by Teresa Carr

History

The history of animation goes as far back as 1826 with the Thaumatrope, which was a paper disk with strings fastened to opposite ends. When the disk was whirled, the bird on one side of the card appeared in the cage on the other side. The Phenokistoscope developed in 1832 had two revolving disks. When the disks were whirled, an observer looking through slots in one disk saw pictures on the other disk appear to move. The Praxinoscope developed in 1877 by Frenchman Paul Renault, had a mirror with several sides in the center of a cylinder. When the cylinder rotated, the pictures on it were reflected in the mirror and seemed to move. In 1887, Thomas A. Edison began to work on a device to make a series of pictures appear to move. He did not succeed until 1889, after the American inventor George Eastman developed strips of flexible celluloid camera film. A series of pictures could be photographed on this film and moved rapidly. With the assistance of William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, Edison developed two machines that made use of Eastman’s film. The kinetoscope was a device taking a series of photographs. The kinetoscope was a cabinet with 50 feet of film evolving on spools. A person could look through a peephole in the cabinet and watch the pictures move. The first kinetoscope went on display in New York City in 1894. The first animated cartoon was Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willy in the 1920’s. Animations are an important part of the motion-picture industry and in television. Animated cartoon characters such as Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse were very popular during the World War II era. So much so that Disney’s Donald Duck was use by the government to sell defense bonds. The armed forces used animated cartoons in training films. Animated cartoons are used widely in Advertising and T.V. commercials.

The first American animator was J. Stuart Blackton in 1906 invented the first projector created moving animation by drawing humorous face on a blackboard. In 1890, Emil Cole was the first to experiment with film and trick photography. George Lucas credited his work with Emil Cole. Known truly as the modern father of animation was Winsor McCay in 1909 animated “Little Nemo in Slumberland” in dream sequence. His “Gertie the Dinosaur” used some four thousand drawings. Disney credits the cavemen of prehistoric times of being the first animators, proof of it is in Lascaux. Other first in animations were toys like flapbooks (flipping papers with sequenced drawings clipped into a book). J.R. Bray created the first animation studio. Harold Hurd revolutionized the way animation moved. Many animators followed with full-length cartoons. Some well known ones on the early 19^th century was Pat Sullivan creator of “Felix the Cat.” Cartoons then took a second step when sound was introduced. Pat Powers creator of the sound machine added sound dimension too “Flip the Frog” series. Ub Iwerks head animator for Disney creation “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” (1928) later evolved into Mickey Mouse and starred in his first sound released animation of “Steamboat Willie.” Later Ken Iwerks used Mickey Mouse in full-length cartoon productions of “Plain Crazy” and “Galloping Gaucho.” In the early years of animation, after Disney many other animators in the time animation was emerging Walter Lance created a character by the name of Woody Woodpecker. Max Fleischer was the creator of Betty Boop and Popeye. Animation has evolved from simple drawings and mechanisms to large-scale computer generated 3-D technology br leaps and bounds. In the late 1990’s, after the success of such films like Babe and Ants animation has been growing and developing ever since. Animation has even taken a step from the page to other media such as Claymation in the features like the Meet the California Raisins and Creature Features.

The Animation Process

When putting together an animated cartoon series must go through several processes to get successful takes in making animation film or show. The steps in preparing an animated cartoon are as follows:

• The story develops the basic ideas for combining pictures, music, and voices to tell the story.
• The Animator keeps his original sketches close while drawing portraits of the main figures in the animation story.
• The Layout Man works out problems of framing the action on the background.
• Inking in the Outlines for figures, an artist draws successive positions of a character’s movements on individual sheets of clear celluloid.
• Painting in the Colors, another artist repeats the color schemes already chosen fro the character’s costume in any sequence of the film.
• The Background Artist, puts final touches on one of the elaborate backgrounds for an entire sequence.
• The Composer works out music timed to fit the scenes of the completed film. The voices must also be timed to fit.
• The Cameraman shoots pictures, one at a time, of the characters moving in front of the background.
• The Film Editor checks the final cartoon to make sure that action and sound come together.

Animation Mechanics

Timing is everything in great animation. This ability to applying “timing” and “drawing” is the secret to animation. The steps to animation is getting an idea for a story, then followed by writing a script. The animation is then planned on the storyboard a comic strip form of seeing a movie. The next step are the layouts that explain the scenes, which are done in pencil drawing. Voices and music for lip-syncing are recorded. All recording are placed on exposure sheets. After the animation work, then it is shot. The exposure sheet consists of 11×17 for 4 seconds long animation and 8-1/2×14 4 second short animation there are 96 lines using multiples of 2 for 8, 16, 24 length frame animations 8=1/3 second, 16=2/3 second. Changes are then made to the workprint consisting pencil tests, twicking, and correcting. These are sent to ink and print. The drawings are Xeroxed onto cel. These are sent to the cameraman to shoot the drawings one frame at a time.

