First in his book Unlocking the Heart of the Artist, and now at his live workshops of the same name, friend, author

Artist, author, musician, Matt Tommey

and fellow artist Matt Tommey helps artists break the curse during his weekend event the “Unlocking the Heart of the Artist Weekend”

I caught up with Matt to ask for real world help for a friend:

TONY:  I have a young visual artist friend who is incredibly talented. This person is a believer  but lately is frustrated because although they know that God does speak, they’re not hearing Him. My friend knows they are at a crossroads in what to do next with their talent, but they’re stumped.

TONY: Has the “Unlocking the Heart of the Artist Weekend” been able to help others facing the same frustration? If so, how?

MATT: One of the quotes we got last year from Unlocking the Heart of the Artist was from someone who said ‘The level of love and healing was beyond my wildest dreams! I came broken and left whole!’
The environment at Unlocking the Heart of the Artist weekend is one of love, acceptance, community and freedom.  Our heart is to create a safe environment where artists of every creative media can tangibly sense the presence of God, gain clarity about their unique calling in the Kingdom and in the context of community work through any roadblocks that the enemy may have set up for them.   For many, it’s the first time in their life that someone has connected their creativity and their relationship with God.  The sense of purpose and freedom is simply overwhelming.

TONY: What led you to launching the Unlocking the Heart of the Artist Weekend in the first place?

MATT: Over the years, I’ve encountered many artisans, musicians, craftsmen and other creative ones who have, for one reason or another, become stuck. The “stuckness” originates from many different places – woundedness, fear, control, unbelief, religious barriers – and creates a frustration in their life that becomes unbearable. Many artists, unable to understand what’s really going on either run headlong into “creativity for creativity’s sake” or turn to unhealthy alternatives in order to numb or overcome the pain they are feeling. Many more simply give up, hide the gift by stuffing it down under ‘Christian work ethic’ and just try to gone on with life as usual.  Our desire in launching Unlocking the Heart of the Artist weekends was to give creative people a safe place to explore the roadblocks they may be experiencing in their life and begin the journey to wholeness and abundant creativity in the Kingdom.

TONY: What was the biggest move of God that you know of that occurred in the life of someone that attended?

MATT: Many times we don’t hear all that God does in the lives of those that attend.  However, we have testimonies

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of people who have experienced physical, emotional and creative healing during the weekends which enabled them to go to new levels in God and their creative expression.  Many artists have repressed deep fear, shame and anxiety about past woundedness and this weekend has been a major catalyst for freedom in their life.

TONY: What do you cover during the weekend that speaks to ” The Starving Artist”?

MATT: The term Starving Artist is based in a curse found in Genesis 4 within the story of Cain.  Cain was the great, great, great, great, great grandfather of all musicians and craftsmen and one of the repercussions of his disobedience to God was Genesis 4:12 where God says “When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”  This restless, wandering, unproductive spirit that is often termed “the artist personality’ is nothing more than a curse.  During the weekend, we talk a lot about God’s plan for thriving as an artist in the Kingdom and how to be a prospering artist.

Now you can join Matt Tommey at the “Unlocking The Heart Of The Artist” weekend event: Friday, March 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM – Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 9:00 PM (EST) Kennesaw, GA

DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR CREATIVITY COULD BE CURSED? Sound off and share your voice by posting a comment below:

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Gabby Dearman with her new Business License

1. First tell us a little about Gabby and about Bright View Studio.

“I consider myself to be a mixed media artist, because I do work in various mediums. I work mostly with acrylic paints, watercolors, Sharpie markers, digital photography, and some collage.

One of the unique ways I express my creativity is through painting during worship times at church and conferences. Just as a person might worship the Lord through song or dance or playing a guitar, I worship with my paints and brushes! Through the Lord’s leading, I share pictures that encourage, inspire, bring revelation, and help connect people with Jesus. There’s nothing better than that!

Bright View Studio was birthed in the fall of 2010 right after I attended the Gathering of Artisans conference in Black Mountain, North Carolina that was hosted by Matt Tommey of The Worship Studio. That conference gave me the confidence and eagerness to refine my vision for my own creativity. Within a couple of weeks, I had created a Face book page for Bright View Studio, and ordered business cards. It felt right, I knew it was the right time to give a name to my work. I chose Bright View studio as the name, because that’s what I want people to feel when they encounter my art. A bright view of life… colorful, positive, joyful.”

[View as slideshow]

2. What made you decide to become “official”? Couldn’t you continue to do what you do without that status?

“You can’t fly without a license. Do you know what I mean? I think there comes a time when we have to get mature enough to accept full responsibility of our skills and talents. If I’m going to be serious about refining my craft and getting my creativity out there for people to purchase, then it’s my responsibility to take ownership of my vision and honorably align myself with my city’s regulations for conducting business.”

