Art, Art I Love You...

Who am I? I am a creative artist.

I worked with designing stages to portray messages and experiential moments to draw people closer to God. I loved soaring on the top of a ten foot ladder, creating and designing in the air. It feels like flying to my heart.

Now, I am no longer implementing these designs. It's a new season in my life.

But basically, in my heart I am still an artist. Waiting to see where the next step on this journey will lead me.

chosen...

How do I explain this? I have no earthly clue what is going to happen with the message each Sunday. I pray and God's gives me ideas to implement. I create them.

I've been playing with this “red thread” idea/stage design for several weeks now.

Here is the design I created for June 24^th, which didn't happen. So, I continued the idea for this last week. July 1^st.  (read the notes on the drawing)

This was the main scripture for the message.

1 Peter 2: 4-9
Specifically verse 9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
This was the stage:

As long as this continues to happen...

I just trust God.

red thread...

I actually have been toying with this idea for a couple years.The idea first came to me when we were in the designing stages of producing the book “Revealing the Relevant Word” for our reading through the Bible in a year with Cross Current...

The background:

I like studying demographics in relation to the church. One interesting tidbit I found was that the fastest growing community in our zip code is the Asian community. I have talked about it often.

I was also doing some research on the concept of the legend of the “red thread”.

“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of the time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break” - Chines Proverb
At that point I was seeing that God's Word was the thread that connected us to Him. That this thread connect us to Him and our true destination is to meet God.
The final prompt was a family that is about to receive their newest child into their family. She is a sweet girl from China. I have since learned that the adoptive community have picked up on this legend to represent linking the child to their forever home.
So mash-up all that with our current series: love God, love others, serve the world...
I decided to create a red thread to use in the stage design.

As if often true, there may be only a few that will “get” what this stage design is all about; but it will be worth it.
This took HOURS...

364 yards of red yarn

little bitty rubber ducks...

One day I sat down and made this silly vid about how the stage design "really" occurs at Cross Current. In some ways I wish it were true. It would make it simpler.
If you could see me on a Sunday...squeezing in between the various band members, crawling on top of wonky carts, rolling up 35' of material on the floor, cutting and stringing heavy duty fishing line and lots and lots of safety pins.

life as a mobile church...

Since I have been dealing with the very same elements for about 3 months now, it's been tougher to simply design and make them look interesting from my POV.

The posters have to go really high, so the logo's show, it gets to be a struggle.

Then add to that, the middle school we met in has been doing their spring musical production of “Annie”. So we have been contending with stage sets, extra flats, props (large props), furniture...

Honestly I wasn't really “feeling” it.

But I woke up really early (thank you God) today, ready to roll out and do the stage.

It was really tight on stage with the band moved forward. We lost about four feet of the rear of the stage. But, hey...we made it work.

second verse, same as the first...

We are now in week 9 or 10 utilizing the banners for this year's study.

March 2, 2012

It is somewhat a tough design element; since they have to hung very far up because of the location of the logos on the banners. Plus trying to get creative with the design & placement of the banners.
BUT, it is getting the point across. Soon our people will hopefully know our mission statement is:
Love God, love others, serve the world...
We have actually been working with this mission statement for over two years and it is beginning to sink in. Repetition is so important.
Working on some thoughts on how to pull out some of the logo design elements to add to the stage designs.  I will let you know how it is going soon.

anatomy of setting up a stage design...

I use everything that I am able to find to create the stage design each week. I snag tech carts and items from the school (this week I used the conductors platform). These items get covered with cloth and VOILA!

It may seem silly, but I am very excited. There is a large gray metal cart, that I use frequently to lift things up in stage designs. Well this week, the marvelous Emily Firestone made a custom cover (she calls it a tablecloth. LOL) that I just slip onto the cart now. Woot! Woot! I am doing a happy dance!
I look forward to using it...

You can barely even see in the pictures, but we added a dark blue net material to the design. It looks nice and flow-ie...

First, I have to say that I really like our banners.

Nobody asked; BUT if someone HAD asked, I probably would have asked for matte finish on the banners (note the lights that reflect off of the shiny, slick fronts of the banners).

I also would have staggered the designs. One towards to top, one towards the middle and one towards the bottom.

