Art Show Every Day

Grace Point Church Opens Art Gallery

STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF Jerad Sears, worship arts pastor at Grace Point Church, greets visitors during the grand opening of the Story gallery. Behind him is the gallery’s one permanent piece: “Scattering Seeds” by church member Carlsen-Rogers.
STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF Jerad Sears, worship arts pastor at Grace Point Church, greets visitors during the grand opening of the Story gallery. Behind him is the gallery’s one permanent piece: “Scattering Seeds” by church member Carlsen-Rogers.

In the beginning, there was art.

"In the beginning history of art, there weren't buildings for art like museums and galleries," said Jerad Sears, associate pastor of worship and community arts at Grace Point Church in Bentonville. "So art was displayed in public spaces -- town squares, churches."

Story: The Gallery at Grace Point

Gallery Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to noon Sunday

Location: 1201 N.E. McCollum Dr., Bentonville

Current Exhibit: “Connecting the Dots” by Heidi Carlsen-Rogers, through Aug 24.

Upcoming Exhibits: “Artisan Stories,” pieces by various artists in various media, Sept. 14 to Oct. 5; “Work: A Curse or Calling,” the first of three exhibits by Christians in the Visual Arts, Oct. 8 to Nov. 5.

Classes: “Art Ex Biblia,” 6 p.m. each Sunday in September, led by Dayton Castleman; “Narrative,” a monthly gathering of artistic worship and challenge, begins in October.

Information: 464-7223 meg@gracepointchurc…, artstorynwa on Facebook

Grace Point leaders revived this tradition when they designed their 1-year-old church building. Story: The Gallery at Grace Point opened last month with its first show, "Connecting the Dots," works from abstract painter Heidi Carlsen-Rogers, also a member of the church.

"We didn't just throw it up," Sears said of the building. "We went on a very intentional journey last year.

We wanted to be relevant to Northwest Arkansas."

The result is an impressive architectural structure that looks like a business park rather than a church. "That's where we go every day. That's what we're comfortable with," Sears said.

"We also said, that if we build it, we want to build it for the community to use, period. Otherwise it's a wasted space. And arts are important to the Northwest Arkansas community.

"Now we have an art show the public can walk through every day."

"Sharing Grace Point's unique character and gallery space in the Northwest Arkansas community is important to the church," said Carlsen-Rogers, answering questions via email. "We want to be part of the bigger community outside our own congregation. Grace Point hopes to support our thriving and growing art community and provide a vibrant space for artists of all disciplines to have a place to gather."

Telling the Story

Grace Point leaders named the gallery Story "because we want our artists to be able to tell their story -- and they are just part of what we want our story to be," Sears said. "God created the grand story, the grand scheme of our lives in Northwest Arkansas."

"All of the various art venues in Northwest Arkansas have a distinct voice and point of view," Carlsen-Rogers said. "Ours is about artists sharing their art and the story behind it.

"The 'Connecting the Dots' show was about a year of transition and creative change in the studio," Carlsen-Rogers wrote in an artist's statement. "2014 was a challenging time for me, as I had gradually become disinterested in the way I had been painting and was feeling a pull to push further with my work and 'see what else was in me' artistically. There was an enormous tension as I was moving away from what I had been doing for years and completely launching into new territory in the studio. It is really a classic struggle of 'staying stuck' or choosing to move into the new and unknown. It was a leap of faith for me to take years of work and essentially start over.

"I see 'Connecting the Dots' as not only an art story but also a very human story -- one that anyone who has ever been led in a different direction and chosen to follow that leading can most likely relate to. But it was a challenging year, and I had to dig deep to keep moving forward -- pushing and believing that there was more I could do when, at times, it didn't feel like it was going very well."

Carlsen-Rogers' show is just the first planned for Grace Point. Works of other congregation members will be featured, as will some traveling exhibits, Sears said. Currently, the church is issuing an open call to artists to share their stories via art in any medium. Works will be on display Sept. 14 to Oct. 5.

"But I can't say that it's Christian art," Sears continued. "I don't believe there are 'Christian' artists. God created us all and gave us imagination, dreams and abilities. What makes the beauty out of the God-given ability to create is working hard at making the world more beautiful."

"My own spirituality is ingrained in who I am and a part of my every day -- like breathing," Carlsen-Rogers said. "My artwork, however, is not spiritually themed. I am an abstract painter, who just happens to be a person of faith as well."

The church installed one permanent piece: "Scattering Seeds" by Carlsen-Rogers. "We want to see somebody scatter seeds in the art community to make it something beautiful."

"The 'Scattering Seeds' installation painting in the gallery does have a statement of intent that honors the Grace Point vision for growth and expansion. It is the only painting that I have created with a faith-based statement," Carlsen-Rogers noted.

"We want to see somebody 'scatter seeds' in the arts community and make it something beautiful," Sears said.

Scattering the Seeds

"Art connects with people in different ways, on different levels and for different reasons," Carlsen-Rogers said. "Color, scale, subject matter, etc. -- all influence the way a person interacts, responds and feels. I think just the act of looking and contemplating a work of art is a rare moment of quietness that can facilitate a thought, personal connection, deep feeling and definitely a spiritual connection."

Dayton Castleman considers these and other influences in "Art Ex Biblia," a four-week seminar examining the roles of arts and artists through a Biblical lens. Castleman, a local artist who works in various media and museum manager at 21C Museum and Hotel in Bentonville, leads the sessions in September.

"Art in the life of the church is a complex issue," Castleman said. "It involves the pageantry of the worship service -- what it looks like, how we move, when we stand and sit. It's all an aesthetic act. It's visual.

"But how does it affect the life of the church in 'XYZ'?"

Castleman grew up in a Presbyterian family, the son of a minister. "As I was growing up as an artist, I considered (and studied) art in theological terms," he said. "Then I wondered, 'What does faith say about my job?'"

Castleman also will discuss Biblical ideas: "What does the Bible say about images? What does the Bible say about metaphors? What does the Bible say about imagination?

"I want to encourage Christians to think more complexly about their art and faith," he said.

NAN Religion on 08/09/2014

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