The Saturday Sketch

This is for all you Mother's out there (especially mine :) you are amazing!

Motherhood "How could not the station of Motherhood, the very utterance of the word, evoke such wonder, such awe, such honor, as to render every human in its hearing speechless! For my very ability to hear the word, to ponder its meaning, exists only because I was given birth...by a mother...brought into the world through a series of miracles not even science can explain. "Mothers shape the world one family at a time. Family life is the foundation of human existence and mother is the cornerstone upon which the family is built."
Mary Carlisle Beasley

Have a wonderful Mother's day!
*I know this is a day early, but I will be gone on the actual day.

The Saturday Sketch

First of all, I am so sorry this is so late in the day, I wasn't able to get to the computer 'till now.

I wanted to use this picture, because it in a way epitomizes the beauty of this spring. This particular drawing has two meanings, first, is that we can offer all this beauty and every wildflower or rose to Christ with joy and wonder, much like a child would; and second, it signifies that Christ has given it all to us in a perfect, beautiful, innocent and loving sacrifice and act of love. I can just picture every time I see a flower, Jesus' perfect hand that put it there. It almost gives a profound meaning to every flower, or at least we can view it as such, as God creating them for us to offer back to Him. Here is a little quote to state it more poetically:

"God waits to win back his own flowers as gifts from man's hands. " ~Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, 1916

The Saturday Sketch

I am sure as many of you know, Pope Benedict the XVI is in the United States right now, so I thought this would be a good picture to use. I also thought I would post a little part of his homily, because I found it very beautiful and inspiring. It is really what I have been trying to talk about and promote here on this blog, so here it is:
"In this morning’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds us that spiritual unity – the unity which reconciles and enriches diversity – has its origin and supreme model in the life of the triune God. As a communion of pure love and infinite freedom, the Blessed Trinity constantly brings forth new life in the work of creation and redemption. The Church, as “a people made one by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit” (cf. Lumen Gentium, 4), is called to proclaim the gift of life, to serve life, and to promote a culture of life...The proclamation of life, life in abundance, must be the heart of the new evangelization. For true life – our salvation – can only be found in the reconciliation, freedom and love which are God’s gracious gift. This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. Saint Irenaeus, with great insight, understood that the command which Moses enjoined upon the people of Israel: “Choose life!” (Dt 30:19) was the ultimate reason for our obedience to all God’s commandments (cf. Adv. Haer. IV, 16, 2-5). Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and “institutional” to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love. "

The Saturday Sketch

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.
But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air but to walk on Earth.
Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes.
All is a miracle.”

This is kind of a run off from my last Saturday Sketch, about our gathering wisdom from un-seemingly wise things like little children or flowers. In a way it is regaining our sense of wonder. Like the I hope you dance song: "I hope never lose your sense of wonder."
Or as my sister always says, "Finding beauty in the unexpected," (thank you Heather :)
Our culture is such that there is no longer time to just stop and be amazed or to have wonder in something beautiful. Look at cars, you zoom past everything so fast you don't have time to look or savor anything. The other day, I decided to walk the same road that we usually drive, and for the first time I noticed how beautiful a certain thing was, or how many lovely things had been there, but that I had never seemed to notice because we were always zooming past them. It reminded me how really important it is to stop and look at things in wonder.
I think I will leave you with this poem written by a girl who has cancer, she wanted to share with the world the importance of savoring every moment:

SLOW DANCE
Have you ever
Watched kids
On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to
The rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a
Butterfly's' erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading
Night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so
Fast.

Time is short.
The music won't
Last.

Do you run through each day
On the
Fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the
Reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your
Bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through
Your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so
Fast.
Time is short.
The music won't
Last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it
Tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see
His
Sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good
Friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call
And say,'Hi'

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance
So fast.

Time is short.
The music won't
Last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You
Miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry
Through your day,
It is like an unopened
Gift..
Thrown away.

Life is not a
Race..
Do take it slower
Hear the
Music
Before the song is over.

The Saturday Sketch

He is happiest who hath power to gather wisdom from a flower. ~Mary Howitt

I found this quote and this picture to fit very well together. The reason for this is that so often it is the young children who have the ability to cherish a flower that are the happiest. One time I was babysitting a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old, and when we went outside they immediately discovered the little wildflowers that grew around the edge of the driveway. It was like it was a profound concept to them, these flowers. We spent quite some time out there looking at the different colors and textures, and picking a few here and there. Not only did they greatly appreciate them, but the 4 yr old spurted out some spiritual meaning connecting God with the flowers. It is about time that we take to heart the verse where God tells us to "be like the little children."
We can gather the wisdom from the children and from the wisdom they gather from little things like flowers.

The Saturday Sketch

Well here we are with one day left before easter, and with Jesus still in the tomb, so I thought this would be perfect for today. I also just watched The Passion last night, and all I have been thinking about is that ever since. A strange thought struck me, if I had lived during Jesus' time, would I have cried "Crucify him," or would I have been different. It is a hard question, as you look at his wounds and pain and sacrifice now, 2000 some years later, and to say, "poor Jesus," but what if we had been a part of that mob crying for death and pain, for Christ. It is just something that came to me, so I thought I would say it. The best we can do now though, is accept Christ's death and suffering as a forgiveness of our sins, and live like Christ's people, not the mob who crucified him. Have a good Holy Saturday, and a wonderful Easter, as we wouldn't be here the way we are without it.

