Brushing up on artistic skills at Ringwood Women’s Connect event
BY LERISSE SMITH
A dynamic fusion of vibrant art and joyful spirits was on full display at Ringwood Corps’ recent Women’s Connect event as local community members unveiled hidden artistic talents.
Christian artist Lisa Lawlor was the invited guest at the special Melbourne evening, where local women gathered to enjoy a night of fun, fellowship and friendship. It was also a night of exciting surprises as participants unearthed hidden artistic abilities.
“It was truly an evening of exciting discoveries,” Lisa remarked.
“It was so inspirational to see local women paint original artworks that they didn’t think they could create. I was impressed by the unique beauty of each artwork created.”
Women’s Connect events are held every few months at Ringwood Corps to connect women to each other and the church community and, through that, to God. This year’s theme has been ‘Flourish’ to help women understand the different ways they can become all that God created them to be.
The focus of the event on 12 October was centred around relaxing with art and supper, with A3 size canvases provided to the participants who were instructed on how to transfer an outline from a reference sheet using charcoal and pencils. The mediums available for painting were acrylic and oil paints, with several reference pictures incorporating images to represent the ‘Flourish’ theme: an owl, giraffe, cat, butterfly and flowers, an umbrella scene with gumboots, and a crucifixion cross.
“It is a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit that moves and speaks through creativity.”
The giraffe and butterfly paintings were particularly popular, with each artwork created by the women having its own unique and beautiful look. The participants had a great time, and some stayed after 10.30pm to finish their masterpieces.
Lisa said the aim of her painting session was to encourage the women to explore and discover their creativity and to feel inspiration and joy when they uncovered their ability to create a unique artwork. It was also about the connection achieved through being creative together as a group.
“There is a happy energy among the group when everyone becomes focused on their creation,” Lisa said.
“There is such a joy when each one discovers they have created something unique and beautiful. It truly brings a joy to achieve an interconnectedness through the non-verbal language of art expression that captures beauty and helps us to discover the creative life that is within each of us, lifting our spirits together while achieving a sense of belonging and community.”
The painting session started with the participants being asked who believed they lacked the skills to draw or felt untalented in artistic and painting ability.
Lisa then encouraged everyone that they all possessed creative expression within that was waiting to be discovered; it just required the right materials and knowing where to begin so they could say, “I didn’t know I could do that!”
The participants were also asked how to describe something beautiful and how something like a scene in nature often defied words and had to be experienced to know its true beauty. Art, poetry, music and creativity of all sorts also convey emotions, love and beauty in a way that words cannot, revealing a divine language and leaving people awe-inspired.
“It is a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit that moves and speaks through creativity,” Lisa reflected.
“It’s a joyous expression of life and love in a higher language that breaks through barriers. Art can capture the beauty of this flourishing life, expressed in a non-verbal form that speaks loudly. Everyone can express their beautiful life within through art … I gave the metaphor that our lives are like God’s masterpiece. God is the painter of our lives, and our lives can be like the art journey.
“It can start out with a simple brush stroke, unimpressive looking at first. You can become discouraged along the way. Sometimes, it turns dark. Then, light and colour come back to life again. You can reach a point where you think it is ruined, but you persevere, and then it starts to take shape and becomes most beautiful.”
Lisa recently relocated from North Queensland to Melbourne to work as a ministry assistant at Ringwood Corps. She loves to paint with oil and acrylic paints and enjoys drawing portraits, too. She has worked in community art programs at youth camps and on the street in social programs.
As a talented and gifted artist, her own journey to discovering the artist within began three years ago, and she believes God led her to discover her artistic abilities.
It began when she successfully created a pencil portrait of her dog, which then encouraged her to draw a human portrait of a retired Salvation Army officer named Clarrie, using a vintage photo and bringing it to life with colour. The artistic artwork was submitted to The Salvation Army’s online art exhibition.
Further inspiration came from studying the Passion of Christ, where she discovered her ability for oil painting, creating the Alabaster Jar painting of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet for burial, titled The Best of Me for the Least of Him.
Surprised by her artistic ability and that she had never received formal art training, Lisa followed this with a large canvas painting of the Cross and Resurrection titled Sunday. Both paintings were displayed at the Townsville Faithworks Corps Hall during worship for a year.
After Captain Bron Lithgow passed away in 2023 following a courageous battle with cancer, Lisa gifted the Sunday painting to Bron’s family and particularly her daughter Becka, in special memory of Bron, who greatly inspired Lisa in her spiritual journey.
Since then, Lisa has created various oil paintings and portraits and feels called to continue sharing her artistic gifts as she pursues her candidate application to become a Salvation Army cadet next year.
“I believe God has led me to discover my talents, and they are for me to pass on as a blessing to others,” she remarked.
“I also want to inspire others to discover their creativity as well and to love them with the gift of art.”