The number of frames on film runs 24 frames/second. The number of frames on video runs 30 frames/second. The film standard is about 12 drawings/second. To complete one second of film for 24 frames/second to make 12 makings/second shooting two drawings twice. The equation is 24 frames/second x 2 shots=12 drawings.

The following chart is the number of frames corresponding to the timing measurement used in animating a character and scene.

The basic exercise is the classic bouncing ball with a maximum of 24 drawings. You begin with a key pose or pose planning, then plan the extreme positions in an action. These key poses are used to animate scenes that involve repeated cycles in a path of action. Animate scenes of drama with the key gesture poses.

Line of action is an imaginary line extending through the main action of the figure. Plan your figure and details to accentuate this line.

There are 3 types of animation. They are limited, artistic, and full. There are three basic patterns. They are horizontal lines and vertical called stability; diagonal lines or zigzag create tension; and spirals create motion and actions.

Books and Software:

Books

Blair, Preston J. How to Draw Cartoon Animation. Walter Foster Publishing Inc. 430 West Sixth Street. Tustin, CA 92680-9990. call 714-544-7510 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              714-544-7510      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Blair, Preston J. How to Animate Film Cartoons. Walter Foster Publishing Inc. 430 West Sixth Street. Tustin, CA 92680-9990. call 714-544-7510 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              714-544-7510      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. (companion book #190 to How to Draw Cartoon Animation #26)

Foster, Walter. Anatomy #21.

Franks, Leon. Characters #62.

Loomis, Andrew. Figures in Action #191.

Powell, William. Perspective #AL13(Artist’s Library Series).

Miller, Kirk. Landscape Workshop #216.

Software

Maya. Alias Wavefront.

Lightwave. Newtek.

Strata 3D.

Zbrush. Pixologic.

Flash (for the Internet). Macromedia.

©2007. Teresa Carr. Skyhouse Communications & Mega Grafx® Studio.

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By Teresa Carr

Heinrich Hofmann came from a family that embraced a deep interest in art. His father, Heinrich Karl Hofmann (1795-1845) painted in water colors, his mother Sophie Hofmann Volhard (1798-1854) gave lessons in art before she married, and his four brothers all showed artistic talent. Heinrich, however, was the only one for whom art was not only a profession but the center of his life. Hofmann received his first lessons in art from the copper engraver Ernst Rauch in Darmstadt. Then, in 1842, he entered the Academy of Art in Dusseldorf and attended the classes given in painting by Theodor Hildebrandt. Later he was accepted into the studio of Wilhelm von Schadow and there he created his first large painting: A scene from the life of Alboin, King of the Langobards.

Thereafter he traveled to the Netherlands and France to intensify his studies of art. In 1846 Hofmann visited the Academy of Art in Antwerp. After passing a longer period of time in Munich he returned to Darmstadt in 1848 and at that time he began an intensive phase of painting portraits. The young artist found that the political activities of his family opened many doors to influential persons of the time. This afforded him the opportunity to create two portraits of Heinrich von Gagern and one of Justus von Liebig (this portrait is now in the possession of the Queen of England). In 1851 Hofmann went to Dresden to visit the art gallery there. In 1853 he traveled to Prague to paint the portrait of Dr. Beer, Great Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Cross.

In 1853 Hofmann returned to Darmstadt and in the beginning of 1854 his beloved mother died. He was deeply moved by her death and it inspired him to paint his first large religious work: Burial of Christ. In fall of 1854 he started on a journey to Italy. His first longer stop was in Venice and he used the time there to study Giorgione, Bellini and Giotto (in nearby Padua). After having proceeded to Florence where Hofmann stayed for two months he then went to Rome in January 1855. The comprehensive correspondence with his family and his detailed diary reports convey an impression of his way of painting at that time. He was deeply impressed by artwork of Antiquity, Christianity and the Renaissance.

Not long after his arrival in Rome he was introduced to Peter von Cornelius (1783-1867) and frequently paid him a visit. When he began his masterpiece “The Arrest of Jesus” in 1854, this work awakened the interest of Cornelius and for 4 years he accompanied Hofmann with his counsel and his constructive criticism. In 1858 the painting was finished and acquired by the Grand Duchy Art Gallery in Darmstadt. (It is still there not on exhibition but in the archives of the Hessisches Landesmuseum.)

