"Hearts and Hands of David" - Artwork Process and Interpretation ~ Bread for Beggars

In January of 2012 I was drawing, painting, stapling, and contemplating on this piece of cardboard. It was to be artwork to promote the first Hearts and Hands of David conference that summer on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College. The conference aimed to gather creatives involved in WELS/ELS worship settings to exchange ideas and discuss the use of technology, music, and visuals in worship services.

The ingredients of meaning are named in the title, but also embedded in the materials. We see a heart and a hand and David presented as separate images. But note the visual and literal connections between these parts as strings travel between fingers and heart and from the heart straight up and out. Similar thin white lines cross over the figure of David. These vertical connections imply motives. Like a marionette puppet, motives activate actions. This artwork is about cause and effect. The heart receives its motives from above; the hand is motivated from the heart; David’s heroic faith came from God. Note the slightly off-kilter lettering. Several letters rise above the line to do double-duty.

Humble materials such as cardboard, staples, string, and spray paint speak to God’s tendency to elevate the mundane. Think of the lowly people he called to be his prophets and apostles and disciples. Recall the use of the common and humble in parables and sacraments. If this artwork looks like it came out of a dumpster, I invite you to consider what that means.

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As the artist, it always surprises me how little I know about the final product until it gets done. Looking back, so much seems obvious, but it’s tricky to figure out as it’s happening. Many decisions can’t be predicted.

As I began the work on this particular piece there was a cycle of good work and weak work. I was pleased with the beginning; things were going well. Then I felt like I had squandered whatever good there was in the middle. And I was pleased again where it landed in the end.

Some decisions arise from the materials on hand (cardboard, baling twine, sign letters, spray paint, and various metal screens). Sometimes marks or arrangements suggest another step. The white strings that work with the heart and the hand were not part of the original plan, but the potential for meaning became evident as work progressed.

The materials themselves became part of the message.

This was a project commissioned by the band Koiné. They step into the tradition of the Lutheran hymnody by applying carefully considered arrangement and instrumentation. The name “Koiné” refers to the common Greek language in which the New Testament was written. They apply the “common” idea by making hymns accessible with familiar, popular, common forms. They’re talented, brave, Christian artists, and the event for which this piece of artwork was created, “Hearts and Hands of David,” was intended to encourage creative approaches to worship.

The Hearts and Hands of David workshop planted a seed that germinated five years later into the Hearts and Hands Workshop organized by the Community of WELS Creatives (home of the Hearts and Hands Podcast).

As a confessional Lutheran artist, I’ve been tremendously encouraged to see support structures emerge for fellow creatives to meet at events and online.

Being an artist can be a lonely and daunting vocation. I’ve been blessed to “find my tribe” in efforts such as the WELS Worship Music and Arts Conferences, Hearts and Hands conferences and podcasts, Community of WELS Creatives, Bread for Beggars, the Illumine Church network, Koiné Worship Media, Lutheranart.com, and as a member of the Visual Arts department at Bethany Lutheran College. I treasure any opportunity to share time and ideas with those whose hands and hearts move in gratitude for God’s grace.

The “Hearts and Hands of David” artwork now hangs in the home of Benj and Maureen Lawrenz. Benj took a strong interest in this theme and the resulting artwork. Living with artwork is a different experience than scrolling or strolling past artwork. As circumstances change and we get older, an artwork unfolds new meanings.