"Light of the World"
By: Danielle Harth
16x20" acrylic on canvas

Last night at an event, Danielle Harth created a live painting based on Matthew 5:14 which says, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."

When you have received Christ, you have received the Light of life and darkness is gone forever. Your life is made supernatural in Christ, therefore you have the authority to rule over circumstances. "Walk tall. Talk bold. Reign as a king in life. You are a dispenser of glory, wisdom, grace, and excellence, in Jesus' name. Amen."

The Father And Son
By: Danielle Harth
Original: 36x48” Oil on canvas
November 2013

 This painting is a reflection of spiritual fatherhood and mentorship. All great leaders undergo the process of becoming a leader through service in order to acquire the skills to continue great missions. In the Bible, there are many examples of successful mentoring relationships such as: Jesus and His disciples, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth, Moses and Joshua, Samuel and David, Esther and Mordecai, and many others.

 In this painting the two eagles serve as symbols of prophetic vision because of their ability to focus and see in the Spirit what the human eye cannot. The outstretched wings represent the protection, guardianship, authority that a father has in preparing his children for their future. The wings also symbolize the ability to navigate and maintain control over spiritual atmospheres through the God-given gifts, power, and authority.

This painting is important to this period in my life because I feel like I am being mentored and raised by so many wise, influential people. I have the privilege of being a graduate student at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in the Master’s in Art Therapy program.  I am a Community Service intern with the Illinois Psychological Association serving under Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer and Dr. Terrance Koller. I will be a Practicum Student with the Cornerstone Counseling Center of Chicago supervised by Dr. Susy Francis and Dr. Eva Ponder. I am a member and actively involved within my church, All Nations Worship Assembly where I receive spiritual and educational guidance under Dr. Matthew Stevenson. The eagles soaring together represent my desire to learn from the great people that have a positive influence on my life.

"You Are Loved"
by Danielle Harth
8x10"
oil on canvas

I had the choice to select a photo from a collection of photos of young children from Sri Lanka. These children have lost both of their parents are now attending school for orphaned children. I felt connected to this young boy because he looks so much like my brother from when he was younger, yet he is Sri Lankan.

I was told that the children often feel that they don’t have someone who loves them, and in the original photos they had such an empty look in their eyes. Sri Lanka is not a country that I often think about in my existence as a privileged Black American, because I haven’t had any substantial interaction with Sri Lankan people nor education about the culture or country’s history, but I will change that.

My idea of social action is when a person challenges themselves to act as an advocate on behalf of someone who can’t or does not have the means to change their situation on their own. I have been holding on to this boy’s photo for a while because it touched my heart to know that he doesn’t feel loved. So I made this portrait to recreate him with an animated companion to show him love.

In my Basic Skills in Adlerian Psychology course, my class was asked to compile all of the artwork that we created individually during class this Spring 2014 semester, and then use the images to inspire a Lifestyle Self Assessment.

While the instructor played soft music in the background, we were encouraged to start thinking of how we would analyze our lives using diving board phrases such as:

• I am...
• In my family I am/I was the...
• I found my place/made my place by...
• I decided...
• The values in my family emphasized...

I selected "I am" and started using objects within my collage of images to stimulate the discussion of how I would assess myself. All of the images were made with the purpose of representing my feelings, interactions, and how I perceived my environment in that moment. So I looked at the images and sought consistent symbols that revealed something about myself.

This is what I wrote within the 3 minutes that I had in class:

"I am in a disguise through hats, shadows, and silhouettes. My hands are open and reaching towards the right direction, because this is where I should be. There are elements of time and movement, because these things wait for no one, time is always constant and movement is a constant progression. If I were to hop off this moving train of life then I would miss the opportunity. So, I will not lose focus and I will not remove my gaze. Others cannot see where I am looking, but I know, which creates the areas of misunderstanding because they do not know. It may appear selfish at times but this is a time for investment so that my crop will be overflowing in harvest season so that I have plenty to provide for others who depend on me."

The following are the images within the collage of this semester's drawings that I used to inspire the previous passage:

#Hats

#Shadows #Silhouettes

#OpenHands #RightDirection #WhereIShouldBe

#Time #TrainOfLife

#Movement

#Gaze

I certainly encourage anyone to engage in this activity and see what they come up with for their own Lifestyle Self Assessment. I will be writing a more extensive self assessment for the course, but this was a fun way to start.

We were also asked to take one of the drawings and create a changed version of it. I went back to my horse drawing that was based on a horse in my dream, I will call the horse David.

David is now more radiant, physically stronger, wiser, more masculine, and his gaze has shifted direction....I will reveal in more detail at a later time. So make sure you continue checking the blog!

2 Samuel 22: The Rescue of David
oil on canvas
36 x 24"

Artist Statement:
This painting was a prophetic painting performed live during a Pentecostal Service at All Nations Worship Assembly on Sunday, May 19th. My spiritual leader, Dr. Matthew Stevenson has taught messages on using your praise to bring in the Presence of the Lord to give you power and favor to heal, bind, release, and move. David is an example of someone who understood the power of potent praise, and his life was blessed because of it. This painting is based on 2 Samuel 22:1-24 which provides a vivid description of how the Lord supernaturally descended from heaven and rescued David out of the hands of his enemies.

Because of David’s humility and passion for worshiping God, the Lord remained with him. Some examples are God delivering him from Goliath, from Saul, from backsliding, from his enemies in Israel, from Absalom, and from his own sinful passions. Like any one of us, David was not a perfect person. He made mistakes, yet he was a righteous man and had the shield of God over his life because of his righteousness.

My hope is that this painting exemplifies how David was rescued by our passionate and loving father, and that its message will encourage other people to depend on God to deliver them from any difficult or tormenting situation.

Reference: 2 Samuel 22: 1-24, KJV