Wednesday, July 21, 2010

imperfect prose on thursdays




for two years i met with teens, a group called CHUNKS, a place where we spilled angst and art onto paper, and we signed a creed saying all art was good art, because it came from the heart... and i believe that... and we celebrated brokenness, one body of bent and bruised, and we made collage and God was there.

here, i hope to share my paintings with you... one each week... this one, below, dandelion puff, a picture of a girl blowing dandelion seeds... (given to Joann)









here i also hope to share a piece of my life in which God is glory, in which i sing hosanna... and today, i sing because of these girls and the way, our final day together, they splooshed paint across tar paper and hung it up to dry.

i hope you feel free to share your imperfections here. maybe it's a post of prose; maybe it's a poem, or a photo, or a painting... or a piece of sewing you're working on, or a piece of artwork your child has done...

each week, let's meet and find redemption in the grace of the other. let's be broken on canvas, on material, on paper, on screen, together... for God is there.



you can read more about imperfect prose here.

rules to partake:

1. link your post to mine below, using mister linky

2. attach the imperfect prose button (below), or include a link back to this blog so others can partake in the community.

3. read others' posts, and comment!


Link up here with Mister Linky:

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34 comments:

Linda said...

Oh Em - leave it to me to mess this up! For some reason it is linking to an old blog post - not the one I wrote for this. I tried to delete it and ended up with two wrong ones instead of just the one!!
I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm so sorry. You can just delete me altogether. I'll just leave my post up on my blog.
I feel terrible!

Linda said...

I think I got it right on #4 Em. Please just delete my #2 and #3. Oh dear me. I was trying to get this done early because I have a doctor appointment first thing in the morning. I apologize again.

I love what you've done with the girls. You taught them so much more than art.

Wandering On Purpose said...

Thank you for challenging me/inspiring me to participate!

Jodi said...

Hi Emily, working on getting the button to show up with my Imperfect technical skills. Thank you - love this.

Elizabeth @claritychaos said...

I forgot about this until after I had already posted tonight, but it's a poem and I'm feeling pretty broken (just the usual human stuff, nothing dramatic) so I figured it's a good a week as any to link up.

off to add your button. love this idea, emily.

n. davis rosback said...

wonderful you doing that with teens.

thanks for the heads-up on your post.

i'm way behind in reading posts.

Alexis Hallum said...

It's beautiful Emily. It looks like you girls had lots of fun!
I agree, all art is good art because of where it comes from and what it does for the heart.
I'm excited to get my post up and do some reading and commenting! Yaw-hoo!

Nancy said...

Good morning! I think I got the button thing. Thanks so much for doing this. Looking forward to meeting more kindred spirits through this community. Blessings!

patty said...

such a beautiful idea; thanks for inviting me. i tried to be raw today. sharing pride and imperfection at the same time. i've enjoyed getting to know your spirit...

Southern Gal said...

I'm trying to add your button to my post and I can't get it to work. Since everyone else has it on theirs I'm assuming it's user related. ;) So instead of pulling my hair out anymore I will just link to your blog and hope to work on it again later.

Be warned my "prose" is imperfect. Really.

Love the work you did with the teens.

Christina Crook said...

Count me in! My imperfect prose appears today as 'The Birth of a Reader.' Lots of love to you, Em, and all of the participants!

- Christina

www.christinacrook.com

julie said...

As always, Emily, you are inspiring and beautiful. Thanks for the encouragement to participate in Imperfect Prose. Hoping I finally figured it out. ;-) Excited to participate.

Claudia said...

Emily, I love your style of writing so much - I love how you see prose and joy in every single corner of your life - and it's so good to just read it and it fills my heart with peace and - yes - we are broken people - and it's so good to share and celebrate our redemption...

So - my imperfect prose is up - and ready to read..
Thanks for hosting this!
B I G hug!!
Claudia

JoAnn said...

Beautiful...And I LOVE my painting. Yay me! Thank you so much for it.

deb said...

Emily,

meeting you here , in this.

love to you,
deb

Ryan and Melanie said...

Em,

It sounds like you had a wonderful experience with those girls.

I'm so excited to join this community in the near future. Thanks so much for doing this, friend.

Kimmie said...

so happy to come on over and play on thursdays :)
love the story and the pictures of the kid art :)

Melissa said...

just a story of brokeness and redemption....told by my mama and I...

much love,
melissa

deb said...

em,
it was me and my daughter's friend. which is why it is so unlike me. I am very physical with my children, unlike how I was brought up, but to actually extend touch to other people.... well this is why I weep, that I have come this far... and I hadn't seen in myself , but it is so.

Graceful said...

Love that dandelion puff -- so exuberant!

joanny said...

Hello Emily:

My first time here. Thanks for inviting me, was not able to use dance of fire, post the other group only allows you to post one for them exclusive, so did a new one for this group called "exquisite joy"

Will visit everyone's post later this afternoon.

Joanny

Bev said...

so happy to be a part of this emily...your story about the girls is so cool, and you taught them so much! i love when you say "we made collage and god was there"...oh,i so love that...
thank you for this community!
xo

Laura said...

Emily,
You are such a beautiful lady--inside out. What a wonderful gift you give these girls.

And guess what?? On my empty day, you encouraged me. I found a little muse.

Now I need to figure out that button.

Craig and Bethany said...

Oh how I've been wanting to see some of your artwork! My mother is an artist.

You work is splendid.

More please.

Juliana @ Shakti Mama said...

Wonderful! Love that you're doing this. I'll be getting mine up tomorrow :).

Ruth said...

Dear Emily,
The painting of dandelion puff gives the feeling of blowing hope and belief into the souls of others.

Warmest regards,
Ruth

ELK said...

after a long day i have made it here ..to rest in the colors of the rainbow it seems..thank you for this...blessings

Meg Baxter said...

My post is only one word today: YES. Watch the video and see if you don't see the same thing.

alittlebitograce said...

hey em!
my wonderful husband helped me get the button up. he rocks! i must confess though that my post isn't creative today, just honest. blessings, dear one!

Mama Zen said...

What a beautiful idea!

becky at abbeystyle said...

Ahh, what a lovely getaway...on tar paper, yet!
Great idea for McLinky!

Juliana @ Shakti Mama said...

I left my link but didn't see it show up yet ... hopefully it will!

Blog address is: http://shaktimama.wordpress.com

Laura said...

Well, I just may have to come back here on Thursday and do this thing! Very cool. I love celebrating His creativity in us!

Sarah@EmergingMummy said...

I didn't participate but I have to say how much I love this idea and loved looking around! Bravo!