robert that I had brought for him he was seeing all kinds of things in it that was speaking to him directly. And the same thing happened when I was to give Trent his painting. In fact, all 3 paintings were very specific in speaking into each man's circumstances/situations. The purposes of why I was to bring those paintings to them wasn't revealed until I was with each man in person and they had chances to share what was going on in their lives at the beginning of my time with each couple. It was in those moments I knew that I was to give the paintings at that very moment of conversation and the meaning and purpose of the prophetic words through the paintings were being revealed to each man and speaking into their circumstances/situations right at that moment and preparing them for their week to come. This is part of that listening in on the conversation that God is having with others and being obedient to the promptings to enter into the conversaton with my unique voice through creativity...but ultimately it's God's heart voice speaking love in creative ways.
"Light" c.2021 "Yield" c.2019 "Deep Prayer" c.2021
MURAL PREP:
As I was to be painting a mural on the side of a barn I needed to prep suffiently for that project. This required getting information from Kimberly about the barn wall (it was brown metal), the size she wanted (8'x8' in diameter), and the design idea she had in mind (inspired by a wooden ornament depicting some deer and some trees within a circle), and the colors palette she was thinking (mostly white). Then it required taking the time for me to design the imagery and color palette for this mural to scale. Though I have a lot of mural painting experience, this would be the first time I was to paint one on metal and I needed to do a lot of research up front to learn about the correct process and type of paint I would need to do it. This is a fun part for me, as I love research and design prep. I needed to purchase paint primer and paint (which I also needed to test out on a piece of metal so I could practice) , new brushes, and a bunch of other tools and supplies for the project. Also due to the height of the mural (starting several feet up off the ground and then the 8 foot diameter mural itself) I needed to purchase some portable platfrom scaffolding and step ladders.
Normally when I have painted a mural I have been able to use an overhead prjector and transparencies with the design image to project the image onto the wall and I trace the outline with chalk or marker. This makes it easier to paint large scale. But with this project there wasn't enough room between the buildings for me to use a projector so I had to figure out alternative ways I could get the image outlined in chalk marker at that scale within the space I would be working. I knew I could free-hand sketch the inner elements of the image but the outer circle I needed to be accurate in measurements and size (it was what would pull it all together). So I created a stencil out of thick foam core of an 1/8th of the circle (my dad helped with getting the correct measurements of the angle for the stencil as he is really good with math and it was fun to work together on the project). The plan would be that after finding my center point of the mural (based on where Kimberly would want to see it) I would measure 4 ft out to the left, to the right, to the top, to the bottom and then I would use the stencil to trace all the way around until I had completed a full circle. Jump ahead...it worked beautifully!
*Side story: when I got there and was setting up my work station I quickly realized that the portable platform I had purchased to help me reach 8ft was not going to be tall enough to reach the top of the mural (because of how high the center point needed to be to be in allignment with the kitchen window). I asked Robert if he had any ladders I could borrow and it just so happened that he had a ladder that disassembled and made itself into 2 folding laders that you could put a board across to make a scaffold platform. So I was able to reach the height I needed and it also allowed (along with my own platform) for varying levels to paint from and that made it much easier for me. It was such a blessing! And I was reminded of something spoken out in the prayer meeting with my Comissioning Circle before the trip...
One of my commissioning Circle members, Chad, is going to Portugal to walk part of El Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) this month with his wife and daughters. It's a century old network of pilgramages that lead to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain that can take weeks, or months to complete. In recent years it was made famous by the movie The Way starring Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez. When we had all met to pray for my trip we ended up talking a lot about his journey too. He spoke of a saying that is popular on the pilgrimage that speaks into God providing what we need when we need it. They tell you not to bring a lot with you and to be open to being flexible with your plans (how far you will travel each day, where you will stay, what you will eat, who you will journey with, where money will come from, etc.) and to trust that "The Camino will provide". It's a journey of faith step by step. We talked of my trips being very much like that...steps of faith, trusting in God's faithfulness that He will provide all I need when I need it along the journey. The scaffold provision was a perfect example of that very thing. I needed a taller scaffold...I asked....it was provided. The Camino will provide. El Camino means the Way. Jesus is the Way. The Truth. and the Life.
