Create Your Masterpiece
“Not all are created to be artists … yet all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life … to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece. The opening page of the Bible presents God as a kind of exemplar of everyone who produces a work: the human craftsman mirrors the image of God as Creator” (Pope St. John Paul II).
Clare McCallan’s Courage to Create: Unleashing Your Artistic Gifts for Truth, Beauty, and Goodness is a letter, conversation, and mini-retreat for artists of any and all skills and talents. It challenges readers on their definition of an artist while encouraging them to step out and into their creative gifts. Throughout the book are “Artist Moments” to help readers pause and lean into their journey as an artist, either by drawing or writing, along with reflection questions to sit and talk over with a friend, mentor, and/or fellow artist.
So, what makes an artist?
McCallan writes that artists, particularly Christian artists, “devote themselves to the transcendentals of beauty, truth, and goodness in a unique way” by “aspiring to create in the image of the Creator.” The artist who lives in services of these truths is able to create with the Creator by sharing His hope, joy, and glory to a broken and disheartened world. Simply put, an artist is one who never loses their wonder to play and create with God our Father.
Thus, everyone can be an artist.
Cultivating Our Creativity
We need space—physical, social, emotional, and spiritual—to create. With that space, we can connect with our Creator and cultivate our sensitivity and creativity. McCallan offers three practical ways to make space: fasting, experiencing nature, and participating in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
McCallan writes that when we deny ourselves of food and distractions, we not only unite ourselves to Jesus in the desert but become more aware of God’s voice. Be a child and go out into nature; let yourself be awed by our Creator, and play in His garden. Let the Father delight in you while you delight in the Father. Finally, the Reconciliation and the Eucharist heal and connect us to God as we let go of attachments, surrendering ourselves to His will as we gaze at the Son in Eucharistic adoration. The Father is waiting for you in both Reconciliation and the Eucharist, wanting to shower you in His love.
The Cross and Our Creativity
Christ invites all of us to join Him in the pain and humiliation of the cross for love of neighbor. As McCallan writes, artists are summoned to “sacrifice themselves and their own stories in a way that will bring people to Him through beauty.” We can only do so through a relationship with Christ on the Cross and through redemptive suffering.
The Lord is with us in our most painful moments. He does not leave us to carry the burden alone but, instead, walks and cries with us as we experience pain and agony. Beauty is an accompaniment in our darkest moments. Sacred art, for instance, can remind us that we are not alone. Most importantly, in the Eucharist, Jesus tells us that He sees us in our brokenness, He loves us, and He wants to redeem us. Through such beauty, Christ reminds us who He is and who to put our security and faith in.
Each chapter of Courage to Create concludes with an interview with an artist to dive more deeply into what it’s like to be an artist living in the service of beauty, truth, and goodness. In one interview, the artist said that after the Resurrection, Jesus “still had wounds, not scars.” Then she asked, “How will your wounds be part of your resurrection and identity?” Like McCallan, I was uncomfortable with both the statement and the question and wanted to brush it aside.
However, one evening in prayer, as I gazed at the Crucifix with a sketchbook and pencil in hand, I began drawing my aches and brokenness. In that moment of sketching what I was unable to say, I felt the gentleness of God telling me that He saw my pain. Looking back at the sketch, I can see the moments where God was with me and inviting me to share both in His cross and resurrection.
God does not abandon us; in fact, He uses beauty to pursue us. The small acts of creativity—the pen on the page, the paintbrush on the canvas, the pencil ready to sketch, and the music on the sheet—are moments He is drawing us ever closer to His heart.
Go and Create
At the National Eucharistic Congress’ Closing Mass, Cardinal Luis Tagle ended his homily with this simple message to “Go, go, go … What you have touched and tasted you must share with others.” We are called to share and proclaim how the Lord has worked in our life with others—to tell people that the Lord sees them, loves them, and wants them to come home.
We are called to go out and create for the Lord’s glory.
Creating can be painting, sculpting, drawing, writing, playing music, singing, or acting and directing. It could also be hosting a Bible Study, volunteering, or walking alongside someone going through a difficult time. Creating is listening to God’s voice and responding to His invitation.
Consider the ministries, projects, and initiatives that have been created in the last decade or so because a person or persons said “yes” to the Lord. Ministries and communities such as Blessed is She, Reformed, the Abiding Together podcast, and Catholic Women in Business came about because of a “yes.” The TV Show The Chosen was created by a man who trusted God to provide with his offering of two fish and five loaves. Musicians such as Matt Maher, Sarah Kroger, Bethel, the Dave Moore band, and so many more, rooted in prayer, surrender their talents to praise and worship the Lord. There are so many artists and painters who point us to our Creator with beauty, truth, and goodness. The U.S. Bishops said “yes” to God’s prompting and formed the National Eucharistic Revival and Congress.
So many different expressions of creativity begin with a “yes” to using creative talents for the glory of God. The question is, how will you respond to the call to go and create?
Maybe it means relearning how to play and create by carrying around a sketchbook, singing in the shower, dancing in your kitchen, or auditioning at a local theater. Perhaps it means using your gifts as writer, painter, and/or musician to point people to beauty, truth, and goodness in your Bible study group, parish, and/or diocese.
McCallan’s call to action is to start now: to say “yes” today, tomorrow, and again and again and again. Use the artist dates in her book with a friend or fellow artist to think through the next step into leaning into your creativity. The Lord is not asking us for the next big thing; all He is asking us is our “yes” for today.
Surrender to Him, because, as St. John Paul II said so wonderfully, “life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.” What masterpiece is the Lord calling you to create?
Alexandra (Alex) Harrel resides in Irving, Texas. She is a new student affairs professional within the world of higher education. In her spare time, she loves reading, listening to podcasts, and spending time outdoors. Her favorite prayer is Hail, Holy Queen. You can follow her on Instagram at @2012alexandra.