Something the casual onlooker may not realize is that beneath the beauty of ‘Day 5’ there is also an amazing structure. It’s not just a pretty picture of a tree. For a piece that proclaims INTELLIGENT DESIGN, first through it’s name…pointing to God as Creator depicting days 1-5 of Creation from the Bible, but also to God as creator of everything….including geometry.

The more scientists study nature and life forms, the more amazed they become as they see the flawless perfection to the Nth detail. Therefore, what better way to speak about Creation than with tessellations as the bone structure of this piece.

So what is a tessellation? Artist MC Escher discovered through his interest in crystallography, the amazing natural formation of crystals including snowflakes and rock…, that geometric shapes can be altered, moving parts of the mass from one side to another and still fit perfectly beside one another without gap or overlap. Picture a square tile floor. Each tile’s side perfectly fits the next. I used this same understanding to take a diamond shape and change it into a fish, a wave, a cloud, a leaf section….

Day 5 is packed full of original tessellations. Each wave, each fish, each cloud….fits perfectly beside the last to form the mass of waves, school of fish, cloudy sky, leafy tree…

God designed YOU. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He knew you before you were formed. His design is flawless. His plan is perfect. His ways are beyond anything you could ever conceive.

He made you with a desire to know Him and He is waiting for the invitation from you to come into your life personally. Seek Him and you will find Him.

In your business or industry is there a really BIG EVENT or award or recognition that you dream about, or hope for, or seek? I am thrilled to announce that my mosaic, “Day 5” has been chosen from over 300 entries from 10 countries to be one of 55 pieces in the Mosaic Arts International Exhibition at the Lexington Center Museum and Gallery, Lexington, KY, Mar 2-Apr 30, 2012. In my world, THIS IS the REALLY BIG SHOW!

Charlotteans, you have ONE MORE CHANCE to see Day 5. It will be on display at Ciel Gallery Friday Feb 3rd from 6-9pm during the opening of Survey, a show of Top Charlotte Artists. Don’t procrastinate, Day 5 will only be there for one week (til Feb 11th)!
Excited!!!!!:)

Glorious….Zen…..Fabulous….Amazing…..Gorgeous. These are words used to describe this new studio. I totally agree. I’m blown away with the possibilities that are before me….excited!!! If you didn’t make it to the Grand Opening of Ciel Gallery on Oct 7, here is a quick video tour from that night: Ciel Gallery Grand Opening. Our current show, Delish will run through Oct 29th. Ciel Gallery is located in the Historic SouthEnd of Charlotte, NC at 128 E. Park Avenue, 28203, we’re open Tue-Fri 11am-6pm and Sat 10am-5pm. You can also purchase pieces from the show via PayPal online here Look forward to seeing you soon. Come take a look!
Photo and Video by www.ZachBurkhart.com

(Part 14 – Day 5 Layers of Meaning)

This last portion of the cycle around the tree is a season of overcoming. (Reddish brown section to left) Gradual baby steps lead to giant leaps of faith. After a time of hiddenness and molding this season feels uncertain. You desire to step out but something has changed in you along the way. You have traded in being your own boss and are now looking to God for His perfect will and timing in everything. You have learned that when He is the initiator there is supernatural reward. You’re no longer satisfied in what you alone can accomplish. When God is working, waves of exponential return flood in one after another. You’re no longer asking What can I do to succeed. Your gaze has widened to What is God up to and What is my part?

Your Daddy is God. He has a really big bank account. He knows all of the right people. He owns this great patch of property and it’s yours to explore. You are Royalty. Favor pours out before you. He lavishes gifts upon you that are forever awaiting the unwrapping of the next better part. You are moving from glory to glory and mere words can’t touch the reality.

I’m not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to you again or that you’re now on easy street sit back and enjoy the ride. Life is still a series of unexpected events but you’re no longer clueless and gasping for air in the rush of the river rapids. You now have a life vest, you know for a fact that you are safe even if the circumstances appear otherwise. You know God, you know He’s with you, you know He’s good, you trust that the course this river is making has a Divine design. You no longer look from the eyes of fear but now the eyes of a child seeking out the hidden treasures along the way.

The first step is the most difficult, make it and then take another. There is fear attached to each one which disappears like a puff of smoke with every step.

