My new direction is that I am now leading an arts support group through an organization called 4Tucson.  I mentioned 4Tucson in one of my blogs a few months back. But to refresh your memory,  4 Tucson is a grass roots, Christian organization with the focus on making Tucson a great city to live in, to do business in and to be a fabulous destination for the whole family.  A few ways we are accomplishing that is to pray for Tucson corporately and individually and to bring awareness to everyone that Tucson can be a place to raise families, work, worship, retire, and create a full and rewarding life.

How we go about doing this is meeting with others through churches of various denominations, making a point to let our differences drop away and work collectively for the common good of the city. It takes dedication but doesn’t that sound exciting?

The basic concept of 4 Tucson is divided into 12 domains.
Church, Education, Environment, Government, Healthcare, Justice, Media & Arts, Philanthropy, Prayer, Social Services.

Let’s face it, Tucson needs a lot of prayer!
Tucson is a very unique place on earth. There is no other place like it. Of course we want to preserve it but also we want to see it as a thriving town. This little city could use God’s blessings. We have been hit hard by the dip in the economy and the recession. I believe we must take matters into our own hands by petitioning to God and bringing people together, (preferably over food of course), praying over buildings, schools, malls, shops and neighborhoods.

Click the link to find out more:  www.4Tucson.com

This is an invitation to all of you who care about Tucson and want to get involved. Find out what your gift is within these 12 domains and see how you can contribute. Isn’t it exciting to be apart of something bigger than yourself?

Well, guess which domain I chose to be involved with?  Media and Arts, of course, because that is my gift.  This is where I come in.  The group I am leading has been formed to encourage artists to use their talents and creativity to spread the gospel.  It’s our platform.  God has given us a gift and it’s up to us to seek God’s council and begin to transform peoples perception (especially in the church) of how we can use our talents to further his kingdom.

We are not seeking Christians who just make “Christian  art” but rather, artist that are inspired by the Holy Spirit.  If that intrigues you but you don’t know where to begin then we welcome you.

I will be blogging more about this new direction as it develops.
I heard some sad news today.  A downtown presidio gallery has closed its doors. It’s a gallery that represented me.  I feel sad that this mom and pop business of 20 years or so has been forced to call it quits.  I refuse to be discouraged but rather see it as an opportunity to be called.

I believe God cares about artists, creative types and their venues for showing and selling their work. He cares for our livelihood, he cares about what we care about. And so I invite you to think about it, pray about it and comment if you would like. I would love to hear your ideas or words of encouragement.

The 4 Tucson Media & Arts domain is looking for other Christian artists to join us for our next meeting June 27 at the Woods Library at 10 a.m. Drop me a note if you would like to attend.  We will be discussing plans for a traveling art show!

God Bless Tucson!

NEW WORK:

Here are a few new items I have created this year.  Above are “wrapped ” clay vases to put flowers in, for the bath or kitchen sink,  they are made to fit a pump soap holder.  I confess the soap holder is not my original idea but I thought they were such a great way to dress up plastic soap pumps I had to create my own special design.

Below are ” inspirational” ornaments that make great gifts.