This first question seems a little problematic. Are you asking if it seems effective, or if God is truly my motivation and basis for creating the work?  I'm not sure I feel like I should have to defend my individual practice of Christian faith, or that I  want to be pigeon-holed as a "Christian artist".  I believe that the type of creations that I make are motivated by my faith, and belief in God, but are just art, not "Christian art" or "Christian ministry," but are in fact Art made by a Christian. 

   Because of the stereotypes people have, and the misrepresentation of Christianity by the mainstream culture, anything that is coined as "Christian" will be automatically judged and discounted before it is even examined.  This even happens by other Christians, who think ministries or art by Christians should only be what they imagine that  would look like, and this is severely limited.

  This kind of leads into the next question you are asking, since several people have questioned or even made the assumption that i am not a believer based on my artwork, because it has a theme of sexuality.   I think that if people are able to see past stereotypes of the "Americanized Christian" and take the Christian faith out of it's box, than the will see God inside of me and what I create.  If God is who I think he is, than our limited mind will not be able to understand all that he is doing through us, and through others, and we are not to be the judge. 

 

I can't say I have found a specific passage of Jesus using humor, but he definitely used IRONY, and he definitely OUTRAGED the "Religious people" of his time (The Pharisees) by his actions.  If you think of the  "Religious people" today being the majority of Christians Represented by the press out there, people like Falwell, Dobson, etc. , don't they seem pretty similar to the Pharisees, So caught up in the RELIGION of Laws, and Sermons about Right and Wrong that they forget about loving people. Jesus was trying to show this by treating Women (no matter what their sexual history was), and other outcast of the time (like tax collectors) as equals, and even gave them kinder words than he gave to the "religious people." 

The whole reason Christ was murdered was because the religious people thought He was going "too far", getting too much attention, taking their audiences away.

How dare he talk to adulturers and outcasts as if they were human?

I compare those actions of Christ to as if today, we are friends with the Drag Queen, The prostitute, the outcast, those that Christians today would like to avoid and forget about because they make them uncomfortable. Instead, Christians today find it more important to shelter themselves and live within a "Safe" bubble of all Christian friends, read only Christian literature, support only Christian businesses, etc.  

The Radical Christians that we can look at throughout history have been murdered because they were so radical in their time.  I had one person who looked at my art and say "Perhaps you are going too far, but it'd be better to Go too far, than NOT Far Enough," and that has always been a mantra of mine.

People have decided that what i do is a "ministry." If God can use it as that, that's great, but when I began this was just my art. I don't consider myself a missionary, but my artwork is to be viewed by everyone, especially those who are not Christians. I would like to see my postcard images on Billboards, as messages Against Advertising's sexual objectification, so of course i'm going to use the tactics of advertisting, and humor to grab attention.  It's also hard to effectively discuss sexuality without having the images be sexual in nature.

 

If I'm not effective, it is only because I am not spending enough time and energy on my artwork. 

I know that when people see it, it does help others because once and a while, I get emails or meet people in person that say, "I'm so glad to find someone that encourages me to believe in waiting" or "thank you for doing what you do. No matter what people say, keep doing it. it is needed!"

So, the encouragement and words of others overcome any criticism.

 

 

There's no question of where the money goes, because there is no extra money.  The pink nun has not gotten to be superstar enough that there is a surplus or profit of any kind. But if and when it does, it just goes directly back into making more, and a tithe is always subtracted out to be given to the church as well. ( I send mine to Revolution NY, a church where Jay is preaching a message of True grace).

 

Oh yes.  I have unfortunately experienced some farely hateful attitudes by others in the church.

I have had the most visibility to other Christians at Cornerstone festival, the main Christian music festival that I was able to go to repeatedly, of which allowed me to be there. 

The festival directors themself had a split as to whether I should be allowed there or not because some people, especially mothers of young children thought my imagery shouldn't be on display, (even though there is no outright nudity or genitalia, only some symbolism of such).  I was willing to change the format of my booth over the years to try and accommodate (with a PG-13 or "Ask to see" section), even though it meant less sales, and made the work look even more scandalous than it was.  Even so, through the 5 years that I had a booth there, I have had some of my most memorable rejection by festival-goers and ministries. It did not keep me from going back, but it meant a week of emotional recovery afterwards.

