Most folks know me as “Rick the pastor” or “Erik
and Olivia’s dad” or “Leroy’s partner.”
There are only a few who know me solely from my work as an artist, and I
admit it’s a pleasure to slip into that other role once in a while. I don’t get to do it often enough. The sabbatical will give me an opportunity to
just be “Rick the artist” for three whole months. I can’t wait!
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| The Celsus Library; Ephesus, Turkey |
The seeds for the sabbatical theme were sown thirteen years
ago. At the end of a year in residence
studying for a Doctor of Ministry degree, I traveled to the Holy Lands with Dr.
Ben Witherington III. Dr. Witherington
is a prominent New Testament scholar, and he taught a class on-site in Israel. The students were required to keep a
journal. Instead of taking a lot of notes,
I started sketching ancient columns and statues. I thought I might get a bad grade for not
following instructions, but Dr. Witherington liked the drawings and made a copy
of my journal for display in the seminary library.
Several years later when he came to Western New
York, I volunteered to drive him to the airport after a
lecture. I suggested to him that the very lengthy books he wrote would be much more interesting with
pictures. On the spot, he invited me to
illustrate his next book. Over the last
several years, I contributed to other books, and in a recent (Nov. 2012)
release by Oxford University Press, he referred to me as his “long-time
illustrator.”
When applying for the Lilly Grant for Clergy Renewal, I
related the story above and expressed my desire to return to the Holy Lands
with pen in hand and do more on-site drawing.
I also described my ongoing interest in photography and my wish to
create a book filled with drawings, photos, and written reflections. Since I consider cooking to be an art-form of
its own, I proposed classes in Mediterranean cooking to fill out the theme of
finding and creating beauty in the Lands of the Bible. I stated that “the arts feed my spirit,
connect me with God, and renew my passion for life and vocation.” The folks at Lilly must have liked the arts
theme, since they approved the application.
The grant has already paid for a camera (Olympus PEN E-PL2) that
I am learning to use and is the perfect size for travel. An Ipad, also funded by the grant, will be
used for the blog entries that will be edited and fill extra pages in the
self-published book. The drawing
supplies are also covered, but are rather inexpensive – just a pad of paper and
some extra Rapidograph pen tips and black ink.
Cooking classes will likely be taken at the Sorrento
Cooking School
near Naples, Italy,
and at the Malborghetto Restaurant in Lecchi,
Tuscany.
I feel super-blessed to be able to focus on art for three
months this year. Just the opportunity
to travel and see new places is an enormous gift; the time and tools to create
art are an indescribably wonderful bonus. I look forward to sharing some photos and reflections on this blog from April through June!
