The Liturgy of The Coffee Cup

One of the greatest pleasures in art making is seeing craft become liturgical.  Students can almost never see it in themselves but having lived this life for decades I have become quite aware of it when it occurs.  I teach from the premise that art making is primarily a way in which we can love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  Young students never fully grasp that concept but what they are able to grasp is that making something with all the sincerity they processes, at their age, is the first step to understanding it.  Making art with sincerity means, with meaning, and eventually the students will begin to see ultimate meaning is only found in a consistent and prolonged personal relationship with God through Christ.  It is on this trail that all acts become sacramental, it is the wisdom of knowing that all good things come from God and few vocational things rival that of the creative Art act, so the act of art making becomes liturgical; thus an act of worship and praise.  This culminates, at least at age 60, in a continuous state of gratefulness to and for Him for allowing you to love Him in the way His grace allows, through the creative act.

So when I see a work that a student makes with sincerity I know it; they most often do not nor or they able to understand it when I say it.  I often try to explain it by saying it is when you take yourself seriously and your work seriously.  It is that student’s work that receives the highest praise and best critique...and they most often don’t understand why!

Sarah Lawler's liturgy.