My favorite author, J.R.R. Tolkien, wrote of the the incredible reality of the human experience as sub-creators alongside the Creator. I often think of this and wonder at such a gift.
In fact, Tolkien considered the act of sub-creation as a form of worship to God by expressing one's divine image through participation. Lewis took this to heart as well and believed that there is nothing more natural than the supernatural and creating new fantasy worlds engaged with our role of sub-creators through God. Lewis believed that the worlds he created were perhaps more real than they seemed. Of course, the two intellectuals would debate this issue and disagree on the precise elements necessary to achieve sub-creation. But, they both agreed that creating was something worth time and life.
So why am I writing of Tolkien and Lewis and posting a picture of my hands and paint?
Recently, I have felt that more people need to take time to create something, to actively shape art, stories, music. I think that is what spurred us to build this blog--to design a space where our creativity can be shown and developed and encouraged. Tolkien created through words, through language, through detailed world-building, however, thats a daunting endeavor to me as a starting point. Of course, I don't expect to become a master in my first attempts at writing a story, but, creating through writing seems a bit more of a thought process. Perhaps, my current work of writing for two different blogs a week, editing papers, and writing my research proposal contributes to my lack of motivation to sub-create through writing.
But there are other forms of sub-creating--didn't God create the story of the world but also make the music and paint the sunsets? When I went to NYC last month, I made sure to stop by the Metropolitan Museum to see the paintings of Van Gogh again. The whole museum is filled with incredible art and history, but I only felt the pull to go see Vincent's paint brushed across his canvas. He was certainly a sub-creator if I have ever found one. And perhaps Tolkien would have thought the same because his paintings take on a new life themselves.
So while Tolkien inspires me to praise God through creating, Vincent makes it easier to begin. In fact, he even gives me a break from worry about my skills or my ability to paint. In a letter Vincent wrote to his brother Theo, he said, "if you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." I would say yes, and not only in painting but in all forms of sub-creation! Perhaps it starts with getting your hands a little messy!
