YWAM

I love this organization/university. The strongest people I've met in the world are the people that know God is real.
My time there was refreshing, I was running on empty most of 2009/2010. I see the value of worship and I feel equipped to face the next chapter in my life.
It does teach skill but its main focus is charachter, integrity and life, because those are the areas that bring people down.
(SOI) - school of illustration
The first 3 months I learned about art and worship.
Some highlights:

-different media every week
-color values make shapes
-background and composition are important
-all the practice and being challenged in creativity
-rendering

(FCM)- foundations of counseling ministry
The next 3 months I took a different school. Basically I discovered my Identity in God..... the best investment I've ever made. I have had alot of time to think about whats important so I got a lot out of it.
Some highlights:

-It connected all this head knowledge about God and put it in my heart.
-I learned about myself and people
-God is not a puzzle to figure out but a real friendship. Gods got it all figured out and the result is life & peace, we need to put Him first. (romans 8:5)
-what an amazing way to do life, sometimes I think about how much time has passed me by, then I think how 'worth it' it is to know how big and good God is. Nothing is more valuable than this.
-prov 4:7 kept me focused


It has taken years to climb this mountain of recovery, just to see there is another mountain at the top, this mountain of life. Now I know that God wants to climb it for me but i have to let Him.
Wherever I go I have a Great Guide through it all. God has already won

we had an art show to finish the class. These are some of my submits

1samuel 16:7




BROKEN HOME

PSALM 81

PEACE


This is more of the last few weeks of my art class that just ended. Now I am doing a foundations in counceling ministry (FCM formerly IBC) among other things, (I'll tell you more about that later). This school has nothing to do with art but after a week of debating I have decided that it is a wise investment into my life. The next 12 weeks will be interesting!

week 8: photoshop

special effects illustration



communication collage from a place you have been/served

update

Week 6- mixed media that tells part of your life story
Week 7- adobe illustrator- replicate an organic/ethnic object and a tech object

Next week is photoshop.
My future plans...
I plan on being here at least 3 more months with 50% chance of longer.
As always God is large and in charge.

Here are some of my projects for those of you that have asked about them

(Its all about visual communication for me)

organic/ethnic object -adobe illustrator project

social injustice

BROKEN HOME

The broken home is a problem in America. It starts with a failed parental relationship involving divorce or physical, psychological abuse in the home. The result of this social injustice has a negative effect on a single human life. As that life grows up it effects the other lives around it furthering dysfunction in relationships and giving momentum to abuse and death that affects the world around that one human life from a broken home.

The molding of a young persons’ psychological health is fragile under this kind of stress and sets the course for a life of destruction.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

This is a cause and effect picture. A vintage water pump symbolizes the home and it drips water into the life of a young person.

The ‘Home’ is full of life (water), The ‘Broken Home’ is full of problems, low life, dirty, corrosion.

Wollawa 8/2010

In August I went backpacking in the Wollawa Mts for 6 days. We hiked into our first camp site late at night and in the rain.. After the 3^rd day of being in the rain we we’re irritated and frustrated. One morning a friend said

“Hey, it’s Gods world, He can do whatever He wants in it”.

That completely changed my perspective on life. The next few days it rained and I kept thinking about that concept of God being in charge, its not about me and how us serving Him is hard to fully understand. I realized I expect God to make me happy and serve me when I hurt or I’m uncomfortable. So instead of praying for comfort I should pray for trust in God because He knows best and that is a solid foundation to have.

Verses like these have new meaning to me because I understand why they are true.

HEBREWS 11:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

PROVERBS 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

Art:

Half mountain where I learned, half structure being built on a solid foundation of God being in charge.

-Complimentary colors

-atmospheric perspective

-acrylic, collage, pastel, matte, spray paint, ink

Personality

Chazown- hebrew word for dream, vision, revelation
      (Pronounced calzone without the l)
The purpose:  "everyone ends up some where, few people end up some where on purpose"
" where there is no  vision the people perish" - prov 29:18
It is a result of your past experience's, spiritual gift's, core value's.

A friend from class told me about this conference at church and I should check it out. It's a fri evening, sat morning time and could be very helpful.
It's 1 spiritual gifts test with 1 personality test (DISC assesment). 
I got alot out of it, here are my results if you are interested, if not feel free to think Im weird, I know the value of this stuff.
Spiritual gifts
-Discernment
-Helps/service
-Craftsman/artisan
-Intercession/prayer
-Giving

DISC (personality assesment)
Adapted style             Natural style
93           Dominance      92
45           Influence       35
51           Steadiness      10
17           Compliance     69

Im a high "D" & "C" (for the main idea, its not exact)
Basically "D" people really want to shoot something and be agressive, real effecient get it done... "C" people are real creative and indecisive, compassionate, always aiming and not shooting. 

So I am always shooting and not enough aiming. :)  
Some of my Core values:
Integrity
Honesty
Generosity
Creativity
Encouraging
Self disciplined
Wisdom

Personal mission statement I made based on these & past experiences:
     "to help young people in America know Gods' omnipotence, hate complacency, live for & love integrity"

I still wish I knew, but I have an idea what is up ahead for me.