In 1858 Hofmann returned to Darmstadt and in the following year he married Elisabeth Werner. The couple had no children.

Now another period of painting portraits began. In addition Hofmann created a large altarpiece for the church in Obermarlen (Hesse): “Madonna with Christ Child” and apostles Paul and Peter. Some time later an altarpiece for the church in Vaeggerlose (Denmark) was painted: The Resurrected Christ.

In 1862 Hofmann and his wife moved to Dresden. More and more he devoted himself to the genre of religious paintings. In 1870 Heinrich Hofmann was appointed successor of Professor Johann Carl Baehr of the Academy of Art in Dresden whose honorable member he already was. In 1872 King Johann bestowed on him the Great Golden Medal and later he received the Albrecht-Medal from King Albert. In 1891 Hofmann’s wife passed away and soon after that he withdrew from the Academy of Art in Dresden. Even though he stopped working for the Academy it is obvious from his letters that in private life he continued to create many works of art until his death on June 23, 1911.

Four of the most famous works of Hofmann are in the possession of the Riverside Church in New York: Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, Christ in Gethsemane, Christ in the Temple and Picture of Christ. According to information of the Riverside Church the painting Christ in Gethsemane is without much doubt one of the most copied paintings in the world.

The religious body of Hofmann’s work has gained in importance in the past years. The reason for the increasing popularity of Hofmann’s artwork is the publication of his paintings and pencil drawings depicting the life of Jesus

Christ in The Second Coming of Christ, the unequaled interpretation of the Bible by Paramahansa Yogananda, the world-renowned Indian philosopher and teacher of Yoga.

Heinrich Hofmann was one of the pre-eminent painters of his time. The Sunday Strand at that time a very popular British magazine describes him as the most influential contemporary German painter. Hofmann’s style of painting was unique in its own way but at the same time he based his work on the traditional art of old German, Dutch and Italian masters. While in Rome he also came in touch with the Nazarenes especially through the influence of Cornelius but throughout his life he remained faithful to the great examples of the Renaissance.

Religious paintings take the center stage in Hofmann’s work; but he also created numerous portraits and pictures that depict mythological and historical topics.

Selected Works

• Burial of Christ, 1854, owner unknown
• The Arrest of Christ, 1858, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt
• St. Mary with Christ Child and Apostles, 1860, altarpiece for church in
• Obermarlen (Hesse)
• Resurrected Christ, 1867, altarpiece for church in Vaeggerlose, Denmark
• The Adulteress Before Christ, 1868, Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Dresden
• Christ Preaching at the Sea of Galilee, 1875, first National galerie Berlin,
• then loan to the church administration in Kassel (Hesse), destroyed in the
• Second World War
• Jesus in the Temple (original), 1881, Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Dresden
• Jesus in the Temple (copy made in Hofmann’s studio: partly done under his supervision, partly by himself), 1882, Riverside Church, New York
• Jesus in the Temple, 1884, Kunsthalle Hamburg
• Remember Me, 1885, portfolio with drawings depicting the life of Jesus
• Come Unto Me, 1887, portfolio with drawings depicting the life of Jesus
• Christ with Mary and Martha, 1888, private owner, Los Angeles
• Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, 1889, Riverside Church, New York
• Christ in Gethsemane, 1890, Riverside Church, New York
• Peace Unto You, 1891, portfolio with drawings depicting the life of Jesus
• The Lord’s Image, 1894, Riverside Church, New York

Friedrich v. Boetticher, Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts, Dresden, 1895 Muller, Rosemarie, Heinrich Hofmann, Painter of Christ, Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2004

Letters, diaries, records from the estate of Heinrich Hofmann, Hessisches Staatsarchiv (Hessian State Archives), Darmstadt

©2007. Teresa Carr. Skyhouse Communications & Mega Grafx Studio.

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Man’s earliest known attempt of the visual record of his life began about 5,765 years ago. After the Great Deluge (The Great Flood) that Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives began the three major civilizations in the known world at that time. It began with the cuneiform writings of the Sumerians. The beginnings of graphic design can go back to the time of the cave drawings found in Lucerne, France, and in later civilizations such as the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and early Aramaic writings and the Book of the Law during the time of Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The printed word began somewhere afterward. The Phoenicians used the first formal alphabet, the first art forms.

