Have you ever wondered how to tell when the Holy Spirit is guiding you and working with you in your art or when you are trying to do it all on your own? If this is you, you're not alone. This is a question I get a lot from artists all over the world. And today, I want to share with you a few things that I've learned over the years that have really helped me definitively answer this question for myself.
Religious Baggage – We All Have Some… You know, a lot of us were raised with a fear-based relationship with the Lord. This is where the idea that you have to be "careful" because you don't want to "miss God" gets ingrained in your heart. While the desire for this sort of teaching is undoubtedly good, it often produces the opposite of what it is intended to do. In my life, this mindset failed me completely. Instead of keeping on the straight and narrow, it took me totally off the path. I became paralyzed because I was so afraid of doing anything that might seem like my own flesh, anything that would not honor the Lord. I was just scared all the time, and because of that, I really was not moving forward in my life. This kind of religious baggage paralyzes a lot of people in life. But over the years, the Lord began to help me realize some essential Kingdom truths. These truths helped me know the answer to the question, "Am I doing this with the Lord, or am I doing this on my own?" You Were Designed for Co-Creating with God. We all have to realize that God's pleasure and His desire are FOR you. God's design in your life was created specifically for you. In other words, there is a design, there is a pattern, there is a way of flowing that He designed for you. Not for anyone else, and He did this before the very foundation of the earth. When you got saved, the best part is that your Divine design got reactivated and reenergized in your life. I love where the Bible says in Psalms that God inhabits the praises of His people. I love it because that is what art feels like to me. As we create in concert with the Holy Spirit, inviting Him into the creative process, God is faithful to His Word. As we do the things we were made to do with the One who created us, He comes, and He inhabits, leads, guides, and comforts us through that process. You Have Everything You Need It is crucial to realize that through what God has done for you through the cross, you already have everything you need for life and godliness as a Kingdom Artist. The real question is, "How do you participate or partake in all that God has already done for you? In II Peter 1:3-4, it says that we participate in the divine nature through the very precious promises of God. So, it is by faith, right? It's by faith that we take hold of the promises of God and can appropriate all the things that God has for us. Well, the same thing is true with your art. You need to embrace the truth that every idea, every inspiration, and every skill comes from God. He has already equipped you with all of this, plus the desire and ability to flow with the Holy Spirit in your creative process. It's already there! It exists right now! Well, how do you access it? You access it by faith. Try This the Next Time You Are In Your Studio So the next time you go into your creative space, walk-in with a joyful heart saying: "Father, thank You that I have the opportunity today to come in and do the thing that You created me to do. Now, Lord, I receive by faith Your inspiration and the movement of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, I listen with the ears of my heart for Your voice. Lord, I respond with my hands, and God, I trust that You will lead and guide and move in and through me during this process. Use me, Lord. Transform me that my work might be used to transform others." You see, I just find that when you can come in and create out of a place of JOY and not judgment, you can't do it wrong. When you approach the creative process from a place of judgment versus joy, fear rises up, anxiousness kicks in, and self-doubt rules the day. Judgment says, "I don't know if this is God! I don't know if I am doing it right! I don't know if I am going to miss it!" Joy says, "I am a son. I am a daughter. I am already set up for success. God has already given me a design. There is no way I can do this wrong. God, You are FOR me. Holy Spirit, You are my guide, and You are the one that is here to lead me today." As you do that, it's like letting a drawbridge down into the spirit, receiving by faith everything that God has planned for you. What the Fruit Says Lastly, I want to share how you can recognize when the Spirit of God is moving in and through your creative process. Ask yourself the following:
Is there a sense of His presence as you are creating? If you're answering yes if you're seeing the Fruits of the Spirit manifesting in your life and through your work. All of that confirms the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life as you create. So don't make it more complicated than it is. Enjoy the process. I hope this helps as you continue to create with the Lord. If this article has helped, take a moment to share it with a friend, share it on social media, and comment below! Thanks for reading.
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One of the questions that I get from artists just about every day is, "Matt; I love Jesus! I know He is calling me to be a creative, but I am so scared! I am so nervous about what other people will think of me, what they will say about me, and how they will judge me. I constantly fear that others will find out that I'm simply not enough. How do I get over this?"
