Photo: Clint Fisher

When it comes to creating, you should be doing your best. Your work is a direct reflection of you as an artist. There must always be a conscious examination of what you are creating and how it can be better. Quality work doesn't just happen on its own. How high are your standards? Raise them regardless. Don't just do something, do it well.

Arm Yourselves!

Sound fired up? I am. I'm tired of seeing and hearing mediocrity when it comes to Christian artists (myself included).

There is a widespread opinion that views our work as "cheesy". That the music and art we create is fit for greeting cards and calendars at best, and you know what, I don't completely disagree with those who hold that opinion, because for the most part, they are spot-on.

Your work as a whole, will never be perfect. That state is impossible to reach if you realize that you can always learn. If you are open to it, you'll be learning till your last breath. And if you are learning then you are constantly challenging yourself to do your absolute best.

We must strive to be walking sponges, absorbing everything we can about our talents, refining, reworking, developing and nurturing.

Let me put something very blunt, there are artists out there who purposefully have nothing to do with God, they do not believe in God and do not attribute their talents as divinely given in any way. Yet, their lives are completely saturated with their talents. Painters that would shrivel up and die if they weren't able to paint. Musicians going mad without their vehicle for expression. A bit dramatic? Perhaps, but the next time you talk to a painter or a musician ask them what they would be doing if they couldn't do what they loved.

We can learn a thing or two from them. They have a hunger and a desire to pour everything they have into their work, why? Because their work defines who they are. It's their identity, they live and breathe it.

A Reminder

We need as Christians, to remind ourselves of something. We are HUMAN. We are human first and foremost. As humans we are gifted with talents, hence artists, who happen to be Christians.

This is crucial for our understanding if we want to relate to people. People need to relate to you as a person. This sounds ridiculous to have to say, but seriously, it's vital. We can't be so heavenly minded that we're of no earthly good.

As humans, we share life with all of humanity, As Christians we have a unique message, an answer to the human condition and the question of "why am I here". And as Christian artists, we have the opportunity to express everything that that entails through our creativity.

Unlike those artists who live without the need for God, we humbly believe we cannot create, nor have any true identity outside of him, he is our identity and our source of all things creative.

But let's not forget that God has created us as individuals, completely unique, with our own voices. This is where our work lies. This is where our purpose resides. Unique people blessed with common talents. Talents are common to people, it's who we are as individuals and what we do with those talents that makes true art.

If we lose sight of this, then we become susceptible to mediocrity and mediocrity is a death blow to art. This is also where the so-called "cheesy" impression of our work can come from.

If I may, I would like to share a couple of comments with you. The first, really exemplifies one of the big reasons we publish this magazine.

Billy happened upon our magazine and commented on the first issue we ran. I had the pleasure of meeting Billy when I was in Austin for South By Southwest last year. Billy is a musician and artist who strives for the same things that we are speaking of here, he is talented, honest, sincere, his work is both transparent and full of genuine emotion.

Jesse Stephens is a great friend of mine, and you will recognize the above quote if you read his interview in the last issue. I think this statement is extremely accurate as well as disturbing. Think about what it says about the work we create and how it affects others, now add to that that Jesse is himself a Christian. Now, I'm not stating that Jesse represents all Christians, of course not. What I am saying is that when someone makes a statement like this, Christian or non, we need to pay attention and do some re-evaluation.

For the most part when someone refers to something as cheesy, unless its pizza, it's not a good reference.

"Poor quality, shoddy, unconvincing, cheap, chintzy, flimsy" - these are all terms that are associated with cheesiness.

This is a very serious observation about us as Christian artists. It speaks of us as a people and damages our credibility and the artwork we produce. It quickly throws us into a genre where we can be categorized and dismissed easily.

When you and I create, we need to be focused on quality, and to remember that just because we are Christians, that label is not magic and does not make our work good, if anything it's an added challenge.

Reactions

It's important to realize that people are reacting to your work first, your work is tangible, and how that impacts them is how they hopefully can interact with your message. This is also not to say that just because you are a Christian artist, that your work has to convey some Christian message. It doesn't, and don't allow anyone to throw a guilt trip on you about that. Your work as a Christian artist, should be first and foremost a relationship between you and God, and whatever you want to express and however He expresses himself through you is between you and Him.

We need to do our very best for our work, because when we care, other people will as well. They may not like our style, agree with our ideas, but along with the quality of our work, they should be able to see our sincerity and honesty and respect us as artists.

I've spoken before about the Renaissance. There were two of them in particular that were noted in the annals of history. The Renaissance did not produce mediocrity, quite the opposite. The important thing to understand here is that this "rebirth" was a response to the hunger and fervor that the artists exercised in grasping big ideas and concepts and translating those into their work, which inspired others.

Our responsibility to our work, is to continue to seek and ask for guidance and direction, as well as addressing those big ideas and concepts. If we do our part, then God will show up in ways that we couldn't imagine and do things we couldn't comprehend.

We need to be critical of our work, does it stand up to the quality test? In whatever area you create in, does your work display the fundamentals of the medium solidly, and are you able to make it something more than the basics? I'm sure you've heard it many many times, "you've got to know the rules, before you can break them".

Fundamentals are essential and once you have a concrete understanding of them, they will be the foundation that you build your creative work upon. This is where your individuality comes in, your personality, your vision and voice. It's also absolutely essential that you be your own person in your work, because you have been created uniquely, and there is only one of you. As artists, we have people who inspire us, but we need to be careful to maintain ourselves in our work and not become someone else.

A Few Suggestions

There are a few things that I keep in mind when I work that may helpful. If you have some of your own, please share, we'd love to hear them.

• Simplicity - Continually a guiding principle in my work, keep things simple and really hone in on what's important.
• Honesty - Just put it out there in the open, raw, and obvious.
• Work, Work and then Work some more.
• Study - Look and listen to the masters, what is it about them that makes their work so powerful?
• Pray - Divine guidance is an artistic, euphoric, experience.

Perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind is that your work is an offering. It is an offering to the listener, to the viewer, and from a Christian stand point, it is an offering to the Lord. As an offering it should be the best that you can do.