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Canvas & Clay (feat. ManthaMade)

Rooted [roo-tid]: (source, source)

  • having developed from something
  • very strongly and firmly fixed
  • having an underlying support
  • having a close relationship with one's environment

"You make all things work together for Your glory and for Your name. 
When I doubt it, Lord, remind me I'm wonderfully made. 
You're an artist and a potter. I'm the canvas and the clay." 
(Pat Barrett, 'Canvas and Clay')

If other artists are anything like me, I'm sure many of them would agree that we are our own worst critics. When something is forming by our own two hands - like clay on the wheel, or words on a page - the image in our head of what we want it to be, while helpful in directing our vision, can sometimes get in the way of something equally important to an artist: discovery. 

When I look at life as it is today, it is not like I imagined it would be 10 years ago. When we're young, we set our sights on lofty pictures of what we think we want to become. For me, I boxed in that picture pretty tightly, and anything that tried to enter from outside the box felt like a deviation, a mistake, or a failure. 

But what I'm learning is that as I walk with God, as I learn to hold my hopes and dreams with an open hand outstretched to my Creator, there's so much more to myself to be discovered than what I thought I was "supposed" to be.

This can feel scary and requires a lot of trust, holding out my plans and dreams to be shaped and molded by the very hands that gave them to me. The clay is completely at the mercy of the hands that form it. The canvas exists to receive color, relinquishing all thought and design to the one holding the brush. Both require a certain pliability and receptivity...surrender.

But another thing I'm learning is that we do not surrender ourselves to unsteady hands. In Christ, we remain deeply rooted, nourished, and cared for. He plants us with a specific purpose in mind and never deviates from His plans. Sometimes that care requires pruning, and the pruning may feel painful. Sometimes it requires an uprooting and replanting, which can feel uncertain. But the result is always new, healthier growth. 

What might feel like pressure from all sides actually results in our being shaped into something with more intent and purpose than we could have imagined for ourselves. In surrendering to the process, and accepting the invitation to participate in it, we can start to see how much we are deeply known, deeply loved, and created on purpose.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19, NIV).

For God's glory,

Kayla

Artist Highlight: ManthaMade 


Samantha Joy Brown - the hands behind ManthaMade - is a local artist and Miami native specializing in ceramics. Inspired by nature and all things plants, she strives to mimic the work of the Creator in her art (see some of her gorgeous pieces below). She describes the creative process as a meditation, especially while wheel-throwing, a centering time to connect and talk with God. In both art and her love of plants, she's found a way to participate in the work of bringing a little bit of heaven on earth, cultivating and forming new, beautiful things that echo Ephesians 3:17 - rooted and established in love.

Samantha has been working with clay for over ten years, after her interest was sparked visiting the Seattle studio of a family friend, Tammy Corley. She went from high school hand-building classes to eventually study for a year at Miami-Dade College Kendall campus with Ray Morales, in what she describes as one of the best pottery studios in Miami. She went on to earn a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Miami with a double major in Elementary Education, expanding her repertoire beyond ceramics. In recent years, Samantha has had the opportunity to appear with her work at local farmers markets like the Salty Donut pop-up in South Miami. She now also has a Master's in Special Education and is an ESE educator at a local school, in addition to working for the Ceramic League of Miami.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on her work in a few ways. The Ceramic League was shut down in the spring to protect the artists, making it harder for Sam to work on pottery for the past 6 months. She had to delay the release of her new collection and keep most of her creative time confined to her own home. Out of this has come more time to hone in on design as well as her beautiful drawings, which you can purchase by sending a DM to @ManthaMade on Instagram. She also plans to put a few items in her Etsy shop again soon!

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