No biggie, it is something that we are able to work with.

That's what it looked like today; now it's about time to go back for Core Community, After which we will strike the stage set and band equipment. We will load it all up again in the trailer, drive it back to the office and in 7 days, we will do it all over again.

serve the world...

Worship Set 1You Are Good
This is our second week with this song. It is so fun and upbeat. Lyrics (Brian Johnson & Jeremy Riddle, BETHEL MUSIC 2011)
Freedom is Here

Worship Set 2
Here For You (Matt Redman)
Always (Kristian Stanfill)

Message: serve the world...

Worship Set 3
Tear Down the Walls

Two focuses on our “serve the world...” Sunday.
One is our partnership with Windswept Academy. Gearing up for uur third trip to South Dakota
This is what we did last year
Building a fence 

Second, today we are partnering with another local church for a collection of food for a backpack buddy program here locally. This is one of the things I love about our people. A couple times a year, we hand out a list on Sunday morning and have people come back later in the day to drop off donations.

It's cool to see how people respond. We are a medium sized church with a big heart to help others.

This is being submitted to Sunday Set Lists @ theworshipcommunity.com

love God, love others...

Our current series is "love God, love others, serve the world" We are trying to brand this purpose statement in people's minds. Last week we were focused on "love God"...

An advantage to being mobile, is that you don't feel locked into a stage design once it is set up. Since the stage has to be struck each and every week, you feel more freedom in tweeking the design.

We want to keep the purpose statement in order, and each week bring to the forefront the portion being discussed.
This week we are focused on "love others"...
So that banner was rasied higher.
And I utilize whatever I am able to find to work with.
For example last week and this week, I used the tech carts to lift the banners higher. I also used the containers that the drums are stored in. LOL. Then I have to furiously take everything down so the techs and band are able to reach their carts.

love others...

Well, our worship and tech team were fired up this morning. We spent Saturday night listening to Russell Fragar (of Hillsong fame). This week we had two worship leaders on stage. Each worship leader sort of has a niche. I categorize them into mostly “current”. “retro” and “vintage”. This week is a some current songs & vintage (hymns). We also had our violinist playing.

Worship Set 1
One Thing

Worship Set 2
You Are Good
Beauty of the Lord
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow


Message: “love others...”

Worship Set 3
In Christ Alone

How would you define your worship set lists?

This week for the stage design we obviously wanted to highlight the "love others" banner.

All this and more being posted over at the Sunday Set List @ worshipcommunity.com.

love God, not kidney stones...

I love our worship leaders! This week was part 2 in our series of “love God, love others, serve the world”... The message today was “love God” and our worship sets really highlighted the message.

Worship Set 1
Our Love is Loud

Worship Set 2
Our God
Revelation Song
Only You
Message: love God...

Worship Set 3
Awakening

We will be focusing a lot on this series, which is also our purpose statement at XC. Our banners arrived this week. Printed on foam core. Looked really nice.

O.k. Got the love God; but kidney stones? Yup! I have been battling kidney stones for awhile. Got the stage all set up, but then I had to leave because of the stones. (sadness).

This is being posted as part of Sunday Set Lists @ the Worship Community. See what people are singing today across the nation.

we will see what happens...

Starting a new series. love God, love others, serve the world...
(smiling) Due to last minute planning (not on my part), the new logo (our purpose statement) have been created and made into banners and printed.
Didn't have any input. (still smiling)
They were not ready for this set design, so the pastor requested a simple living room set.
So this week it was our standard couch, end table, a light from Ikea and a little cloth.
Since the band was rather large this week, wound up hanging the cloth in the corner, safety pinned it around the school's American flag pole. Seriously.

Last picture: several times since we have been meeting in this middle school auditorium, the electric room divider has gotten stuck partway. makes for an interesting Sunday.
Thankfully I always have some sort of cloth in my car, so we roped off that section. LOL.
So, the banners are supposed to be here this week. I'll be really interested to see what they look like. They were described to me a little. We will see.
Still smiling!

love God, love others, serve the world...

It has been a while since I have participated in the "Sunday Set List", at TheWorshipCommunity.com. So here goes...

