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Inspiring a Revival in Godly Art
By
Tom Ish
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When Barry Stebbing harkens to 80 art students, “Pick up your brushes; we are going to paint,” they not only listen with intense interest, they perform with a willingness that charges the room with guided excitement. And these are not older children with years of painting and drawing experience. Many are under the age of eight and are embarking on art lessons for the first time. The professional oil painter (and creator of How Great Thou Art Publications) continues his snappy approach to teaching: “Now I want you to mix a dot of blue paint with some white, and fill in the left square of the box.” As he demonstrates on an overhead projector with colored pencils, hardly a sound is heard as children proceed with confidence and dexterity.
When done, they glance up to their newly discovered mentor in
anticipation of the next phrase of instruction. |
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| Mixing
in a little more pigment, the students apply the
next tone of blue to another side of the box to show
how light and shadows aid in creating dept and
various tones in a picture. Barry calls out the next
step with a high degree of surety, respect, and
confidence in his pupils; they respond with surety,
respect, and confidence in their teacher. The
result unveils young, budding (and many blossoming)
artists who have been given the opportunity, tools,
and knowledge to venture into new realms of
creativity. This aspect of character and skill
development is more than vital, explains the artist
with a certain zeal often lacking in classrooms,
“Since we are made in the image of God (see
Genesis 1:27), His creative power must be cultivated
with each person in order to reveal His true
character to others.” With ever-building
convictions among parents regarding the value of
creative thinking, Barry sees what he terms “a
major revival in the arts.” But how can this crucial part of a child’s development be nurtured among several dozen children of all ages and abilities in a single room (virtually void of disciplinary problems)? Parental involvement among the mostly homeschooled students is one reason, but another key element is Barry’s wife, Saundra, who watches the young artists carefully, while constantly on the move, to rescue any child who may be displaying the slightest hint of struggle or discouragement. When she finds a youngster stalled with his chin often resting on his hand, she takes the brush or pencil and begins to show how that step in the painting of drawing is done. With a few stokes and some encouraging words, Saundra returns the tool to the student’s hand, and he is back on track learning basic rules of color, composition, perspective, texture, and shapes in art. |
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Such an uplifting environment of progress and productivity by every child eliminates nearly all temptations of competition and hierarchy among peers – a threat that often squelches a free expression of creativity during gradeschool years. If a student is discouraged and deflated at times, he may begin thinking that he simply can’t meet personal, peer, parental, or teacher expectations. Hence, creativity can often be set aside and replaced by pursuits in other areas of less vulnerability. But as Barry packs more than four decades of training, skill-development, and experience into a three-day workshop, there really isn’t time to look over anyone’s shoulder to judge or self-judge. |
| Moreover, a pervading uplifting spirit prevails so that each child can learn without the fear of condemnation and can actively claim the promise of Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who…walk according…to the Spirit.”
“Often children have a natural attitude to simply give up,” says Cindy Owens, a graphic artist who brought three children to the Stebbing’s workshop conducted in a large church in Modesto, California. “They expect to be perfect; then they realize they are learning something new.
Barry makes them understand that it doesn’t matter what others think; get the process down and don’t worry about the look.”
“It’s great,” comments Joy Kerr, 10, of Modesto after only two, two-hour sessions. “I thought my 12-year-old brother was really good at art, but I stunk. Now I can draw, paint, and mix colors. |
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Before I always used to make just brown. Mr. Stebbing explains it so you don’t even know you are doing something hard.” With a longtime desire to write short bedtime stories for her children someday, Joy is now thrilled that she may be able to illustrate her stories too. Barry has three major aspects to his approach. First, inspiring the students is key in order for him to last longer and for his teaching to be more effective in the classroom and beyond. “I have to put everything I’ve got into every class, or I’ll lose them,” he confesses, noting that teaching 60 or 70 children (and as many as 95) at a time makes speaking to adults seem easy. |
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| To muster strength and perseverance, he and Saundra are in constant prayer while teaching. They offer prayer during class, spend a great deal of time in Bible study, pray on the road, and give God all the glory for using them, as broken vessels, to feed His sheep and plant seeds in hearts and minds. “Teaching can be very draining, but He invigorates us,” Barry said, adding that they miraculously have more energy several months into their nine-month, 60-stop, cross-country tour than when they start. Sometimes, he said, he feels like Paul who wrote in Philippians 2:17, “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Last, the couple tries to leave the students with the realization that they can go anywhere they wish with their new skills. The students can make hundreds of things at home such as greeting cards, gifts, drawings, and illustrations for their schoolwork. Those with determination and a call from God can go far in ministering through the arts. |
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| But Barry’s art career was not always spent creating, teaching, and rekindling a revival in the arts from a Christian perspective. Barry’s journey into the art world began at an early age when he was exposed to poetry and art by his father, who used it to maintain mental stability as a POW. Barry’s creative talent developed as he continued to study in both junior and senior high school. He attended the Maryland Institute of Art as a painting major with several summers spent in
Cortona, Italy, doing graduate studies with the University of Georgia. |
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| He also studied portrait art in Montreal, and in 1990 Barry and his wife painted their way across America for over 18 months, logging 30,000 miles, and completing 150 oil painting and countless sketches. Later, Barry said thank you to the public school system where he began his artistic development by teaching teenagers and evening adult classes for several years.
