Discovering Prophetic Art
“I want you to attend this prophetic art workshop” stated Stephanie, the missionary hosting me in Winterthur, Switzerland. She is a woman who grew up in my hometown, and is best friends with my Husband’s cousin. “We provided you a translator, it’s not that hard to find.” After a two hour train ride with the wrong ticket, a walk in the rain in a quiet Sunday Swiss town, and only getting a little bit lost, I found the church where my understanding of art making would change forever.
As the events of the workshop unfolded, I began noticing the alignment of the goals of the art directives with neuroscience based art therapy principles. From the use of standing with fluid media to illicit an emotional response and release, to the use to writing for containment and processing, I saw and experienced transformation of the way I saw myself, and experienced myself being seen by God.
The woman hosting the workshop, however, did not have experience in art therapy, but was being guided by prayer in what combination of materials to use with her participants.
God showed me many things in three hours. He showed me he is celebrating me, the way parents celebrate a daughter’s eighth birthday: not because she has accomplished something, but because they love her and she exists.
Because of the nature of these directives being so grounded in art therapy principles, I have repeated several with Christian clients since, where they have understood more about how they are seen and loved by God, which fundamentally can change attachment.
Prophecy is communication with, namely hearing from, God. When we engage in art making, we are often moving away from cognitive defenses and instead engaging with a more intuitive process, allowing us in some cases to hear more clearly.
In 2015, I gave my life to God when I learned he would never stop chasing me, and might actually want an intimate relationship with me. I set out to hear his voice, since relationships needed talking, right? When I was discouraged, a friend told it is like learning to hear someone’s voice in a crowd: the longer you know them, the clearer it stands out from others.
A few weeks later I took my first art class, 3-D Art Foundations. In an effort to know him as quickly as possible, I began asking him for guidance in ALL little decisions, checking scripture and trusted leadership for backup anytime I thought I heard something.
I decided to experiment with asking God what I should do for my first sculpture assignment, themed “inside/outside”.
I had just gotten to Psalm 27, a chapter that I didn’t know would become a life chapter over the next ten years. In verses four and five, I saw a clear description of an inside and outside:
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
So I got to work, sketching, consulting with my professor, and meditating on the scripture. I now understand this to be my first experience with prophetic art.
Nine hand-chiseled segments of cedar stack to create an organic dome. Charred with flame, hand carved faces with masks create a smell of burning and the feeling of aversion. The many faces of suffering and personal struggles, each with their own blindfold, cascade down the sides.
In the center, a warm glow the size of an eye draws the viewers attention. As you investigate, the welcoming smell of the frankincense and myrrh resin pulls you closer.
Once you are looking in the center, all you smell is sweet aroma and all you see is warm glow. When I am dwelling in the house of the Lord, in his temple, our private moments, I am consumed by warmth, safety, and beauty. Outside I am overwhelmed, inside I am safe.
I didn’t know that four years later I would create my final sculpture on this same topic. I didn’t know five years later I would be in grad school learning the neuroscience of what I had been doing. I didn’t know eight years later I would be attending a prophetic art workshop in Switzerland. I didn’t know ten years later I would be leading others to do the same.
Regardless of skill, I would like to encourage the reader to try this for yourself! A good place to start would be a prayer journal. Choose a scripture to meditate on, and draw a sketch of how you would illustrate it. Ask God to show you how this passage and drawing together reveal part of his character, and journal about it.
Remember, prophetic insight from God will always be congruent with scripture, based in reality, and will inspire greater closeness and trust with God. Please consider these truths if you choose to practice this.
If you are interested in working with me directly, I offer a group or one-on-one workshop that uses and art making and prayer to better understand your purpose. If you are interested, click here to learn more, or contact me!
With Love,
Danielle
