Artist Interview: Studio JRU

Name: Jennifer

Name of Business: Studio JRU

Creative Influences: God’s beauty all around us! My mom… she has always been very creative.

Preferred Medium of Creativity: mixed media paintings

Brief Bio: I am a mixed media artist living in rural Nebraska - gravel roads, fresh air, peace and quiet. I am married to my best friend, my husband, Heydon. Art has been a lifelong passion of mine. I feel blessed to have know since I was young that art was the gift GOD granted me for this journey. I want my work to reflect the beauty of God and I hopes it brings joy and inspiration to those who see it.

Links:

http://www.studiojru.com

http://www.artfire.com/users/StudioJRU

http://www.incourage.me

 What is some of your earliest creative memories? 

I remember as a young girl I would sit in front of the tv watching painters on the local public television station. I would have my paints and scrap cardboard or something like that to paint on. Then I would paint right along with them. It was so much fun! I remember putting together photo shoots with my sister of our dolls. We would use our sandbox as a beach. J  I remember making bracelets with my friend to sell. We even made order forms! lol

Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  What did the evolution look like? 

Yes they did! My favorite class in grade school was art. My parents found me an art teacher in our town that I was able to take some classes from. I was always creating at home. I took the one and only art class available in high school. Then I chose to go to an art college. It has always been a part of my life.

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle? 

I have not really had a hiatus. I love to create. For myself, for my family, for my shop. Every once in a while I just need a break to step away and get the creativity flowing again. But it is never far from me.

 

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle? 

God has always been an important part of my life. HE gets all the credit for the gifts that I have been blessed with. I feel He has put art in my heart and this is what He wants me to do. I couldn’t be more happy with that!

What are you working on currently?

I am part of DaySpring’s (in)courage group and I am working on several pieces for their online store. They are the Christian division of Hallmark. I am also always trying to fit in some of my own original work while filling these orders! I have a lot of new pieces in my mind that I am just starting to work on.

 CLICK HERE to purchase the e-book of this Interview series for $4.99

New Ventures...

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Rob Bell, founding pastor and visionary behind Mar Hills Church in Michigan has been a mentor of sorts to me.  His accomplishments include authoring many books and then taking the information in those books on the road in rock star type tours in an attempt to share Jesus with those who may not walk through the doors of a church. He has used art as a catalyst to share GOD with the world that is both innovative and transforming and has challenged me many times to look at more that simply conventional means to do the same.

I have attached a link to his talk on his decision to once again move from a comfortable and successful space to venture into unknown territory:

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Artist Interview: Bev Falls

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Name:  Bev Falls
Name of Business:  Soul Blessings
Creative Influences:  God, scripture, music, nature, other artists
Preferred Medium of Creativity: Canvas, paper, paint

Shop: Soul Blessings
Blog: My Awakened Heart

Brief Bio: My name is Bev, I am 57 years young, I love GOD with my whole heart, I am a maker of art and beautiful messes, I'm married to my high school sweetheart, mother to two sons, grandmother to two precious boys, who is journeying through this sweet life full of love, growth, trials, surrender, and grace...

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What is one of your earliest creative memories? 
One of my earliest creative memories is  finger painting, and making greeting cards for my family members on birthdays, holidays, or whatever reason! Lots of pasting, gluing, and coloring going on there!  And of course, making paper dolls with my sister. 

Did your creative habits make a smooth transition into your adult life?  

Yes, they did. Creating has always been a part of me, a part of who I am...whether it be sewing, quilting, stenciling, card making, scrap booking, photography, and now my collage art. 

What did the evolution look like?  

Creating gifts for loved ones, sewing blankets and quilts, making clothes for my kids when they were little(after a certain age,they wouldn’t be caught dead in anything handmade!), decorating my home, scrap booking.   

If you had a creative hiatus, what event/circumstance brought you back to your creative lifestyle?  

Deeply painful circumstances with loved ones in my family took me deep into hiatus about 9 years ago. About 3 years ago, God and my “re-awakening” with Him brought me back to my art.  So, I had a period of about 6 years of my life where i was grieving around alot of tragedy, and felt very “damned up” emotionally.  God has helped me to release and express my grief and eventual healing. Art truly has been my therapy. 

How has GOD been a part of your creative process/lifestyle?  

God has clearly been instrumental in my ability to express myself artistically. He wants to use me to glorify Him through the art we make through my heart and hands. 

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Is there a particular moment where your creativity became infused into a spiritual practice?  

I read an amazing book by J. Scott McElroy called “Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in your Creativity”.  It really embraced and validated my own feelings about making art for and with God...He wants to collaborate with me!! 

What are you working on currently? 

My collage art.  It’s right where God wants me, for now...

 CLICK HERE to purchase the e-book of this Interview series for $4.99

Choices

 

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When we are enthusiastic we are intoxicated with passion
rooted in our true selves and it flows into all we do.
- Linda Saccoccio

Artist Spotlight: So Cute It Hurts

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Determination

I came across this series produced by Morgan Spurlock (creator of "Supersize Me" and "30 Days"). Another thought provoking series by him which I hope you will enjoy as well.

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Every journey starts with a separation, a leave-taking, a realization that
the place you are right now is a place where you can no longer stay.
- Justine Musk