This past weekend we continued our Art Effect emphasis with a combination of live painting and music all happening in the middle of our service. Any time we integrate live art there is the challenge of timing. Not many artists can execute a piece live and on cue in a limited time frame. We have an awesome one who can.

Jennifer Main has been with us a number of times and in the past she has done her art on a LARGE scale with oils.  We have even created a “Jenn Canvas” that we store backstage that is laid out to facilitate her paintings.  However in the run up to this painting experience we made a course change.  Jenn, who lives in downtown LA, started posting pictures on her instagram of her using chalk. It got our attention.

After talking with Jenn, we decided to go with the chalk look. This would allow her to create quicker, work in a smaller space, and work on a smaller canvas. With this decision, we shifted her to the center of the room and would now be able to highlight her more.

We choose to do a medley of U2’s 40 and Walk On during the painting which gave a 6-7 minute window for the painting to happen. The interwoven songs provided the perfect bed for the painting and spoke to our theme of the day and the call for people to make a public step of faith through baptism.  The band executed the song well while allowing space for people to absorb Jenn’s painting as it unfolded. This is always a unique tension when two strong creative elements are being melded together.

Learnings:

• Art speaks best when given space to resonate in the individual observer
• Managing the tension between colliding art forms is an important part of any creative element
• The use of art should not be for hype, but for engaging the heart.

Set Flow: