Our Deacon of Creative Arts Tyson Phipps created a beautiful work of art for display in the narthex. The laser-engraved and hand-painted in gold sign was inspired by Revelation 21:5 where God declares, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The sign was installed on November 20, which coincided with the conclusion of our Wonderful Works of God sermon series the following Sunday.
Bre Strobel conducted an interview with Tyson on Sunday about the artwork and what went into this five-year creative process.
Bre Strobel: Tell us about what this is, the purpose you’re working to convey. How does the art accomplish that?
Tyson Phipps: This illustration is based on Revelations 21:5, which says, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” Trinity’s leadership asked me to create art for the Narthex that reflected this verse, and I believe this verse was chosen to reflect Trinity’s mission statement, which is: “we exist to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ who join in the renewal of our city and world through the power of the Holy Spirit.” As we thought about the concept, we wanted to have art in the entryway that acted as a reminder of Christ’s promises every time you walk in — this would join in Trinity’s weekly liturgy and practices.
So, when sketching and coming up with the concept for this illustration, I decided to take a look at the context surrounding this verse. Revelations 22 depicts leaves of healing and fruit. Also, as I thought about the idea of “making new”, I thought about how plants and greenery are a picture of life and flourishing throughout the entirety of the Bible. This, paired with the differing plant imagery built into our building’s architecture and design, drove me to choosing florals as the visual language for this illustration.
Additionally, Revelations 21 depicts a city, and in this city there are 12 jewels that form the foundation of the walls. Revelations 22 also depicts 12 differing kinds of fruit, and 12 is an important number throughout the Bible. Thus, I wanted to incorporate this number somehow, & I chose to include 12 different plants/flowers to make up the illustration to represent the 12 jewels.
As a sidenote, the plant I chose for the corners of the illustration is the one that represents the tribe of Judah. Because Jesus is seen as the Lion of Judah in Revelations, and because He is called the “cornerstone,” I placed Judah’s plant in the corner of the design.
Finally, the front of the sanctuary here has a golden pattern and cross on top of a dark background. These colors are imitated in the design of the illustration to allow for continuity between the entryway and sanctuary.
BS: How long did it take you to make? What were some challenges you faced in the process?
TP: Bryan [Lair] first approached me about this project in the Summer of 2016, which has taught me two things: 1, that I’m a procrastinator, and 2, Bryan is very patient. But yeah, so sketching, drawing this design by hand, and recreating it by hand digitally took well over 100 hours. I did experience quite a lot of challenges with bringing this design to life, however. I reached out to countless printing companies to get this design gold-foil printed, but I couldn’t find anyone that could print at such a large size. Also, along the way, my computer got stolen, so I almost lost all of the digital files, but thankfully I had sent a file to one of the printing companies so I recovered it that way. Finally, after about a year of no success, I decided to have the design laser-engraved in wood by a local shop called Uptown Woodworks in Minneapolis. Once this was done, I hand-painted the gold engravings at home over course of 3 months & got installed!
BS: How did your love for God and love for art come together in making this?
TP: It was definitely a growth process for me. I studied both theology and graphic design in college, but I had never combined the two with such intentionally before. I was highly encouraged and inspired by a couple podcasts I listened to that discussed the intersection of Christianity and art. Additionally, the main aesthetic inspiration for this illustration was Dana Tanamachi, who created and designed an illustrated ESV Bible. The reason I mention those 3 inspirations is because I think it was really important for me to find spiritual and artistic mentors who have created art through their faith in Christ.
I’ve also been paying a lot more attention lately to nature and the way God created the four seasons. It’s just such a beautiful picture to me that a seed dies and is buried before it grows, or that as the earth gets further from the Sun or “light” nature dies, but as it moves close to the light, it causes growth, renewal, and life. So yeah, I really enjoyed the experience of creating this art because it caused me to pay attention to God’s Word closely, apply the skills He has given me to reflect His promises, and then carry that into the rest of my life.
My hope is that this art reminds the viewer weekly that Christ is actively renewing and restoring this world and how sweet of a reminder that promise is.