Intro
Worship Set 1

Love Came Down

Worship Set 2

There is Nothing Like

I Love Your Presence

Always

Video: "This is Discipling" by Kelly Tshibaka at Foursquare Connection

Message: Love God, Love Others, Serve the World

Worship Set 3

Holding Nothing Back

Nice flow today. We have 4 worship leaders currently serving; one of them being a college student that lead today (home for the holidays).

For those of you who don't know me, I facilitate our creative team, produce, do the stage designs (for a mobile church) and I love worship. Our set was really laid back today since we were focusing on Vision Casting for the coming year.

I have an idea...

Sometimes an idea is simply that, an idea. But, often in creative team, when I say “I have an idea”, what I really mean is I see the ENTIRE creative element piece in my mind.
The SHOUT creative movement piece was one of those full blown ideas.

Well, anyway I have idea for next Christmas. Especially since Christmas actually falls on a Sunday next year.

The idea started at a dinner for the leadership: Campbell asked a question for us to discuss at each table: “which person from the Christmas story do you identify with and why?”
Then he gave a short message was on how important telling "stories" are.
Stories connect us to each other.
Then, the next morning I saw this video from Igniter Media “A Social Network Christmas”



So for next year I was thinking....
Start with the video…

Then creating short vignettes about each person in the story of the birth of Christ. Either live and/or videos.
Work with the pastors as to what each person would be feeling.

Zechariah -
Elizabeth -
Mary - with a photo montage of pictures of a 12 year old girls - when you really think about her being around 12 years old and seeing then seeing 12 year olds - it feels very different. (Thanks to Mark Driscoll for that thought) @20:01-23:51 It is really worth it to see this.
Joseph -
Shepard(s) -
An animal -

Ending with the reading of the STORY of the nativity…
Staging would center around our wonderful stable.

Maybe a take-away…

glow sticks…

LIGHT

Sometime in 2008 I ran across this video from GCC wired. And while I have shared these vid’s before, I haven’t traced how my mind has been working to use these ideas.

(http://vimeo.com/1300196 - If you link over you won’t be disappointed)


Very cool experiential element to emphasize viral communication.
It was interactive and fun!
While we have discussed it a few times at our creative meetings, we never have used the idea. I love the idea of the interactivity of the element.
While I would love to use glow sticks in a similar way as GCC did:

One possibility I thought of was using glow sticks in a dance piece. Where the dancer is covered with glow sticks and dances in the dark. This was before I realized that this was very popular at raves. Still like the idea. (smiles)

Or something as simple as hanging glow sticks all around the stage. Using various sizes and shapes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Maybe creating a video of the traces made from glow sticks.

There are so many innovative concepts that could be utilized with glow sticks. One recent concepts is team iLuminate which garnered a lot of attention fro America’s Got Talent. (link: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=XRwX9oCaE9Q&feature=player_embedded )

I have taken the idea as far a purchasing several types of glow sticks and even trying them out.
So now it is a matter of simple finding the appropriate message to link them with. That hasn’t happened yet. But it will…

push play...

So, at the end of October I pushed pause on the stage elements designs for X.C. and have been praying.
Basically our stage has been blank for two months.
Not because I wasn't able to come up with ideas; but simply because I needed to really evaluate exactly where I thought God is calling me with the stage design.
One of the impressions I have been exploring is the innovative use of light. Because we are a mobile church meeting in a public middle school, we are not allowed to moved the lights or gel the lights at the school. We are not in the position to actually purchase trusses and additional lighting. So, I have been playing with alternative sources of light to be used within the service and/or in the stage design.
Also exploring how light is being used in other cultural movements. It's been interesting to say the least.
Here are just three examples of light usage. One I have held onto for for a couple of years, some I have been exploring recently. I will be going into more details on each of these ideas soon.






I am gearing up to start styling the stage again. Now light isn't the first concept I will be utilizing in the stage design, but it will be coming soon I hope.

pushing pause, con't...

Being creative requires constant evaluation.

That is where the creative team is at this moment...

What is really in our toolbox at this point in time? We have been in a place where the gifts and talents of the people on the team are shifting.

Stage design, drama, dance, vids, experiential elements are all tools we have had for several years. We are going through an actually time of mourning (what has been) and need to start focusing on what we currently have. Tough place to be.