The evidence of the first example of printing was discovered in 1908 by an Italian archaeologist on the island of Crete. He found a clay disc in the ruins of the palace of Phaistos in a stratification dated about 1500 B.C. Before the invention of printing the written word was all done laboriously by hand. The invention of printing did not put an end to the skill and art that had gone into the illuminated manuscripts, which the monks had illustrated with beautiful illuminations or colored pictures of the Holy Bible. Printers followed the traditions of the monks, and turned out books of great beauty. Artists who had copied the works of the masters turned to pen and brush to etching and engraving in metal, so that their images could be printed in large numbers.

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg brought the West up to date with his invention of movable type. Historians credit his invention as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The uses of paper were not new when Gutenberg’s type appeared. Eumenes, king of Pergamus, introduced the use of parchment for writing in 170 B.C. In making ink for printing, the Chinese lead the world in discovery by using lampblack in 400 A.D. Viscous or tacky inks essential for printing were used in Germany by Gutenberg’s time. Gutenberg is credited to the envisionment of commercial and cultural possibilities of printing as a process of graphic reproduction. With the cumulative effect of inventions of many minds in a growing civilization, we attribute the evolution of printing as a graphic art. The first books in Europe were printed in black letter or gothic type. They were designed to imitate the style of letter used by religious scribes living in Mainz, Germany, where Gutenberg began his activities.

The roman letter type came later, it would have been lost if it weren’t for Emperor Charlemagne revived the ancient writings. Charlemagne encouraged the establishment of a school at Tours by an English scholar, Alcuin. The calligraphy of this school became the model for the rest of Europe. Artists began to use lithography after 1796, and even greater numbers of images could be printed. Photography and bookmaking are important productions of work from early printers, engravers, artists, craftsmen, and scientists. Through England, printing came to the American colonies. William Caxton, who brought equipment from the Netherlands to establish a press at Westminster, introduced printing in England about 1476. Among the books issued from Caxton’s press were Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Fables of Aesop, and many other popular works. Printing was used to promote colonization of the New World. There is on file in the New York Public Library a copy of such a promotion piece dated 1609. It is entitled, “Offering Most Excellent Fruites by Planting in Virginia.”

One historian observed the fact that 750 of the first 900 settlers in the Virginia colonies died during the first winter was amazed at the power of the printed word. It encouraged new settlers to come to the New World, but also influenced the 150 survivors to remain. The fist printing press appeared in Massachusetts in 1638, soon after the first settlers established themselves. The first piece printed on the new pres was The Freeman’s Oath. The Bay Psalm Book was produced in 1640. Printing didn’t make headway in the colonies as it did in the Massachusetts Colony. It wasn’t until 1808 that printing spread to states as far as Mississippi to St. Louis. As migration continued west printing followed. Benjamin Franklin an important American citizen of his time began his own printing office in Philadelphia by 1732 and became the publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Among his publications, Poor Richard’s Almanack became the most famous. Another great patriot of the Revolutionary Period was Isaiah Thomas. In 1770 he began publication of the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper in which he supported the cause of the patriots. He served during the Revolutionary War as printer for the Massachusetts House of Assembly. Following the war, he re-established his business, which had been destroyed. He became one of the leading publishers of books. In 1810 he published a two volume History of Printing in America which today remains the best source on colonial printing. For the past 400 years all type was set by hand. In the 19^th century men began to consider the possibility of creating typesetting machines. The first sufficient commercial machine was the invention of the linotype by Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1886. Of the various metal composing machines developed only two kinds are still used today. These are the Linotype, Intertype, and Ludlow that cast slugs (one piece fully spaced lines); and the Monotype that casts individual pieces of type in justified lines. Tolbert Lanston of Washington, D.C invented the Monotype in 1887. Washington I. Ludlow suggested the Ludlow Typograph in 1906 and later perfected by William A. Reade.

