Tag Archives: Christian Art

The Fruit of the Spirit {Half Price Tuesday + Behind the Scenes}

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{The Fruit of the Spirit available here}

TODAY ONLY the 8×10 fine art print is HALF PRICE over on my Facebook page! 

 

The following is a re-post of one of my earliest blogs ever, talking about how Life Verse Design all started with this one little piece. Enjoy!

 

I thought I would tell you the story of how Life Verse Design began. I have a BFA in illustration and have spent my career as a book designer so, photography, design, and illustration are my heart and visually bringing this to life is my passion.

While pregnant with my third child (pumpkin-poos), I was mentally preparing myself for the fact that I would not have much sleep, nor have much focused time during devotions while trying to nurse my newborn and care for 2 other toddlers. In the past when my babies were born, I would handwrite Scripture on notecards and place them around the house so that I was at least able to see God’s Word and think about it through my busy days. It then came to me that since I was a designer, I could do much better than a 3×5 index card, so I started thinking about how I could visually illustrate the verse.

 

At the same time, I was in a wonderful bible study by Beth Moore focusing on the fruit of the Spirit. We were memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 and I thought it would be nice to design it for myself and my small group. I did and the women encouraged me to sell in the fall craft show at church.

 

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So, when pumpkin-poos was 6 weeks old, I brought 12 designs to sell at the church craft show and to my joy, they almost sold out! This was a huge encouragement and confirmation that this is something I should pursue, as well as the fact that it was such a natural part of me. So, in March of 2008 I launched my etsy shop selling scripture and inspirational art, and I guess the rest is history!

 

I saw Beth Moore teach at Tyndale House Publishers {where I formerly worked full time} and I took her the above artwork framed with a note of thanks for the ministry she has done in my life and for so many of my friends. I was not able to give it to her myself, but my friend who is designed So Long Insecurity was able to sneak it to her in the bathroom! I left Tyndale not knowing if she would ever really receive it, and about an hour later while I was crazily feeding the kiddos lunch, I got an “unknown name, unknown number” call (of which I rarely if ever answer) & low & behold it was Beth Moore herself calling me on the way to the airport to thank me for my gift!

I was so deeply encouraged by her words to me; to keep bringing God’s Word in my own, unique way, and she also totally encouraged me in my mommyhood. I am not very “star struck” with many authors or “famous” artists, as I try to keep in mind that they are just real people like you and me, but Beth truly has God’s anointing on her life. Her teaching at Tyndale was amazing and humbling and challenging, and most of all, her heart for God and the depth and passionate love that she exudes is something I just long for more of.  So, needless to say, for her to encourage me to press on and keep glorifying my Savior meant a lot.

 

Grace & Peace,

JulieFreeSHIPPING

7 Years {Pumpkin-Poos Birthday} | Life Verse Design Blog - […] Pumpkin’s life has taught me so much. The first & biggest lesson is that God has bigger & BETTER plans & they are not always our own. {You might call her our love child or our little surprise blessing, ahem.} She’s rocked my world as my “life plan” exploded for the better. It was because of her that Life Verse Design even began. {You can read more about that here.} […]

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{Behind the Scenes} Isaiah 40 Scripture Art : Wings of Eagles

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{Art available here}

Welcome to the behind the scenes of my Isaiah 40 Wings of Eagles Scripture art. I love the story of this photo and we have actually made it a Chen family tradition. But, before I start in on where I photographed this eagle, I wanted to point out the fact that in typical Isaiah 40 pieces, people only quote the last few verses…you know, the famous ones about soaring on wings of eagles, running & not growing weary, etc… In reading the entire chapter though, the part that makes this strength possible and so powerful is the verse about God’s character, so though the passage is longer I really wanted to include it:

 

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

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For the last 5 years now on every Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, us Chens trek out to Starved Rock State Park in central Illinois to eagle watch and take a winter hike. The bald eagles migrate here as there is a dam in the river, so it makes for some great fishing for the birds. This year it was “warm” by Illinois standards {a shocking 34 degrees: my entire family by the way was mad at me because I made them wear so many layers & they kept stripping off layers throughout the day… not me though! I was in heaven}. This year we saw about 10 eagles total. In the past we have spotted 30 on a day. The above shot was the closest I could get, even with my super lens!2014-01-24_0014

This year the kids’ highlight was sledding down a giant ice/snow hill on their butts. They did this for at least a half hour straight, seriously. It was pretty funny to watch them. They are also really into throwing snowballs. How far can it go? How high? Will it land in the river? {who cares about the eagles…this is now old stuff!} Another highlight was the petting farm they had at the lodge where we all got to pet a deer!!!! OH MY GOODNESS. They are truly beautiful creatures. 2014-01-24_0015

We also hiked to the frozen waterfalls. It is so beautiful & quiet hiking in the snow. The kids got to walk along the frozen creek which was of course a huge adventure. We saw tons of animal tracks too. But, their favorite part of all was having Daddy with us & being “a family”… woohoo! His new work schedule is awesome!!!2014-01-24_0016

These are the eagle shots I took back in 2010. It was the first year I ever went & it was just me & my Favorite Little Mister. It was a very cold day & most of my shots were like the first shot of the lone eagle in the sky {above in the post}. Very far away & not too interesting to create art out of. We were about to leave as it was all of 17 degrees out & we went to one last spot & prayed. I really wanted a cool shot & I knew it would only be by God’s grace. Within minutes, there were several eagles diving for fish & 2 of them caught fish {do you see them in the talons?!!!} & proceeded to fly right over our heads {still quite a distance up, but again I have a monster lens.} I kept shooting, really having no idea if anything was being captured as everything happened so fast. When we got in the van, we looked through the images & behold!!! I got my shot!

 

Every year since, I have NEVER had that experience again. The eagles have never come close. I realize how much grace it was & such a cool answer to prayer.

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

FreeSHIPPING

 

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