ABOUT MY WORK
“Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.” – St. Pope John Paul II in his “Letter to Artists”
When I found myself teaching Sacraments to high school teenagers, I became captivated by the ruah found throughout Scripture. Short for the Hebrew word that means “wind, breath, and spirit,” God’s ruah has been animating human history for all of time. First, God breathed life into the abysmal waters at the beginning of time. Through this creative act, the Lord initiates all that is good and beautiful. We see this same spirit of the Lord, this ruah, give life, animate, commission, and empower throughout all of the Old Testament in Job, Psalms, Numbers, Exodus, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, and more. It is no accident that at the moment of His death, Jesus commits his Spirit to the Father, giving up his last breath of life on earth. Then, the Holy Spirit that appeared at Pentecost in the mighty, rushing wind, began to animate and empower the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles and throughout the epistles and, still, today!
Artistic endeavor is that of the ruah. Not only has God sustained my life with every breath I have taken, He has been animating it, inspiring it, and filling it with creativity since its inception. St. Pope John Paul II says in his beautiful Letter to Artists, “Every genuine inspiration, however, contains some tremor of that “breath” with which the Creator Spirit suffused the work of creation from the very beginning {...} the divine breath of the Creator Spirit reaches out to human genius and stirs its creative power. He touches it with a kind of inner illumination which brings together the sense of the good and the beautiful, and he awakens energies of mind and heart which enable it to conceive an idea and give it form in a work of art.” Looking back, I can see that every facet of my life from early childhood into adulthood has been the Lord’s creative work alive in me. Even from my earliest memories, art helped me to articulate the experiences of my life. My journey to know God was born through art and music, the beauty of travel, and in the pages of various books. In college, I followed “the wind” and chose a major I knew nothing about, receiving the formal training of an artist and establishing myself as a partner in God’s masterpiece, my life. When I began teaching art, it felt imperative that I did so through the lens of the Divine Creator, encouraging students to develop their spirituality through their work. Art has always been what intrigues me, what brings me joy, what makes me feel alive, and as a result, what centers me in Christ.
Ezekiel Prints on Etsy
Following the loss of our 3rd baby, the death of my mom, and other significant deaths in 2013, I stumbled upon the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. I really connected with the desolation I found within those pages. More importantly, I resonated with the hope that God could & would restore anything and everything He wanted to. Nothing was beyond His hope. As a result, I felt prompted to start a small, freelance design business in hopes that it would be a path to healing through the artistic spark. When I launched on Etsy, I named the shop Ezekiel Prints, grateful that through art & design my dry bones began to come alive again. It was beautiful to watch God put some of those pieces back together for us as we had our 3rd son Levi, built our home, & explored a few other business ventures.
Today, the shop offers invitations and other printables that help bring your ideas and events to life.
Ezekiel Visions on the Blog
In 2017, I was involved in a fatal car accident where my friend & passenger did not survive and my own body was broken in many places. It was certainly a new low, as I had to learn even life’s most basic skills again and face the tragedy of her not surviving. Because I was physically incapable, unable to work, and spent a lot of time in bed, it was then that I started writing. Again, with the hope that God would renew me through this creative outlet, but also that He would use me to share that same Hope with others. Once I returned to the classroom and life resumed at a faster pace, the blog became harder for me to maintain. Stepping into full time ministry in the Fall of 2022 allowed me the chance to revisit this ministry – for myself and for others.
Erin Thomas Creative
Over the past 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of working within and around the marketing scene, contributing to many other businesses, projects, and missions and developing marketing solutions. God has continued to utilize my wide variety of talents to breathe life into their ideas, create a brand, and establish a digital presence.
With experience in branding, advertising, social media content creation, copywriting, Google workspace management, print material design and development, email marketing through MailChimp campaigns, Squarespace site design, and more, Erin Thomas Creative can help your small business get established and maintain a successful, professional digital presence. To learn more about my work and design process, contact me today and let me know what your business is trying to accomplish!
“Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.” – St. Thomas Acquinas