The first illustrations in books were made from woodcuts. They were carved out of woodblocks by hand leaving raised surfaced designs. Albrecht Pfister in Bamberg printed the earliest book using woodcuts about 1460. Between 1570 and 1770 illustrations in books were printed by copperplate engravings, resulting in a decline in the making of woodcuts. In 1770 Thomas Bewick of England developed the technique of using a special engraving tool for cutting across the grain, instead of with the grain. Today, woodcuts are only used to give an artistic touch to certain types of printed pieces. Around 1476, engraved copper intaglio plates the forerunner of steel engravers and gravure, were first used in France and Italy. Copper engraving made it competitive to woodcuts in England about 1545, and in France about 1569. Copperplate work is still used today for invitations and announcements. Photography for graphic arts involves the photographic processes and techniques used to reproduce illustrations and art subjects. The invention ans use of photography and photomechanics completed the mechanization of the printing process; made illustrations practical and economical to produce and reproduce; and foster the phenomenal growth of advertising, periodical, book and commercial printing. The development of photomechanics closely paralleled the advances of photography. In 1826 Joseph Niepce made the first metal engraving by light using a metal plate coated with bitumen and etched after exposure and development. Photoengraving developed rapidly in America and by 1871 it was commercially used for letterpress printing. By 1880 photoengraved prints had replaced woodcuts as illustrations in books and magazines. In that year, Stephen Horgan made the first halftone photoengraving for printing. It utilized a coarse screen and was printed by lithography in The Daily Graphic of New York, the first picture newspaper. If Gutenberg stepped into a 1950’s printing plant he would have stood at the typecast, set the type by hand and pulled a proof almost exactly as he did when first invented it. Today Gutenberg may recognize the output now, but the input would be strange to him.

The age of electronics and computers has completely changed the complexity of the printing processes. In the years since 1950 presses have speeded up, but have been replaced by photo and computer typesetting; photography is controlled by densitometers, exposure computers and automatic processors; color separations and corrections are done on scanners, and half tone output films are generated by lasers, stripping is done by CAD techniques, color proofs are made from separation films or from digital data from computers, computers are used to analyze production information on presses, and bindery lines operate automatically by computers for magazine printing. The future of graphic arts is being shaped by the expansion of the microcomputer and image processing software. Printing is being used without the use of plates and films by ink jet and electronic methods. Offset presses are becoming faster in the control of inking and dampening.  Lithography will be the dominant printing process well in the 21^st century. Flexography with water based inks and gravure with electronic, laser, electron beam and direct digital engraving will increase in usage. By 2021, these printing processes will have about one half share of value of printed products. Publishers and printers recognize their part in the huge information industry that employs over three fourths of the work force in the United States, and many are expanding to telecommunications, videotex, interactive cable TV, direct broadcast by satellite, as supplements to printing. Graphic arts is sure to change in the years to come more than 540 years since Gutenberg the printed page and image will continue to flourish into the next century. It certain that the change will be the way it’s composed and produced, and will be around for many years for people to read, view, admire and enjoy.

Some of the well-known designers such as Neville Brody, Paul Rand, William Morris and David Carson have changed the world we live with their approach to graphic communication. Their brilliant innovation in visual communication have defined the way we look at it.

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SUMMARY: This is an ethical and controversial discussion on censoring visual artworks depicting the Christian faith and how past cases may affect expression in the field of graphic art. This  identifies the issue on the evidence of class action against the artist and at times the artist taking action towards their violators.  This also discusses the fair and appropriate viewpoint differences in the censorship of Christian art. This includes the position on Christian art censorship including the reasons and support for this opinion.

The reason that I have chosen censorship in relation to my career in graphic design and illustration and my Christian faith. These are set upon the relation of censorship and how it does effect art and Christian faith. What I mean is that the Christian faith has always been under persecution and it is evidence in history particularly Unites States history where the 1st Amendment protects the rights of practice of free speech, religion, press, and assembly. In my personal experience I relate to an actual event  that was published in the local newspaper The Charleston Gazette. This event ran three different times, the first on March 8, 2006 and was a controversial topic at the time that put the School Board up in arms over the situation with the ACLU. “For years the Jesus painting hung in the Bridgeport High School for years, never a complain, until a local lawyer and parent, handed the school a copy of a 1994 case of the United States Court of Appeals of a painting of Jesus hanging in a school in Michigan that violated a student’s first amendment rights.” (Schubert)

There has been many other instead that have  involved the censorship of Christian art and it’s message of the Christian faith. Take for example “when a student was disciplined for creating a picture depicting a cross in a landscape by a teacher while at the same time pictures of demonic images were accepted. The student then filed a federal suit against his art teacher alleging that his teacher censored his drawing because it contained a cross and biblical reference.” (Associated Press) There have been cases on the other hand where churches have protected the artwork that was inappropriate morally and provocation on the count of being offended of a controversial subject. “The people of the church group have the power to under the rules of jurisdiction to censor artwork that is not appealing to them.” (Berg)

People, who follow their Christian faith as a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, must also need to consider if they were to use their gifts given to them the practice of morality, good judgment, and devotion to good works are important. With this said, a Christian artist will confront in society who will determine by their own beliefs and causes to censor such creative materials in relations to the Christian faith. “In the case of the city of Deltona, Florida had censored paintings from a city hall displays because they contained references to the Christian faith.”  (World Net Daily) During the past three decades similar cases have come under fire with the censoring of artworks and other literary works relating to the Christian faith. Another incident at a library in Wisconsin, after inviting religious schools for six years, told them that they could no longer show their artwork with crosses on them. Other people thought this was pushing religion. But ironically the library had on their shelves books about different religions.