The work space. Designing. My equipment and supplies.
TRIP TIMING:
The trip began it's planning stages in late March. It was talked about having me come sometime before winter since it would be a road trip to northwestern Montana (we wanted to avoid bad weather and snow). Because of busy schedules for the first part of the year, we talked about making it sometime in the summer and settled upon mid July. Then in May when we talked again, there were some glitches that had taken place with the construction of their house so we pushed the trip back to the second week of August (which was the latest I could do it due to scheduled committments I had from that point on).
But that was the week that God actually had in mind for us all along. As it turns out it converged with several things that were going on in Kimberly and Roberts lives that my time with them wasn't just about the blessing of painting a mural...it was about getting to be present at a very pivotal point for them when they were to make some big decisions for the next phase of their life journey. I had the honor of entering into that God conversation with them in a creative and prophetic way that brought peace and confirmation as they sought to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit within their decisions.
CONNECTING CREATIVELY:
I found myself soaking up all the conversations at each of my stops. It was really fun to to take turns sharing and listening with each of them along the way. It was within most of these conversations that the treasure hunting was active. God loves us so much that he will do whatever takes for a chance to give us an encounter with His love. He will take one person from point A and get them to Point B at a specific time, and He'll take one person from Point C to get them to Point B at that very same time...and then He'll get them to meet. And it's within that meeting moment that what each of them has to offer meets the needs of the other. It's a beautiful thing to watch and it's even moe beautiful to be a part of.
Art Ministry talk with Kim. Story telling with Kimberly. Talking story with Tami.
THE MURAL:
The usual time for me to complete a large mural has been anywhere between a week to 2 weeks depending on size and complexity of the design and style. Being that I had never painted on metal siding before and that the mural would be the size it was and outside (subject to whatever the weather would give me) I planned for a week. One of the fun parts of this trip was that I actually finished the entire mural (unloading my truck and setting up my work station, wiping down the wall, measuring and chalk tracing the design, applying 2 coats of primer, applying 2 coats of paint, being baked by the 90°F sun and heat coming off the metal, dodging moments of stormy clouds and brief sprinkling rain, swatting off flies and bugs as they dive bombed my wet paint, adding embellishments of drips and splatter and texture and signing it, packing up the work station and reloading into my truck) all in THREE DAYS!
It was a creative miracle! The next 2 days it poured rain! Perfect timing!
The chalked outline. Painting the primer coats. The finished mural.
GOD'S CREATIVITY:
With the mural finished it gave us a chance to do some sightseeing elswheres and enjoy some fun time together exploring northern Montana and Idaho. It was beautiful up there! It's definitly big sky country for sure!
Montana. Idaho. Montana.
THE NEXT STEP:
I'm very thankful for the time I had to travel on this trip and to connect with all 3 couples and get the opportunity to be a part of the conversations God was already having with them. It was so fun to come alongside them through creativity and conversaton and be a blessing and encouragement within thier lives right here and right now. It was an honor to be present as they worked through decision making and gained perspective within their circumstances to take the next step within each of their journeys. And in turn...they were doing the same for me, though I'm sure they didn't realize it.
As Sherri, one of my Commissioning Circle members, said to me before I left on this trip "Sometimes to see the bigger picture its not the bigger picture that we need to focus on, it's the next step that must be taken, and from that step the next step will be revealed, and then you take that one..."
This trip for me felt like a new beginning, a next step and fun practice in learning to see. In January 2019 I stood 10,023 feet up on top the summit of the mauna (mountain) Haleakalā (the dormant volcano on the island of Maui in Hawai'i, the name means "House of the Sun") and looked out 360º over the Pacific Ocean. It was then that I heard God's prompting..."There is so much more for you beyond"...I'm sensing a shift with my trips, like I'm entering into a new phase and I believe I'm just now beginning to see...
It's like something Jessie and Dean said (two of my Commissioning Circle members) referenced in our prayer time for this trip)....we get to chase the light through eachother, to experience the moire effect of our overlapping lives as God shines His Love and Light through us reflecting His image. We are a shadow image of the real. The now and the not yet. Both-And. It's all of us together with Him. We're all connected.
There is so much more beyond...I feel like I'm just getting started.
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