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This is both a redo and a return to the roots of the "Word Pictures" project. It also marks something of a new beginning as I've standardized some things about the way I do this, including the proportions of the images and the way I put my credit & contact info in the images.
4x6 printing
The last first- Its been a great frustration to me that my Word Pictures would not print out properly in 4x6 format at CVS or Walgreens, or even on a photo printer unless you adjusted the settings. Since my hope is that people will print these images and give them to shut-ins, people in hospitals, and others suffering, this printing problem was a big deal.
Math has never been my strong suit, but I finally figured out how to increase the length/height of of the images so that they will print properly without having to manually over ride the default settings. This will make it a lot easier for people to use these for one of my intended purposes.
The way I did this was to create a boilerplate "credits" image to add to each image. So from now on my contact information and the licensing terms of the images will appear in a standardized way. This has the added advantage of being a lot easier for me to do than to find some place in each image to artistically work that information in.
A return to the beginning
This project's roots go back almost a year. I was recovering from having my right femur fixed with a titanium rebar when a dear relative was given 6 weeks to live. I couldn't get out of my house much less go to his deathbed. When I was able to walk etc, I'd used "care cards" which often had a picture with a Bible verse on them in my professional life. This relative loved the hymn "A mighty fortress" so I decided that its source psalm- Psalm 46- was the Scripture to use. That psalm uses imagery of God's control over nature- roaring waters, mountains, etc- so I wanted a picture which featured nature strongly, but one which would be peaceful and calming to look at. This relative loved Lake Michigan, so I chose this picture of a glorious sunrise over it in Chicago.
This first "Word Picture" was printed at 8x10, so I was able to put the entire Psalm in the black rocks at the bottom.
After I created it, I realized that what I had done to help my relative could be helpful to other people, and began this project.
Most times people use Bible verses in pictures as part of ministry however, they use them in smaller formats. At 5x7 or 4x6, the words became mud. So last summer I tried redoing this using just the first verse of the psalm. That resulted in something which looked "cool" but wasn't really useful... the first half of the verse was in the clouds, and it took great effort to read.
Our own time of need gave birth to this improved version
Last week, my beloved wife entered the hospital because her migraine syndrome was no longer responding to the treatments available out patient. My wife also loves Lake Michigan and Chicago, so this was the natural choice for her.
However, the earlier version needed to be improved for the full desired effect to be achieved. That is part of why I did this now.
The other thing which fed into working on this project while my wife was in the hospital was that I needed to be immersed in art and Scripture. So when I wasn't visiting her, tending house, or dealing with the ravages of fibromyalgia, I was working on "Word Pictures." Psalm 46:1 went through several "drafts" before this. I also started work on several others you'll see in due time. I've spent a lot of time and energy on this because this project was the only thing in my life compelling enough to distract me from the savage pain running amok in my body or the loneliness in my heart.
Why does this project is so consume & energize me? Romans 8:28 meets Ephesians 2:10
You see, working on this project unites all the strands of my life in a way nothing else does or can.
- My passion for photography & art
- My compassion for the suffering
- My previous pastoral vocation
With my wife in the hospital and my fibromyalgia hitting me with the worst pain since my leg broke 13 months ago, I really needed this project.
Even when my pain is a little less and my wife's at home, I still very much need an outlet for my photographic & pastoral passions and a distraction from pain. We're both disabled, we're both in pain every day. I need beauty, I need to be doing something which can help others suffering because I'm not able to do so directly and personally.
See what I mean about it uniting the strands of my life? I also like to think that this project is the intersection of two of my favorite verses- Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 2:10
Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
(Both from the
World English Bible - a Public Domain translation I often use or consult in this project. Generally its a very good translation, maintaining much of the "ear feel" of the King James while also balancing more recent scholarship. In most cases, I think its better than "proprietary" translations.)
I've pastored far out in the country and deep in the city, to gunshot victims in trauma bays and the homeless in alleys . These days, its dicey if I can even drive or walk without a cane... couldn't imagine writing a sermon much less delivering it. Yet in making these, I find as much personal and vocational fulfillment as anything else I've done in my life.
A lot of words for this one picture.
Well, a lot of me went into it, there's a lot of me in this project in general.
While I am currently working on several more Word Pictures, I'm always eager for suggestions. If you have a special need I'd consider it an honor to assist you with it in my small way. You'll see that I have a new email address dedicated to the project. Its a Latin phrase a dear friend suggested for me as fitting for the project. Its not as easy to translate as some, but essentially it means "The work you do which is most true." PERFECT!
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