Canvas Conference 2017 Recap
Patrol had the pleasure of participating in the 2017 Canvas Conference, August 11-12 at Imago Dei Church in Portland, OR. Canvas focuses on theology and the arts, equipping, encouraging, and challenging artists to consider the ways that Christian faith impacts our lives and our creative output.
The Patrol team was in attendance, with our booth displaying our books, including the two upcoming releases Little Francis Falls Asleep and Luther: A Visual Book (both currently available for pre-order). Below are some takeaways from the ideas presented during the conference.
"You can't tell God you want him to get the glory and then get mad at how he chooses to do it."
– Jackie Hill Perry
Pastor D.A. Horton spoke of the reality of God’s goodness—“God is just and good, so everything He does is praiseworthy.” We respond to God’s inexhaustible goodness by continually praising him. To put it another way, we’re called to constantly create original content in response to the endless riches of God’s glory.
Humble Beast designer Anthony Benedetto an outlined the process of a design, from the beginning client interactions to the brainstorming of ideas all the way through the finished product. One particular gem of insight from his talk: “No art is created autonomously. All art is collaboration.” Every artist draws on the materials and influences all around us—nothing is made in a vacuum. Only God can create something out of nothing; instead, we make in response to the world around us, and the majestic Creator who made that world.
Jackie Hill Perry shared the wise exhortation: "You can't tell God you want him to get the glory and then get mad at how he chooses to do it."
“It is a wonderful thing when God uses your pain and sorrow to heal and restore."
–Eleazar Ruiz
Patrol co-founders Eleazar and Rommel Ruiz—you can also refer to them as the Brothers Ruiz if you’d like—spoke as well. Rommel spoke of his process illustrating the story of Martin Luther for the Luther documentary and accompanying visual book, a process which entailed studying medieval art and meditating on the way the gospel changes all our lives—the beautiful common experience of unmerited grace and freely given salvation and forgiveness.
Eleazar spoke of allowing the gospel brings us hope in the midst of lament, and the way that lament can be honestly, authentically reflected in the art we make. He spoke of how the beauty of the gospel shone through a painful time in his life, when the church he worked at fell apart. Here’s a few quotes:
“It is a wonderful thing when God uses your pain and sorrow to heal and restore."
“We have to forget about the narcissistic point of view that we can make the Gospel more appealing than it already is."
“For us to allow the gospel to permeate in our pain, we have to sit in the reality that Jesus Christ hung on a cross, was raised from the dead, and that today he sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.”
Author Brett McCracken spoken of the fact that church can be uncomfortable at times—and that’s not a bad thing. “In a world that idolizes consumerism, discomfort is actually good for us. We grow by being stretched outside our comfort zone. Jesus never promised that following him would be comfortable.” He also spoke of the fact that our culture’s advice to look within ourselves to find power and wisdom is actually a downward spiral; instead, we need community. God designed people to live in connection with other people. And art can actually underscore our commonalities—“We’re all made in the image of God—and art can show us that we have more in common than not.”
Trillia Newbell spoke of the fact that fear lies to us, clouding our perception of actual reality. Our hope lies in the knowable, perfect, and holy God of the universe—who never fails. “Like us, God is personal. Unlike us, God is great.”
Pastor Steven Patton spoke on the coming kingdom. “The King is the architect of the kingdom.” We don't build the kingdom in our image; we receive the kingdom from the King.”
"We’re all made in the image of God—and art can show us that we have more in common than not."
–Brett McCracken
We were so honored to participate in 2017 Canvas Conference! A big shout out to Humble Beast and Western Seminary for making this possible and putting such a great gathering together. Can't wait to partner with you all again!