Lutheran Fine Arts Council of Topeka

A THREAD OF ART – HEALING

Melanie K. Hutchinson

 

“In the beginning, God created….”  Genesis 1:1

     There have been many traumatic episodes in my life that God has healed me from. Some inflicted by others, and some self-inflicted. Every time God has healed me, art was always a main factor in the process. Sometimes healing was very subtle, just giving me little ways that moved me along until the healing was complete. Sometimes the creative expressions were dramatic and striking, bringing breakthroughs.

   

       Healing always came in steps, some big and dramatic, and some were little hidden stitches in a life tapestry. Like a tapestry, there is an overall design, purpose, theme, picture. And there are details that are so intricate and small they almost seem insignificant but are essential to the whole.  My life feels like a tapestry of woven experiences, highs and lows, detailed and general, bright and dark, with splashes of unrelated chaos.

 

       But through it all, God has used the creativity He put in me to bring healing.

         

       All the arts can bring healing – writing, painting, sculpture, weaving, cooking, sewing, gardening, even a good financial plan. Everything God put in us to “do” and create promises change, gives hope, and grows life.

Some use the arts to destroy, manipulate, abuse, and even kill. But God can take every wounding, every trauma, every horrible experience – and heal us.

       

       Sometimes healing is like surgery, where one has to be cut open to get to the problem. Sometimes it’s like breaking a bone to reset. Sometimes it’s like removing a limb to save the body. Sometimes healing can seem more painful than just living with the injury. Some healings are like that. But some healings are simply changing focus, being thankful, moving from one place to another. Some healings are so gentle that one day you realize what used to hurt, doesn’t hurt anymore.

     

       When I went through the most painful times of my life, creating something gave me solace. Many art pieces expressed the pain, loss, fear, anguish, and even anger churning inside me. Many art creations expressed the peace, hope, and joy of living.

     

       Much of my art is in textiles. Using my hands to stitch, embroider, crochet, and create is just a wonderful, calming sensation. I always want to be ‘making’ something. Even if it’s not “art”.

 

       I’ve written books, wrote plays; sculpted in wood plaster, stone, metal and clay. Painted, sketched, collaged, assemblaged, appliqued, embroidered, crocheted, knitted, beaded, made jewelry – pretty much tried everything that piqued my interest – and love it all.

     

       I might never be a “great” artist, might never have my art in “great galleries”, or be a #1 best seller, and that is hard to accept sometimes. But I know my art has touched people’s lives for the good. Art gave me ways to express my life and others lives in a way that gives hope. And I want to help others find ways to create in their lives to give them ways to breakthrough, to heal, to express their lives, so they can live to their utmost, or at least be able to pursue it.

     

       Art, creating, is a thread that binds all the parts of my life together. Creating gave me what I needed to endure long enough to break through, to be able to create for the good.

     

       We are made in God’s image – and He is the ultimate creator.