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“The Freedom Art Project" idea, came complete
as a vision, as if Noah were receiving instructions for
the Ark. Of course, I am not Noah - and this is most likely
not an Ark. However, It was an answer to several personal
prayers. In this way - maybe it was an Ark for me, as my
life had been sinking into the "quagmire " of
life. Amazingly, in retrospect, God had been preparing me
for this Project before I breathed any of those prayers.
And if you choose to believe in "Election" then
I was marked for this before I was ever a Christian. And
that is something amazing to consider.
What
I call the "'initial direction" came in 1996 as
a last-minute rescue to creative failure. I was two weeks
from mounting an art show of my paintings at Maturango Museum.
A show that I was originally short on images for the space
I was given, and, I was going to cancel. The owner of Urban
Clay in Los Angeles, with whom I was engaged in making the
Wyland tile murals in Laguna Beach, offered 18 eighteen
inch square tiles with which he suggested I could paint
18 images - using the Majolica process - they would be beautiful.
When I did accept his offer, there was not much time left
before the show. With only a couple weeks until opening
night, I was trying to creatively apply 18 sexually metaphorical
IMAGES to the 18 tiles in an attempt at keeping with the
exhibition theme. The show was to feature my mixed media
paintings known collectively as the 'Banana Salesman', works
about deceptive psychology. I was coming up empty-handed.
I was scheduled in LA, at the Tile Guild, for color selection
and pigment tests for my images, but I had no images and
was scheduled to leave in five minutes. Simply put, a “
voice” directing me to, “Paint Clouds. Put Them
In Crosses,” changed my direction for the show tiles.
Quick sketches revealed that the 18, eighteen inch tiles
provided for three, 6 ft. crosses and no leftover material.
With
the show deadline bearing down on me, I painted the first
three ideas that came to mind. What resulted are known as
the three ceramic cloud crosses.
The
three crosses were well received at eh Maturango Museum
show even though they were in contrast to the Banana Salesman.
The Banana Salesman from the show can be viewed at my site:
lefever.com
in the art section, button 4, second page (there are four
examples listed.
As
a side note, it wasn't until almost a year later, that I
realized these "Cloud Crosses" contained characteristics
of God in the Trinity:
the Father (intelligence - natural
beauty - all),
the Son (heart - love - radiating out
to us all),
the Holy Ghost (spirit – anima - wind).
But
back to the History - for the year after Maturango, which
was a small show in the small town of Ridgecrest (famous
for its earthquakes and ancient petroglyphs), I found myself
in despair. Despite my emotional state, II was inspired
by the idea of juxtaposed clouds and crosses, I sought to
continue the exploration and began a painting on paper as
a medium study - the ceramic crosses were luminous thanks
to the glaze and Majolica process - I was curious to see
how paint would work. The crosses by nature worked well
as free shapes unencumbered by the rectangular-ness of the
paper. Now with the painting on paper, I was left to contend
with four awkward negative spaces around the cross. For
a year I struggled with those spaces. During this time a
prayed sincerely for direction in my life. I also prayed
for vitality, a purpose, time to read the Bible, and a way
I could reveal God's Glory through the gifts He had given
me.
The
four negative spaces surrounding the cross on paper, plagued
me.
In 1997, while preparing
for a group show at Santa Ana College, the negative space
issue met with resolution. I would fill the space with Xeroxed
sheets of Bible Text. A few moments later, the vision for
the Freedom Art Project’s 66 monumental paintings was
revealed in a flash, my prayers were answered and the incredible
journey began
I
finished the Medium study using printed sheets of the book
of Revelation.
Later
the conclusive idea of using 23 Karat Gold and the original
language Scriptures replaced the idea of the Xeroxed sheets
of English King James.
Of
course many months of research and study ensued turning
into years of growth. The God Inspired seed germinated within
me and not only transformed the vision, it also transformed
me as a Christian and as a human being.
And
that is how the Freedom ART Project began. Much of what
transpires next can be picked up in the Journal
section of this site
where an ongoing reflection of God's providence and glory
can be seen (especially at times when I have lost faith).
Yet His Faith is the lead, and God continues to open doors.
JL
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