Art & Soul post #18 by guest author Sarah Jack
I have been doing art for as long as I can remember. It has been a favorite hobby of mine since I was a kid. As I grew, so did my skills. By the time I was thirteen, I was very serious about the work that I did. I spent many hours practicing with different media and studying other artists’ techniques. I found that I usually hated the drawings I made that held no meaning, even though the art itself wasn’t bad. The drawings that meant the most to me were the ones that told a story behind the image. Now, at the age of eighteen, I try to always create artwork that has meaning. I often photograph my drawings with items that remind me of the drawing or with the tools of the medium that I used. I find this completes the artwork and helps to better tell the story.
As the artist, I should know how to explain the depths of the story behind my artwork, Missing. I do to a degree, but I have always found it difficult to express myself with words, which must be why God gifted me with the artistic talent He did. More than that, I believe that telling you the absolute meaning of this piece would take away its relevance for you. However, what I can do is tell you what inspired it and what it represents to me.
The purpose of Missing is to capture emotion, portraying it with nothing more than charcoal and dust. To me, the drawing reflects the life of someone who has not yet found the love of Christ…someone who has spent her life being rejected or used, feeling as if she is losing shards of herself with heartbreaking experience. Maybe she is numb to everything around her or she is growing bitter as the gaping void in her soul never ceases growing. She looks to the world for anything to distract her from the torments and anxieties that the night brings, only to come up empty and discouraged. Life has lost its purpose. Then one day, through the shadows, a voice breaks through calling her to a life of repentance and hope, a voice that cannot be rejected or ignored, a voice of comfort and hope. This voice tells her of the peace she is missing. On that day, she reflects back on her broken life and now, by the grace of God, she is made whole. Her reflection and restoration is described by the following poem I wrote to accompany the artwork:
What is missing
From this life i live
I have it all
Yet nothing to give
My soul is empty
My heart worn sore
These tears keep falling
From my broken core
All i want is healing
All i want is peace
From these prison walls
Please give release
My life holds nothing
But suffering and grief
You gave me meaning
You gave relief
So to all those souls
Who are trapped within
Please hear my cry
There is peace in Him
“Missing” by Sarah Jack
Scripture says in John 16:33 (KJV), “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” There is peace with Him–this is what I hope the viewer takes away from my Missing artwork and poem. If I could share a final thought, especially to other young artists, it would be to not be afraid of your mistakes but to face them. Focus on continually improving yourself. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). Never waste your talent or give up on it because it’s a gift from God and should be used for His glory.
Check out Sarah’s other artwork on Instagram!
2 thoughts on “Peace with Him”
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing your artwork, poem, and words! I love how you are using the gifts God has given you! You are so talented and an inspiration!❤️
Very inspirational and touching!