Find out what the tree represents in the next post….

(Part 13 – Day 5 Layers of Meaning)

If you pursue God He will show up…..up close and personal. He will sweep in and completely rock your world by His personal expression of love for you. For some reason sometimes we think the God of the Universe is too busy for us; He’s rotating the globe, expanding the universe, dealing with nations and people groups. How could He have time for me? For some reason we forget that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. Christ dwells in our hearts. He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Kingdom of God is within. He has all the time in the world just for you.

This deep journey into God is shown by the still blue waters at the back right. The unexpected part is that as you come to know Him he reveals who you are. You begin to see that those childhood dreams placed inside that seemed like fantasy actually came from Him, your destiny is revealed. In this season it is one of fully laying down your life to Him but it’s not because you should, but because it’s your heart’s desire. This is a love affair in which no cost is too high. You have found treasure, The answer to life, the hole in your heart filled. This season is filled with repentance and desire for cleansing of sin, desire for habits and old patterns to be fully removed. It is a process and your cooperation and proactive yieldedness can quicken it and ease the pain. You learn with each and every step that He’s good and His plans are to prosper you not to harm you. It is a time of self reflection; a season of humbling and preparation for great works.

(Part 12 – Day 5 Layers of Meaning)
Be prepared for a mind shift. The way into the Kingdom of Heaven is with the mind of a child. One of the first things you’ll discover is the way Up into God is actually down. In order for Him to fill you and awaken you with His Spirit, your soul has to be dethroned. Get ready for war but in this case the appropriate response is surrender. You’ll be amazed at how you want to believe and to allow Jesus to be Lord in your life but for some reason your body and soul seem to have a mind of their own. In some ways they do….years of habit, generational behaviors, selfishness, fear… You’re not alone, we all have it. You will go through a season of war in which part of you is fighting against yourself.

The good news is you have available to you this precious gift called grace. It is actually a substance that can be applied in every fight. It’s not a freedom to keep sinning but a supernaturally empowered ability to stop. It’s not striving, it’s not just self control, but it requires self-control to choose it. Once you’ve applied it the first time you’ll realize it’s there for the next time. All you have to do is ask when temptation comes for God’s grace to overcome and receive it. Grace isn’t just a concept, it’s real overcoming power from God given freely to all who will receive.

So I hate to break it to you but the battle isn’t just against yourself. Believer or Unbeliever, I think we can all come into agreement that there is evil in this world. The Bible fully explains it all but it can seem like fantasy to those on the outside. There is an enemy whose first priority is to separate you from God eternally. Remember the Devil and demons? They’re real. They are fallen angels who will eventually reside in Hell. Apathy is the Devil’s first weapon. If you don’t believe in him then you have no concern about him owning you. After you choose Jesus Christ you are no longer under the devil’s control, but this dark force will do everything in their power to sabotage your growing relationship with God. And don’t be surprised if the attacks increase in magnitude and severity. This liar will do everything in his arsenal to deceive you, to cause you to separate from the pack with full intention of taking you out….this is real life and death stuff.

Don’t fall into fear, that is actually one of his weapons. God gives us power, love and a sound mind. As a growing Christian, the proper response to this invisible enemy is to pray. Call in for reinforcements from your church community, others already trained in battle who can war for you and help you learn how to rise up as a spiritual warrior. Do not travel this journey alone. You need to be in community with other believers; watching each other’s back.

The weapons of warfare can be counterintuitive. Obedience to God’s word is a major weapon, it is a way of fortifying yourself from attack, that’s where grace comes in, apply it. Prayer is another extremely powerful weapon and there is much to learn in this area to become highly effective. Bible knowledge becomes your bullet or sword, if you’ve eaten it it’s there and ready for use, but you need discernment, wisdom and understanding to know how and when to use what. This will come over time as you study and practice.

You were made to win, but it’s as you allow God to flood you with Himself that your True power comes. Lay down your bad self and believe that the King of kings knows what’s best for you. Put on your armor, there’s battle ahead.

