Psalm 145

ARTIST STATEMENT: JENNA HURT
In my work, I am compelled to illustrate God’s Word in a way easily interpreted by the viewer. I find elements of nature to be beautiful hints to God’s own nature and character. This particular piece to illustrate Psalm 145 marks the beginning of exploring printmaking as a new medium to me. My goal is to communicate to the viewer God’s purposeful movement towards man, and man’s response in praise.

I have decided to venture into printmaking partly because of design qualities that I wanted to be present in this work, to have elements that are fixed, symmetrical, and repetitive. I’ve also become intrigued with the process. Carving a block is tedious, takes patience, and is risky. Yet, it creates a beautiful piece that can’t be replicated with shortcuts. The path I’ve taken through grief to find joy is strikingly similar.

In the span of 2 years, I suffered a miscarriage, wept over a total of about 20 negative pregnancy tests, intensely grieved of the stillbirth of my son, Joel, and mourned a pregnancy that I celebrated for only about a week. I wondered if I could return praise to God when I didn’t have a clue as to if He would answer my petitions. Through this time, I can confidently say that God was patient with me, seeing to faithfully complete a good work in me through a path of suffering.

This is a similar obstacle the artist faces. Do we continue with a work we feel called to, even though it has the possibility of ending in catastrophe? My answer begins in Psalm 145:14, “The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” If the Christian artist knows her given task and calls on God, He will be faithful to see the work used for its purpose: bringing the observer closer to his Creator (see Ps. 145:18).

In my suffering and my artistic process alike, I battle insecurities and lies fed by Satan. But if we look to the Lord through all the lies and bad feelings, we are given “food in due season” (Ps. 145:15). I believe in my personal suffering, that this “food” came in the form of the Church’s praise toward God, which caused me to meditate on the works of God (even if to question them in the beginning). Meditating led me to professing, and the same pattern can be found in Psalm 145. God does a wondrous work in this: He places new generations of sufferers in the midst of the now-worshipers. “Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever” (Ps. 145:21). In my piece, a flower is upheld by an open hand and praise pours forth. Beneath the surface, unseen roots are growing and new generations of flowers face outward in position of continued praise.

My heart beats with Psalm 145, which I consider to be of greatest gift in itself because He gave it in the midst of my waiting. It proves that even the sufferer can find a heart of praise in the midst of pain. When I thought He was silent, He upheld my soul. God has now allowed me to be pregnant again, leading me to again choose to trust in him over my natural fears of the unknown. I cling to the works of God. He is doing a wondrous work in me in order to do agreater work in all the world for all time for his own glory. This body of work is my prayer for all generations to find praise in the midst of seeking God in their suffering.