We are still able to focus on the 5S (5 senses). Which are taste, smell, hearing, sight and kinesthetic (touch). We are in a place of being un(limited). Recognizing that we still can be unlimited in our creation; yet understanding we ARE limited in our actually production.

While we still have tools like dance/movement, interactive/experiential elements, spoken words and much more. We have to face the reality that at this moment in time we do not have the bandwidth to do true dramas and major in-house videos.

Several team members are in a different season of their lives, which doesn't give the time they were able to give before; for writing, direction, production and such.

But this is not a bad thing. This is just the reality of where we are.

So, this is a time of experimentation. What new things are we able to do? Who wants to learn more about owning elements? Who is willing to try to learn new skills? Who have skills that are being used currently? Or are we even supposed to being doing this at all?
I believe we are supposed to continue...but doing what? I am not sure at this point.
One other point...while I personally still finding it easy to create the stage designs each and every week; I have intentionally pushed pause on that also.
This is truly a time to reflect and pray about where we are heading as a team.

this is a ball...

This is a ball…

It is a bouncy multi-colored ball that lights up when you drop it…
I found this bouncy ball at work one day…
It sparked a creative idea in my head…
I often wonder about creativity and how creativity happens.
I keep track of ideas I have that are inspired by the world around me. Sometimes I know exactly what the idea will lead to, other times I do not.
Specifically I deal with stage designing and experiential elements.

For example: one idea that I knew where I was going with it came from a quick simply question from my brother. Which was, “what do you think about QR codes?” This is what happened with that thought.

 

Another idea I had was from a rubber mat at a library. I have no clue when or where I will use the idea (it has to do with the “feel” of walking across the mat). Super bouncy.
This is my reminder of that mat. It's an actual picture of that inspirational mat.

Who knows…it will find a way into some sort of design or experiential element. I just don’t know when or what.
That is the way it is with creative ideas.

 

These are just a few things which have inspired creative ideas for staging & experiential elements:

1. A ceiling (at the Cheesecake Factory)
2. From retail establishments
3. Pony-tails
4. Scrabble board
5. TV
6. Simply exploring on the internet
7. A bouncy ball (which lit up)
8. Watching SYTYCD
9. Reading other creative’s blogs
10. Starbucks
11. Brainstorming with our team
12. Ikea
13. Talking with my brother (several ideas)
14. On top of a ladder
15. Doughnuts
16. Iconography
17. Reading the Bible
18. Old dilapidated church
19. Driving (this one is hard, because I either have to remember or stop and write the idea down)
20. Home Depot (amazing place)
21. The “Lion King” (the stage play)
22. Reading (in general)
23. S.T.O.M.P.
24. Various types of material
25. The stars in the sky

For me, this is the way the creativity happens, or the cookie crumbles, or the ball bounces...

 

this week isn't a "spider"...

Everything creative flew out the window for this week.
This is the end of the “Useful Jesus” series.
While previously we were expanding on the “spider” stage set-up; this week was completely different.

When I am up on the ladder “flying” a design, I often will design in the air. Honestly, I walked in - with some sort of a concept in mind. But as I started to soar in the rafters; the design took on a life of it’s own.
Sometimes this happens.
Again, as with the majority of these designs, this was done with griff clips and safety pins. There you have it.

Oh, wait. I forgot, we did use an animated intro created by Rich Oster of the song "Come Alive", by the Foo Fighters. It was fun.

expanding on the "spider"...

I think it's funny how stage designs get strange monikers. But that is how it works sometimes. This series got named the "heavenly spider".
We tend to do mini-series and the stage designs morph, as the series continues. Partly because we are a mobile church and have to strike the stage each week and re-set it up again the following week. Plus, as the series continues, things change and grow in the stage design to match the "feel" of the message.
This is how we have morphed the stage design for this series so far:

(if you are reading the facebook feed and wish to see all the photos, you will need to click over into the "view original post" link at the bottom of the note)
Week 1
Week 2, 3 & 4:


I haven't mentioned it in a while, all of these designs are created with our standard griff clips, safety pins and a tall ladder!
We have been interspersing some experiential/interactive elements in these messages. I will update those soon.
There you have it.