Brooke Epkey
Why I Create?
“Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality’s surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery,” said Pope John Paul II in his Letter to Artists. Okay, okay, you may not be Catholic or even Christian, but I am Catholic, and my relationship with God is the number one priority of my life. I strive to live out my identity as a daughter of God. Because I live out of my identity, I strive for God, who always has more for me.
God created every single star at night and counted every drop of the ocean, and He loves me so deeply. This is the source of my art, not only art but everything I do. I can’t discuss art without discussing God’s love and desire for humanity. I strive to go beyond the senses perceive, beneath reality’s surface, and seek to interpret the Mystery of God’s Love. God motivates all my art, and the Mystery of God's Love inspires the pieces. Since the motivation is God, and inspiration is the mysteries of God, most of my pieces capture the core of who we are created to be and what we are created for.
As my faith grows, so does my art for the better. Mediums range from charcoal to pencil, acrylic to watercolor, and string. Charcoal was my first art medium, but my desire for color motivated me to try painting. Then, the desire to move into 2.5D led me to string. My faith is constantly growing as I grow and change; it is the same way. Projects now are mixed mediums because there is beauty in the different mediums. The beauty of each is so unique to that specific medium. My subject matter has not changed overall but has gone deeper. Some of my pieces include scripture or referencing scripture. Others are concepts of the church and God’s Love for His people. The art I create has grown and formed into something different than I ever could have imagined, and the capacity to see the deeper realities.
Not all artists get what art is. I may be a harsh critic of worldly art, but there is something, Someone, so much greater than this world. Art is not what you want it to be. Art reveals the truth, beauty, and goodness of God, the Creator. So many great artists capture this. I want to have that genuine artistic intuition that Pope John Paul II is talking about. The desire to create that goes beyond the surface, to the core of our deepest longings and desires.
