#wattercolor

Instagram it is trapping me in an endless spiral of reels, so maybe it is time I give Tumblr another try.

Last week on a Saturday Night. I was tasked to do a sharing to the youths aged 13 -17 and slightly above in my Church’s Youth Group and...it got me in this strange state of nostalgia. 

In my bedroom, tucked away in the darkest depths of my wardrobe is a dusty old folder that contains the many drawings that I made when I was fifteen-years-old. A time capsule of a few years past to my very first drawing.

A drawing of The Warcraft character, Anub'arak; on a bad sheet of science paper.

In this post, I like to share a little more about my background and showcase what this gremlin (Me) used to draw in his younger years that turned from a hobby, to a ministry. I shared in bread crumbs from past posts that I am raised as a Christian but here’s a mildly detailed origin.

- Youth Group Days -

Like most Christian kids, I attended Kids Church on Sunday morning and followed my grandmother back home after Service. By the time I turned thirteen, I was approached by one of the teachers who asked if I was interested to join our Saturday night Youth Group meetings for fellowship and Bible studies. Which I agreed, just to give it a try.

As I appear more and more in these meetings, I started getting attention from the seniors and elders. Which got me more involved in other church activities.

From Cell Group Meetings with some elders to joining our local choir and worship team. I also attended our annual year end youth camp with youths from around the country. If you wish to know a tad bit more. I’m a Methodist.

Our church is also involved with ministering to the neighborhood. We would visit and minister to them, hear their needs and provide, do fun activities with the kids while the adults have their service and all that community stuff. It was tons of fun and I got to meet a color of adults from many backgrounds and opinions. Sadly, I’ve learned that as much as I loved all this experience and act of service, its just not for me.

- The One Consistent Thing -

I kept doing in my spare time was my hobby, drawing. I loved drawing because it felt like therapy. It kept me still and focused and helped me channel my energy on an empty sheet of paper with the reward of completing and posting it up for friends and strangers to see.

I talked briefly before about how a friend of mine, Richie. Recommended that I set up a DeviantART account so that I could make connections with other like minded people and perhaps use the space to develop my skills but as some of you may have already know, [It met its demise this year]

Nevertheless, it was a fun platform to try my hand in drawing and sharing. My first stepping stone for the path to come. I would draw Robots, Romance (which I will not show cause its cringe) Pop Culture stuff and things that interest me.

Even from an early age, Anime/ Manga was my inspiration. The big shiny eyes, the crazy Shōnen action, the interesting super powers and the cool or pretty character designs. All amazingly illustrated by its respective artists in a scene or in a panel. In some sense, it was my muse but nothing was Scripture related.

Until one of our seniors brought the physical cover of The Manga Bible Series.

Illustrated by two artists, Kelly Kozumi Shinozawa and Ryō Azumi. In their respective volumes, the Manga illustrates the events from the Bible. From the chapters of the Old Testament to the New Testament. The most popular volume of them all is, < Manga Messiah > which depicts the life of Jesus or as the manga calls him; Yeshua.

I loved their art style so much that I begun to imitate them in my own creation which I would share in another post. What you need to know for now is that, this Manga series was what got me started to turn my hobby into something more.

- After School and Later -

My tiny planet of paper and pencil grew in quantity till I finished school. I pursued Multimedia Design in college which lead to my interest to do Digital art and Graphic Design.

On social media, I get to meet and chat with other artists of all kinds. Some of them do art as a way of earning money and several of them use it as a ministry. Most of them are aspiring small time artists who started as fan artists of an existing property that eventually grew into a style and craft of their own. 

As time went on, I gained confidence in my work, received exposure of other styles and developed an audience of my own. I would also do this thing where I flip back and forth. Posting stuff that is pop culture related to subjects that is bible based.

I wasn’t much of a trend chaser but rather, I was a lurker. I observed how my friends did things and studied their interactions with followers. I studied the art community’s culture and language through platforms like Instagram. I practiced and posted as often as I could. Despite the low count and interaction, I kept going regardless.

Was it polished and perfect like my heroes? Absolutely NOT. My work was crooked, the faces looked off and the limbs felt incorrect but, that’s the beauty of having a digital history. It showed my progress and yes, it pained me to look at it today and especially with how I captioned things but that’s a sign of knowing that I’ve grown, even if its just a little. 

It showed me where I was and where I am now. It made me reconsider my values and opinions. Like all those who just started, I posted everything that I put on paper but I tried my best to maintain a certain quality to it. Even with the ones you see here. They are some of my proudest creations that I hold dear to.

Did I improve or did I stagnate? That’s up for debate. Being creative is a personal thing and that personal thing is often times taken from the works of others and life itself. Our creations, our experiences and our influences. They ALL come from somewhere. No matter if we care to admit it or not.

- The Brutal Truth is -

Most people who turned their hobbies into a career, much less into a ministry struggle to enter the scene. Sure, the internet has made things a little easier and people are generally supportive but in the sea of the internet, where everyone is calling for the consumer’s attention. Its hard not to doubt your insignificance. 

[The internet is a beast] its judgmental, its anonymous and it hates the corners where people are being happy or sharing things that meant the world to them. It will do anything to throw you off and make you hate yourself and your work. But to have the opportunity to revisit my history and share to the youth reminded me why I did it in the first place.

No matter how imperfect or perfect it is, ART is a magical thing. It's an inventive space for impossible things to be made real and the only limit is entirely up to you as its creator. At the end of my sharing, I implored the youths to pick up their hobbies and use it to be more than just. Some of them shared that they had an interest in music, art, sports, writing and so on. To be frank, I think most of them didn’t get it or didn’t care. I don’t know.

But perhaps, its ok. As much as I tried to treat it like a testimony, I think it was also a personal reminder. Such as God’s creation. No matter how ordinary or insignificant that very little thing is. It has a name and above all, it has meaning and that meaning is sacred. To us, To God and maybe, to someone out there who needs it. To quote my lecture;

Creativity is an expression that is subjective and no matter your age or your level of skill. There’s a Story to it. A Story you and only you can tell.

I believe that I still have a decades to go before I’m like my heroes. As are those youths I spoke to that night who have their own passions. I am also aware that for every aspiring artist out there, one or two of them have questionable ethics. As am I. But I encourage them, I encourage you. 

Don’t be afraid of your passion. Use that passion to speak to your friends. Share your story, because that story means something to you and its just as important. In doing so, you will set the world on fire. Even if its just one or two people, its more than enough to be a ministry.

Thanks for reading