According to a New York City mayor the censorship of religious art would be a violation of the First Amendment and the separation of church and state ruling. This time the Brooklyn Museum of Art challenged the courts by displaying a Virgin Mary painting that included an element of elephant dung. The briefing files stated, “on the censorship of art on religious grounds would effectively resurrect the anti-blasphemy laws.” (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State) In a chronological of events stemming from the Mapplethorpe Censorship Controversy a statement was given by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 upon signing  the legislation the National Endowment for the Arts said, “We fully recognize that no government can called artistic excellence into existence, nor any government seek to restrict the freedom of the artist to pursue his own goals in his own way.” (Quigley) When Ronald Reagan took office in 1980 and attempted to eliminate the NEA but got lack of support from Congress was unable to remove and restrict funds from the arts establishment. The current upheaval over the NEA’s support of controversial artists began with the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association held a press conference to denounce NEA funding of “anti-Christian bigotry.”

In sight of these viewpoints present here comes to this supportive conclusion. If a Christian artist were to display their works in a tangible form in public buildings or in printed materials would it be legally right for that person to do so? It’s whether that “anyone in their own view can say that religious people have rejected modern art and artists have rejected religion. It is rather a choice more than anything that a Christian holds the key to return to a way of life in an industrial society.” (Glyn) Without the contribution of one’s Christian faith in their success and determination of moral and academic achievements it would mean nothing to express them in a way that is alien to their beliefs and at the same time restrict their ideas and concepts that would be of better benefit for society as a whole.

The position of Christian artists and the censorship of their works has been a debate that has been present in court battles and the laws upon their rights for an existence to express those ideas on a impressive scale and represents other groups as well that uphold the rights of freedoms of expression. As long as there are opportunities open for Christian artists to express their ideas, without the interfering of other differing oppositions, that can mentor  to society that need a foundation and a choice from limitations of a world that get others to conform to a life that individuals may not be seeking. The Christian faith give a whole new attitude on life’s ideas and continues to encourage to more forward to a new outlook on values and character.

WORKS CITED

Associated Press. Student Sues Wisconsin School After Getting a Zero for Religious Drawing. April 01, 2008. Fox News. Web. May 29, 2010. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,344350,00.html>

Berg, Lene Who has the right to censor art? Instead of direct censorship we have rules that allow people in power to stop whatever does not please them. The Art Newspaper. December 2008. Pub. online January 5, 2009. Web. May 29, 2010. <http://current.com/1nof64c>

City censors paintings as too religious: Nixes Black History Month art due to small Christian references. WorldNetDaily.com. February 09, 2006. Web. May 29, 2010. http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=34731

Glyn, Susan. F.D. Martin and the Problem of Censorship in Religious Art. Leonardo. Vol. 9, pp. 38-40.       Pergamon Press. Print. 1976. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/1573298>

Melchert, Robert. Menomonee Falls Library – Censoring Religious Art! April 6, 2010.        RobertMelchert.com. May 29, 2010. <http://randallmelchert.com/2010/04/06/menomonee-falls-library-censoring-religious-art/>

NYC Mayor’s Religious Art Censorship Would Violate Church-State Separation, Au Says In Court Brief.    American’s United for Separation for Church and State. January 3, 2000. Web. May 29, 2010.             <http://au.convio.net/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=6455&news_iv_ctrl=1461>

Quigley, Margaret. The Mapplethorpe Censorship Controversy. Political Research Associates. May 29,    2010. <http://www.publiceye.org/theocrat/Mapplethorpe_Chrono.html>

Ross, Jeremy. Menomonee Falls Public Library Now Allowing Formerly  Rejected Religious Art. Fox 6        News. April 07, 2010. Video. Web. <http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100407-art-  fair,0,1509261.story>

Schubert, Elizabeth. Jesus Painting Causes Concern. WBOY 12 News. March 8, 2006. Web. June 3, 2010 <http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=9247>

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Malachi 3:3 says:

“He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:

“He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He smiled at her and answered,

“Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And whatever they’re going through, they’ll be a better person in the end.

“Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.

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