   For example, on a survey someone filled out, they were Catholic and told me that if they found my tent, they'd burn it down, hopefully with me in it. Now that was an extreme case, but I was always afraid i would find my tires slashed and such.  I did have someone email me ahead of time telling me they were going to hand out "Anti-pink nun propaganda" of which they did, and when i was able to talk to him, he apologized and changed his mind.

The most memorable case was when a ministry group, under their leader, was Praying AGAINST me being at the festival, praying that i would not come or be successful, and was actively trying to prevent me being there, as well as sending people to come debate with me while i was trying to talk to customers. 

Rumors would be spread and people would come up asking if I was a Christian, or making a statement that showed they believed I wasn't a Christian, because what I was doing was harming the reputation of Christianity, and saying that they would pray for me.

   The better cases were when people coming up to argue might say I was doing something like "sexing it up to than slap the person on the hand for thinking about it" or that it reminded them too much of pornography, and IF they'd actually stick around to discuss this with me, than they'd find out, surprisingly to them, that I would discuss it very kindly, giving my view with a very loving voice.  On many occasions, people that were outspoken against my mileau ended up later on outspoken DEFENDING me to others, and became personal friends.

Some of this was covered in Question #2, but to be more specific, most of these verses that inspire me are about the way Christ emphasis GRACE Above the Law(rules that dictate what is sin) and that Christ sets an example to love others and to not get so caugh up the law that is a guideline for us that we forget about others...

-Jesus' equal treatment of "Sinners": Luke 7:36-50, especially vs. 47 & 50, as well as John 4.

-Jesus Rebukes the Religiuous people (the Sadducees, Jews, and Pharisees):

  Acts 6: 8-15, Stephen is persecuted by the Sanhedrin, and sentenced to be stoned and his reply...In Acts 7: 51-54, "You stiffnecked people! Must you resist the Holy Spirit?...."

   Luke 12:1b-2, Jesus says "..Beware of these Pharisees the way they pretend to be good and aren't. But such hypocrisy can't be hidden forever. It will become as evident as yeast in dough." (New Living translation)

  Luke 11:46, Jesus says "And you Experst of the LAW, Woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can Hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them."

  In Matthew 15:7-8, Jesus starts out sounding similar the way the world today talks about Christians:  "You Hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

 

Yes, I think pornography is a dangerous thing because many people think they can dabble with it and be unharmed by it. The problem is that it becomes addictive, and because it is Deemed fairly "acceptable" to look at pornography, than people rationalize it. It is an escape, and it takes them to a lonely,dark place that causes them to view other people as objects for pleasure, desensitizing them to emotional feeling and encourages mistreatment and violence, like rape.

Hollywood is one thing, and art is another. In most movies we watch, created by Hollywood, and especially in advertising, Sexuality is inserted merely as a cock-tease, and not for "arts sake". In judging what is acceptable to watch, (if people DO take the time to think about it), there is a fine line between what is "okay" for the sake of story development in a movie, or for what is damaging to our conscience.

We should be protecting our minds, and all too often we watch movies that are rated "R" for some sexual content or nudity, rationalizing it because it is not deemed as pornography. It is merely "entertainment". That is the deception. More and more movies are incorporating scenes that could be considered "soft porn" and explicit. These scenes stick with you and will change the way you think about those that you are attracted to. It may cause you to view person's body more when you should be listening to what they are saying. It may cause a person to push their date to go a little further, even if they are subtley saying "no." As my friends sticker says "Pornography rapes the mind,"... and many movies do too. Wouldn't it be better to miss out on a mediocre movie than to numb ourself from recognizing future temptations and lusts?

As for "Fine Art", art that is not being made purely for entertainment and to make money, There are certain creations that can uplift nudity and the naked human body without sexualizing it. There is a lot of art that is created using sex purely to be controversial and get attention, and which often discredits itself in doing so. I don't think it is wrong for Christians to draw a naked model in a life drawing class, for example. I have done so myself. It is not a sexualized setting. God created the body, and sex. It is the WAY that we view it, or represent, or experience it that can be sinful.

 

 

No, this has not ever really come up. I have been within the same block as other nuns in habit, but i don't know if they noticed me, or at least they pretended they didn't. Most current day nuns don't dress in habit. The habit (outfit) has become more of a symbol. I have had Catholics be offended. For example, I was driving my truck on the highway (my truck had a picture of the pink nun on it) and another car came by honking and shaking their rosary at me.  If anyone Catholic is offended by it, I try to explain that I am not making fun of nuns, it is about a message that other nuns and Catholics should agree with me on.