Gone

"The man who has God as his treasure has all things in one" - A.W. Tozer

Week 6: mixed media that tells a part of your story

update

(pre AVM, but still truth)

week 4: color theory, acrylics & texture

Mauricio Palacio was the teacher this week. Great guy, I haven't seen Mauricio since the early '90's, such a good artist.

week 5: oil painting & communicating a social injustice

by Karen C. (very talented teacher)

God: every week I get drained. and every weekend God fills my "cup". I look forward to it.

prayer:

- this place needs community

-wisdom, I'm still working out my next step for the future.

-I strongly believe that all forms of art are the "facebook" of missions now. (effective, influential but not a substitute for real relationships)

-V-day is here. After living on a Christian University, I think that people are so afraid & distracted with getting things, truth needs help

My challenge this week- (numbers 11). is the Lords arm too short?

this is what I've been up to .....

week 3:

-lots of art: Prisma pencils & charcoal, live models and pictures (fully clothed), we're focusing on proportion, foreshortening, facial structure, drapery folds, speed (I'm slow)...

-lots of God: I am learning alot on my quiet times. I choose them! I know how powerful, big and real God is and I am learning about Gods goodness. I think both are important to have a healthy view of God.

-beaches,and visiting the old spots all day on saturdays so I don't snap (and it is Hawaii). I finally got to snorkel! A snorkel was one of the first things I got when I arrived. I have been an ocean freak since jr. high.

Now I am about to start my laundry

Hope you are doing well, I'm thinking about you.

let God amaze you, just for who He is, not just what He can do.

eric

1/22/11 update

Im in Kona. God is big. Everyday I thank God for this time. This week our class speaker was Micheal Harrar. It has been challenging and I’m learning about art techniques, volume, composition, balance, line thickness, diff mediums... the 10-15 hours a day mon-fri I spend doig art does not seem enough. There’s the other aspect of this university, The God aspect, it is ministering to me and challenging me daily.

Now, I love watching it when the waves are big, right now its 6’-8’, such a beautiful mess!

Since I’m staying out of the waves for a while, I go to the salt water pool as often as I can, its not a big spot so don’t tell anyone. When the waves are big they crash into the pool.





- Everything around here has changed, but I’m thankful.

- Still dealing with the whole "whoa, is this guy ok" vibe from people, but it doesn’t bug me too much, Portland was good prep for that, but it’s still hard not to mess with people.
My focus is still art and God!
It’s time to communicate visually. So many people are communicating verbally. Its ridiculous to add to the noise, I choose to communicate visually, so I’m learning how.

This is where I work 615a-745a



























This is what I learned at my spot today...
When I watch the waves I’m used to a certain perspective: watching from the front seeing side to side and waves come to me. (just like life, I want things to come to me)
This spot is different (life is different)
Waves go away from me & I just see the back of them.
-It is uncomfortable
-it’s different
-then really interesting
-now its my favorite point of view
I’ve been missing out on this view the whole time, wasting my time because I was focused on comfort more than anything.
This is so much like life, we want things our way and when we get it its not that cool and we usually miss out on the best.
Then i noticed something
People can spend their life on being comfortable (but never being fully satisfied because that life is all a about 'self gain')
or
You can work for something meaningful and rarely be comfortable but still have peace

Update 1/12/11

(some recent pictures)

Hi fam and friends,

I've returned to YWAM (youth with a mission) University of the Nations secondary school of illustration (college of communications. One of the 7 different colleges here)

-Work duty started today so now that I know my schedule for the next 3 months I can tell you.

-5:45 am wake up , grab something to eat on my way to work in the coffee shop on campus, usually a PB &J literally on the walk to work. (everyone has to do 2 hours of work a day either in the kitchen that serves the entire 300+ students and all the staff/their families, cleaning offices, cooking, electricity, grounds, …..everything to keep this university functioning and keeping the cost of schooling down.

-7:45 get to class. My teacher is an Art Center (pasadena) Grad, she knows her stuff and all the staff are great. Like most leadership here God has plucked them out of a comfortable career focused life and grabbed their hearts to volunteer with this University.

-Worship or prayer for an hour, have lectures on art, practice art skills 6-10 hours a day

-Lunch 12pm

-Dinner 5pm

-I haven’t settled into my schedule yet. I get tired so I exercize: weight room, run up the stairs or the hill pking lot on the side of campus. They also have vball, bball….

-lots of work to do, it’s a nice pace, we will have a different medium every week. This week is pencil, learning the H/B sets and some basic drawing. about 10 drawings plus assignments due each week, looking forward to it, there is so much talent here!

-Weekends are free time but since there is a lot of work to catch up on, Im strapped there.

-Teacher, work, people are great.

-Its funny that I’m working in a café (sweeping the outside). Im learning what a mocha and a cappuccino are.

-There are pro's & Con's but it's sweet to see how God centered this place is, not charismatic or weird. God is big.

-I have 4 roommates. A 17 yr Ukranian, 22 yr from Vegas, a guy from Russia/america and a guy no one ever see's, just his stuff is here.

-now that work duties have started there will be shuttles going into target/walmart, pretty stoked on that.

-My goals for this school are to strengthen my mind, body, spirit, learn how to use art effectively and to not wear shoes the whole time.