I have taken a short break from writing on Transformation to focus all of my energy praying for an 8 year old girl from my church who has Stage IV cancer. Her name is Ellie Potvin. A group of us went to her home last week to pray for her healing and God was ever present. The King of Glory came to visit and left a miraculous sign of His time with us. Ellie had a sprinkling of gold dust on her head and hands. In the sweet innocence of a child she looked at her palms and said excitingly, “Glitter!” Others in the room discovered they also had this glitter in the palms of their hands. You can follow her story on her Caring Bridge site, scroll down to the May 22 entry to read about the gold dust:

Our God is a healer and no disease is too much for Him. Join with me in prayer for Ellie. We believe in miracles and know the sweet perfect love of God for his child. Let today be the day of the miraculous healing in Jesus’ name!

(Part 11 – Day 5 Layers of Meaning)
The journey with God is full of paradox, mystery, ecstasy, clarity and deep places of questioning your understanding. These extremes continue throughout because God is limitless, but at the same time He is unchanging. Spiritual transformation is all about getting to know God one facet at a time and allowing ourselves to be changed from the inside out into His likeness. Our journey’s are unique but also have common seasons.

The strong waves in the foreground show the magnetism of God and our response. Once you believe, you want to know more about this three part God who is at the same time One. You attend church online or in person, may begin to read the Bible, and realize there are many others just like you and begin the journey en masse. Reading the Bible often begins as a discipline but becomes a love affair. God’s Word begins to open up to you and you’re hooked on the greatest story ever told. This season can include great boldness and childlike faith as you begin to truly see the magnitude of God. You want everything He has available to you, and as you read the Bible you realize this is one wacky book full of bizarre things….could this really be true??? Angels, demons, wheels with eyes, teleporting, leaving your body and entering Heaven in your mind….the more you read the more you want to know.

God is the author of momentum. Don’t sit down and get comfortable in the foyer there are rooms, a mansion of experiences awaiting you and calling you to explore. “But wait, there’s more you also get the Ginsu knives…”, I’m certain God was the inspiration for that line. Every time you think you got it another door opens up.

This is a season of believing and beginning to serve and beginning to get a sense of the calling on your life, why you exist. You’re consuming the Bible, and as you eat more and more suddenly you’re seeing how it applies to your life experiences. God will orchestrate your reading and life experiences to line up; giving you opportunities to try out some things you’re learning. The Bible is leading you into experiential knowledge of it’s Truth. God is drawing you into relationship with Him and calling you into the fullness of who you were made to be.

Does this sound like your Grandmother’s religion? Trust me, you’ll really want to press through the things that may seem dry and boring because the good stuff is just beyond and it’s amazing! BTW…You have to read ‘the book’ to get the grid to understand and see. There are Bible Studies and classes that can help open up your understanding that will accelerate your pace, Bible on mp3, or computer… In some way you need to be consuming The Word….it’s the way in. If you’re not reading it, then don’t be surprised if you’re feeling stagnant in your faith. You probably are. Runners take your mark.

(Part 10 – Day 5 Layers of Meaning)
To the casual on-looker Spiritual Transformation could be confused with self-help. They both include a gradual increased state of wellness and contentment in life. The most obvious difference is the focus; self-help is all about me and my needs, the gospel is all about Jesus the change-agent who is doing the work in me and it’s goal is not for me. I am changed in order to affect you. I am changed from the inside out causing my direct connection to God to be clean, crisp and powerful impacting my encounters with you.

My desire in moving forward in the process is not so I can be more beautiful and happy, those are just by products. I am moving forward because God’s love for the world has ruined me and I want what He wants. I want to be the purest expression of Him that is possible in my years on the planet.

There is another invisible by-product that is actually the hidden weapon. My prayers as they line up with God’s will are unstoppable. My Spiritual Authority and ability to impact people, cities, regions and nations is increasing and unshakable because it’s not about me but about my ability to hear God and see what He wants to do in situations. If you have ever been intrigued by fairy tales and superheroes and fantasies where the lead character is being used to change the world, it is because that is the hidden truth in the gospel. Jesus wants to empower you to be that character with Him at your lead.

If you’re going to undergo the work of transformation, don’t fall into the counterfeit variety focused on helping yourself. There is a world out there that needs you. You are called to be a World Changer.

God isn’t satisfied until He is holding you and embracing you with a perfect love that sees no flaws, no weaknesses, only the perfect child that is His.  If you are feeling drawn toward God, it’s because He is pursuing you.  You are not forgotten.  You matter.