Denominations, in my opinion usually divide more than they have a purpose.  Non-Christians for example, are completely confused by it, and I have often had people express to me that they don't understand that all denominations are part of one Christian faith, but think maybe they are separate religions.  It does not portray unity to those outside the church.  If you think about the way we look to others, we look worse than a disfunctional family.

  The first denominations began with the split of Catholicism and Protestantism, so that's 2 denominations with pretty big differances, and was Relevant at that time since Protestants believed the Catholics were committing heresy selling indulgences. The Catholic church still remains fairly differant in the way they practice.

   As far as Protestant denominations, I have found that the differance between most Protestant denominations now has to do with minor differances like: infant vs. Adult baptism or Speaking in tongues vs. not Speaking in tongues, or ordaining women or homosexuals vs. not doing so.  The Central Gospel is shared by all denomination that follow the scriptures, and if we really read the New Testament, we will find that some of these traditions are man-made, no longer relevant, or only separate us.  It should just be that people can go to a building with a sign that says "Church" and decide for themself whether they think it follows the word of God, and whether it suits them. The rituals and practices of many denominations only succeed in being so encoded that they keep unbelievers out.  For example, I was horrified when I went to one church and when they took communion they gave a disclaimer that the only people Allowed to take the communion not only had to be MEMBERS of a Evangelical church, but had to be Members of the same denomination as the church in which i was present.  How discriminatory and snobbish!

Jesus prayed in John 17:22-23 that the church would be One.  I don't think this prayer has been answered yet.

First, I don't go on any "Outreach trips". I go out and interview the public and hardly ever tell them my own personal views. I gear questions to make them think, and it might help me even more than it helps them.  If anything, in Christian terms, it is "planting seeds" more than anything else. I have never been comfortable with evangelism.  It is a little irresponsible to go preach to people that you are not going to help plant in a church or commit to a lasting friendship with. The evangelism that i have seen be more effective is through life example. One wise man said something like "Go out and share the gospel, and if necessary, use words."

 Second, I can't begin to guess whether Jesus would enjoy me or agree with me or what.  I cannot judge myself too objectively, I can only try my best, and use the creativity that I know he gave me, and learn as I go, praying that he will guide me. (But I will not curb myself based on the opinions of others that may think Jesus would not approve, because there will always be people that will not be happy with you.)

Oh boy, is this off track?  You're asking me to take a political stand on something that doesn't have to do with my main artwork....But I'll admit that I'm a pacifist. I love peaceful settings.  I can't see how war would be better than peace.  This current war will show the way the going in and bombing people, with the mission of scaring them off, will only enrage them more and motivate more people to hate us.

War begets more war. Evil spreads evil. You can't fight evil with more evil, and call it as "good" by having a president use Christian jargon to defend as some sort of Christian mission, trying to make it seem worthy.  It angers me that our nation's "leader" would be arrogant enough to deem himself some sort of Judge over who is evil and who is good.  Other countries look at US as the evil one, seeing us as Greedy, Tyrannical over other countries, and not looking out for the interests of the poor or human rights (think about our "made in china" imports and how much we pay them).

In my view, we should worry about Corporations even more than the President. Corporations are actually who literaly OWNS this country, determine the laws that get passed (with their corporate money) and portray to the rest of the world what our nations values are with their Advertising....

Which brings it back to my artwork. Those advertisements and their visual messages....

"Fight the filth!"

 

My favorites include a few bands with Christians, and many with people who have not made any public statement that they are Christians, but all of which I respect for their talent, melody, and poetic lyrics...I can't pick ONE favorite:

To name a few:   Something Corporate, Brand New, Ben Folds, Coldplay, Danielson, Havalina, Deathcab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional, Sinead O'connor, The Faint, Johnny Cash, The Killers, Le Tigre, Ok Go, My chemical romance, Radiohead, Rose blossum punch, Snow Patrol, Stereogram, The DeCastro Sisters, Tracey & the Plastics, JR Topp, Double B, Pedro the Lion, Avril Lavigne, and Pink.

I also listen to a lot of Books on Cd by Tobias Wolff, Alice Hoffman, Tracey Chevalier, Stephen King, to name a few.