The Saturday Sketch

I don't exactly know why I posted this picture today, it kinda just jumped out at me. Did I tell you how much I love babies. There's a random fact about me. Probably half the drawings in my sketchbook are babies or mothers and babies. This is actually a real baby, I saw her in a newspaper and I just had to draw her. So this post is for this baby, she is probably 3-4 now, wherever she is, whoever she is, and whatever she is doing right now. I always try to not underestimate the power of a prayer, who knows, maybe someday this will really help her. :)

The Saturday Sketch

I chose this picture because I have been thinking a lot about foreign countries lately. Not just the countries, but especially the children in foreign countries where extreme poverty is very prevalent. As I was washing my hands or something the other day, I suddenly stopped and looked at the water and thought, "Some poor, thirsty, little child could be drinking a cup of much needed water right now, if I weren't wasting all this."
Now I am not saying that we should never wash our hands, just because of that, but it is very sad how that consumerist, individualist, point of view and world view, has not only become normal but good in America today. It is for that materialist, "get as much as I can" perspective, that so many innocent children starve everyday. Everyday I try and pray for all those who will die that day, but to think that they are adorable, hungry, little babies, (and I'm not even talking about abortion) and that maybe I could have prevented it or done something to help, by living in a simpler more sparing and sharing way. This isn't just in foreign countries, it is happening in our own country everyday also, and we fellow citizens and dwellers of this world, can sit in our expensive houses, eating our expensive gourmet meals, and waste everything from food to electricity, while we don't think one snit about the poor, starving, cold, and homeless out there. I will leave you with a favorite quote of mine, said and believed by many good people, "Live simply so that others may simply live."

The Saturday Sketch

This past week has not been the absolute best. It has been filled with a lot of rain, clouds, and heavy heartedness. I have been feeling depressed, tired, and scared about the state of the world. However I am posting this picture, because it reminds me of what I should be like, and pour all of my stresses and concerns to him, in loving prayer. This post is for anyone who is suffering right now for any reason, that as whole, as individuals, families, a country, and a world, that we will place them in God's hands where they belong.

The Saturday Sketch

As I was browsing through my drawings to try and find one to use today, I came across this one and realized that it would fit right in with my ideas about technology and my last post. I was really thinking that the true beauty of the lifestyle where you walk through the door, is that it is free. I drew this because I think that the children who don't grow up with tv, etc. have so much more of an imagination. It is not just about avoiding the "techno-haven," because of the problems, it is also about the huge benefits that come from not having it. I wanted to capture in this girl the essence of that free life, and show that one of the higher forms of joy and entertainment is that which comes from your own mind and own imagination. There is so much out there to be seen and done with your own hands and your own life, and yet the very nature of a television is to be getting everything secondhand, watching others experience everything. It seems like such a waste of time, to watch other peoples lives. I babysit a little girl, who is about 4 years old and is one of the brightest children I know. Her family has no TV and they rarely watch movies at their relatives house. I was very curious because this child had an incredible imagination and wonderful vocabulary, I was trying to draw the connection between the two, so I asked her, "Do you like not having a television?" Then she laughed and looked at me and said, "Well you can't really sit on a televisions lap, or play a game with it, or give it a hug." That just blew my mind away, that a four year old child could have that kind of wisdom, beyond anything I have achieved by thinking and posting about this, and far beyond what America thinks about television, family life, and children. It is not impossible to achieve, this child has and you can too.

The Saturday Sketch

I chose this picture (even though I am a little embarrased by it, I think it is not very good at all,) in honor of my dad who is in New Zealand teaching right now. I hope that he is doing well and that he has a safe trip back. For those of you who have not actually seen him, he is much more handsome than this. This is a pathetic representation of him. I love you daddy!

The Saturday Sketch

Hello everybody! I am back and a little bit sick. I chose this picture because in the last few days as I have been bedridden with a cold and flu, I am constantly reminded to offer up my suffering to Christ. Not only is it a good opportunity to grow closer to God through sacrifice, it is also a reminder that no matter how sick or dizzy or tired I am, it is all nothing in comparison to what Jesus had to suffer for me.

The Saturday Sketch

"I am your Creator you were in my care even before you were born." - Isaiah
Considering the topic of my last post, I thought this would be a good picture to post. I saw the original one on a bumper sticker at a walk for life and I was so inspired that I just had to try it out on my own. I also did this one in 2005. I want to dedicate it to all the unborn babies, and for the souls of those millions of aborted children.

The Saturday Sketch

And I'm back...
I wanted to start with this drawing because it signifies the beginning of my serious drawings, where I tried to start drawing the things that inspired me or that actually had a significance. In other words this is the beginning of my journal of drawings. I drew this first drawing on 12/20/05 with my aunt who is an incredible artist and is studying at an art school now. We found a statue of this angel and decided that we would draw it together and then show each other our drawings when we were done. So with that being said, I want to dedicate this drawing to my Aunt Pam.
~Julia

The Saturday Sketch

I have decided to start a new "feature," I guess you could call it, on my blog. It is called "The
Saturday Sketch." Every Saturday I will post a sketch from my art book of the past year, along with a poem or quote that inspired me to draw it. Hopefully this will help me to have at least one consistent post every week, and since my art is like a journal for me, it may help you to understand me better without me having to do a whole bunch of writing. I don't know if this will even work or if you guys will like it, but I will throw it out there anyway. Not to mention I think it is a good idea to have your original pictures somewhere other than on paper, for safety sake. If all that I own is burned in a fire and my only possession left is my pictures of my blog then that would be better than nothing at all, right? Anyway, even though my pictures are anything from perfect I hope that we will both gain something from this. Lastly I want to dedicate this new "feature" to my dear sister Heather, who recommended that I do this and who is always inspiring me by her wonderful ideas, and talented pictures and drawings. Well here it goes...