Well, this whole area of fear of what others think is significant in the creative community. In fact, I believe that it's really the foundation of every problem that artists go through. So, I think it's time we hit this issue head-on with some practical solutions that will help you bust through the prison of what other people think about you, your art, and your creative lifestyle. Did I Miss Something? For many years I struggled with this whole concept of identity. In fact, my first book, "Unlocking The Heart of The Artist," was really all about my struggle with identity and really coming to understand that you can be both saved and renewed. Let me explain. I knew from a young age that my spirit had been renewed when I asked Jesus to come into my heart. But nobody had ever taught me that just because my spirit was instantly renewed that my soul, that is my heart, mind, will, emotions, needed to be renewed and aligned with the Kingdom of God. Most Christians, in general, do not have this understanding that you were saved instantly, but you can be operating out of an old, wounded mentality, an old paradigm. You can be saved on one side and see all the promises of God that are in God's Word while still living out of an unrenewed mind. If you live out of this wounded paradigm, you will live a life in many respects more frustrating than the one you left before you were saved. Why? Because even though you've got this great hope and vision for the eternal life Jesus provided for you while at the same time, you find yourself struggling daily within your emotions, thoughts, and actions. If you've ever felt this way, you're not weird. This is a normal part of every believer's walk. In fact, I was like that for most of my life until I began to understand how transformation is designed to happen in the Kingdom. Kingdom Transformation Well, how does that happen? Well, Romans 12:2 tells us that we are not to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed, that is to be fundamentally changed, by the renewing of your mind. Many of us probably memorized this verse in Sunday School, and countless gold stars have been awarded for these efforts. But did anyone ever teach you how to apply it to your life practically? Salvation happens the moment you ask Jesus into your heart. Your spirit man is instantly transformed, changed, and made righteous instantly. But even in that glorious moment, we still have a world of issues lingering inside our minds, wills, and emotions. Our spirit is saved, but that is just one part of the three, body, soul, and spirit that makes us who we are. Our soul, that mind will and emotions part of us, still has to be renewed even after salvation. The Bible teaches us that this is a daily, moment-by-moment process that is meant to be led by the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God. It's an intentional daily process, this renewing of your mind, and it's as simple as starting with focusing on the truth of:
Consistency Brings the Change And as you do this thing the Bible talks about, and you begin taking every thought captive under the Lordship of Jesus, your life WILL change. It's not an overnight change, but as you are faithful daily to focus on and believe in God's Truth versus what you have believed, a great exchange begins to take place in your spirit man. It begins with declaring in faith, "Hey! I don't want to believe this old lie about myself anymore. I choose to receive the truth of God's Word about this for my life!" And as you do that over and over and over again as an act of your will, verbally, mentally, and spiritually replacing that old lie with God's Truth, change just happens. The old lies fade, and God's Truth in that area becomes your go-to daily mindset. Why is this important? Because it's your beliefs that ultimately determine your actions and your destiny. I hope this helps as you take that step of creating or refining your website. If this article has helped, take a moment to share it with a friend, share it on social media, and comment below! Thanks for reading.
One of the frequent questions I get goes something like, "Matt, I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok. So, is it even a necessity to have a website?
I get it. Websites can seem so last decade. But an effective website can be the best marketing tool an emerging artist can use to grow their business and expand their influence. So, I want to give you a new perspective on websites while highlighting what I see are the four primary purposes of every artist's website. All Roads Lead to Your Website So, I'm a big fan of Social Media. I'm currently on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, while at the same time, my podcasts are being distributed across a dozen different platforms. I've been interviewed on radio, tv, podcasts, and in magazines, books, and blogs. The common thread that holds this all together is my website. I like to think of an artist's website as the central place or the hub of your artistic world. Your website should be the place that all roads from the social jungle point back to. Your social pages should link to it, your blog should live on it, and when you're interviewed online, on-air, or in print, you should mention it. Why? You ask. It's simple. Your website is where your Artist Statement lives. It's the place where all the images of you working in the studio, of the trajectory of your work, and the history of your creative process are displayed. Your site is where you showcase your current work, share your event calendar, and talk about your journey as an artist. Now, the whole point of having a website, though, is not just to have a website. The whole point of having a website is to move people through a process where they can do four things. Learn About You As you are designing your website, you want to speak about what you do in a way that connects with what your site visitors are looking for. If you go to my website, www.MattTommey.com, you can see how I speak to people that are looking for unique, nature-inspired woven sculpture. I am speaking not only about myself, my art, and my creative process, but I am intentionally sharing what I do in terms of what my potential clients are looking for. In marketing, we call that the WIIFM – "What's In It For Me?" When you ask this question, you have to think about it from the client's perspective since that is who you want to be able to connect with. Have Their Needs Met I remember walking through a store one day when U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" began playing in the background. I had a chuckle because it was true for me that day, but it also brings up a great point. Your website needs to persuade visitors that the solutions you offer, the art you sell, the classes you teach, or the book you wrote is something that they need. The language you use, the pictures you share, and the stories you tell on your page need to connect with these potential clients in a way that makes them want to take advantage of the opportunity you're offering based on their values, their desires, and what they are looking for. Take Action Number three, your website has got to have a clear invitation. You want to have an opportunity to invite visitors to get involved in your world. It can be as simple as an invite to a show, an offer to take a class, or even an opportunity to purchase a piece of work. The secret is you have to ask the visitor to take action, and you've got to be really clear! In the Marketing world, we call that your Call To Action. Your CTA is effective when a site guest can clearly understand what they are being asked to do and quickly and easily do it. Become Connected Lastly, you want to make it easy for your site visitors to stay connected with you. That's why I tell the artist in my Created to Thrive Artists Mentoring Program to make sure that there is an opt-in page on their websites. An opt-in page is where somebody can make a purchase, register for a class, or even give you their email address. Again, your website is not of any real use if it is just a brochure out there. You want to make sure that it's a vehicle to connect, persuade, invite, and enable your clients to communicate with you, do business with you, and refer you to others. I hope this helps as you take that step of creating or refining your website. If this article has helped, take a moment to share it with a friend, share it on social media, and comment below! Thanks for reading. Choosing someone to walk with you on your own artistic journey is probably one of the most important choices you'll make as an artist.
Why? Because who you choose determines what seeds you're going to plant in your life and ultimately, what fruit is going to be produced. As you consider choosing an art mentor to help you on your journey as an artist, let me offer a few questions you need to ask:
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AuthorMatt Tommey is an artist, author and mentor who is passionate about empowering artists to thrive spiritually, artistically and in business. |