Before 1992 Barry considered himself a Christian man a secular artist. Then he was convinced that if his talents and gifts in art are from God, then they must be used to convey deep religious truth and to celebrate the knowledge of God and the beauty of His Creation.
At this turning point in Barry’s life and commitment to serving God, the artist developed a beginning book on drawing called How Great Thou Art. The life of service in inspiring young people in creative endeavors has taken the Stebbing to hundreds of workshop locations all over the nation and Canada as well as to dozens of guest speaking appointments and many state
homeschool conventions. |
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Charging only
$21 per student (including materials) for the three-day workshop, Barry is understandably in high demand and schedules his appearances several months in advance.
In response to high demand, the Stebbings and their company, How Great Thou Art Publications, have developed a line of materials, books, and videos to enable homeschooling families or independent art students to pursue basic fundamentals of drawing, color theory, and painting.
The same character development principles and positive outlook are fostered in such workbooks as Lamb’s Book of Art, and I Can Do All Things for ages 5 and up. |
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| Providing proper tools and instruction through his mail-order resource ministry is a key element in the erupting arts revival, and Barry is careful to include segments of art appreciation in his workshops and curriculum to allow students to realize the importance and impact the arts can have on society. In fact, in response to parents crying out for good materials on fine art, Barry’s latest book, God & the History of Art, reveals how art has been used by God to reach the masses with His message of eternal salvation. The Stebbing even promote certain music tapes to help inspire young artists, and the couple often conclude their workshops by showing great religious artwork by various masters accompanied by an invigorating background tape of Handel’s Messiah.
Experiencing a boost of creative development enhances various other pursuits of many students such as Vincent Januson, 14, of Modesto who has studied piano for several years. “Art is a lot the same as music in learning how to shade and add color to what you want to share,” he explained after his first experience in an art class. He said the class helped him to be more creative and to experience things from all angles using both his eyes and ears. |
| Not all students attending the workshops are prone to artistic pursuits, however, but as one parent commented about the reaction of her three boys (ages 14, 12, and 8) to the midsummer class, “They would rather be doing this than swimming or playing soccer.”
“Barry is like the Johnny Appleseed of art as he plants seeds of the arts revival vision in the hearts of both parents and students all over the country,” says Patty Bradley, the coordinator for a workshop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, that attracted 160 students to two classes. |
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“The body of Christ can make an impact through art and point people to Christ by honoring and glorifying Him through their talent,” she added, noting the high demand for Christian art instruction.
In addition to enjoying the benefits experienced by the students, the Stebbings are touched by revelations and breakthroughs as when a person is excited about seeing for the first time the shades of green in a tree or all of the types of red in a rose. Others have never noticed the subtleties in the sky. “I feel honored that God could use us in this way,” says Saundra. “It’s inspiring to touch their lives and show them they can paint.” The Stebbings note that the children have the desire, determination, and ability to learn quickly. Once they have the basic knowledge and a fair amount of encouragement, the students can run as far as they wish with art. On the first day of the workshop, students can at times seem intimidated because they don’t know what to expect. On the second day, there are multiple breakthroughs as many discover that they can do it. And on the third day, many students flourish and are almost unstoppable.
“We cannot take credit,” adds Barry. “We simply prepare and become subservient to God who deserves all the glory. Only the Holy Spirit can teach us all things.” The artist believes, “Teaching and touching the hearts and souls of these children is more important than the great works of Rembrandt and Michelangelo.” He further explains that creativity is difficult to teach because God has made everything unique. Even when Barry teaches how to mix brown, there are as many different browns as there are students. Beyond planting seed of joyful creativity in young hearts all across the nation, the Stebbings realize there are always a few who God calls to excel in the arts. So their dream is to establish a Christian Arts Academy on their recently acquired 106 acres farm in North Carolina. With a classroom/studio housed in the barn, the Stebbings plan to have facilities to accommodate 12 boy and 12 girl art students for weeklong workshops that consume 10 hours a day. These will be very special concentrated opportunities for the few who have been called into a life of service through the Godly arts revival. And while their cross-country journey in route to developing an art academy ministry sometimes seems a blur, the Stebbings will cherish into eternity many precious moments – the little girl painting flowers, the 3-year-old with her own watercolor set, the teenager with the new covenant on his T-shirt, the student with a smear of paint on her nose, the little girl in coveralls, and many of the youth who were allowed to attend the classes even though they couldn’t afford it. Amid the countless hugs and “thank you’s” from students, sometimes the Stebbings feel so fulfilled they stop and say, “Why us?” The only reason they can think of is their love for the body of Christ (the church) that is called to represent Him to the suffering world “…for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
Tom Ish is the editor and publisher of Creation Illustrated. He spends as much time as possible drawing close to God through art and developing creativity. |
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