3. What were the challenges in taking this step and how did you overcome them.

“Being a right-brained person, things like paperwork and numbers overwhelm me. I had to work through some fears and apprehensions about starting a business. You know, the “what-ifs” that tend to haunt the mind prior to making a big decision. Recently, I’ve seen more interest in my artwork, and a few people have bought paintings and photographs that I have done, so I think that helped me overcome my fears and decide it was worth the risk to make things official. Also, I have several amazing people that have been supporting me and encouraging me in this part of my creative journey.”

4. So where does Bright View Studio go from here?

“In addition to continuing to create artwork, I am getting things organized to begin offering creative coaching and instruction in my community for all ages. I want to help people find the joy and confidence in creating, and to have a healthy creative outlet. Eventually, the goal is to rent a studio space where I can create, sell, and offer classes, so I am working up to that. I also plan on writing and illustrating children’s books in the near future.”

5. What advice can you share with others?

A. “Don’t get overwhelmed by your dreams. Just start where you are and take little steps in the right direction.”

B. “Surround yourself with people who encourage you and allow you to be who the Lord created you to be.”

C. “It really is okay to be nervous or scared, just don’t let that stop you from going forward.”

D. “Learn God’s voice by being in His Presence, and follow where He leads you.”

You can find Gabby online at BrightViewStudio.com as well as on Face book.

Tell us what you think:

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WHY? Because your creative mind can get stuck from either having an idea without knowing its full potential or from having TOO MANY ideas and not acting on either of them…

SO, AFTER YOU’VE DONE A MIND MAP…

The next thing to do is to take the creative ideas you’ve uncovered from the mind map exercise and truly determine which ones make a viable business concept.

SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL: Before I go on, you MUST get to a place within yourself where you can be open to parting with an idea.

This mindset allows you to be in a place of neutrality: a place where your emotional ties to a concept will not smother sound advice and judgment that may or may not agree with your concept. A place where you can hear and obey God’s will especially when it differs from your will.

Here are 3 important questions you need to ask yourself about the ideas you circled in the Mind Mapping exercise:

1. Is there a demand for this concept? Your idea is either a product or service for or to someone other than yourself. And those people must have a need or want what you provide. Just because you like it, doesn’t mean the public likes it. If there is no expressed need, scratch that idea (Ouch! That’s why I said you gotta be neutral!)

2. Who is mostly likely to need what this idea or concept provides? If the answer to #1 is “Yes” , then it should be easy to identify the answer to #2, by the way, the answer is not “everybody”! It may be “women ages 35-55 that live in” your area, or “men 18-24 and 35-45 that collect comics”, etc.

3. Where do they get there information? Whether it be Facebook, local television and radio, Twitter, a specific magazine…wherever they get their information is the place you where you want to meet them. That is where you connect and share your idea or concept.

What did I miss? What would YOU advise? Share your voice below…

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Being an artist, writer or any other type of creative person is a blessing, but when it comes to taking action on the right ideas, it can be a real challenge.

Your creative mind can get STUCK from one of two causes: Either you have an idea, yet you don’t know it’s full potential…or you have TOO MANY ideas and you don’t act on either of them!

Got 10 minutes?

PART ONE:

Here is a simple but effective method of mapping out your creative potential:

(We first launched this video sometime ago, but it seems even more relevant today!)

PART TWO will tell what to next AFTER mapping out the potential of your concepts or ideas.

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The temperature is 40 degrees…indoors…and all year round.

He’s suited up in what looks like rain gear from head to toe.

Rubber gloves that barely allow his fingers to do his job of operating the steel machine within this meat processing factory cover the hands that everyone once said could draw anything.

Now those hands only draw nicknames for his coworkers on the backs of their rain suits…because “that guy can draw!” even when the medium left to him is only a Sharpie.

The skin on his hands peel a little now, because the steam along with the gloves that he thought would only cover his hands for 6 months or so now have been on his hands for two years.

But today is different.

Today the gloves came off to shake the hands of his fellow factory workers.

Because earlier, those same hands opened an envelope; an envelope from the University…“Congratulations, you’ve been accepted…”

Thus my journey began nearly twenty-five years ago…

…realizing God had always had a calling on my life that involved the talent He placed within me.

And this why I do what I do, be it here online, or in the community with ART SLAM LIVE™. Anything to help creative people discover their purpose just as I did.

-Tony Snipes,
Factory worker turned-Art/Design Student,
Publisher, Founder
ArtLessonsFromGod.com

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