Taking Flight
May 2022
Greetings & God Bless!
Summer is here: our days are longer, the sun is out, & music fills the air. We absolutely love birds here at Home of the Nomad. We have six bird feeders in view of our favorite spots around the house, & a family of mourning doves has a nest under the eaves above our deck. These beautiful creatures are a constant reminder of God’s character & steadfast love for all He has created—though, especially, His great love for us.
Do not worry about your days, whether you have enough food or clothes. Life is more than food, & your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens; they don’t plant or harvest or store up food—& yet God feeds them! You are far more valuable to Him than the birds. Will your worries & concerns add a single moment to your life? If worry can’t accomplish a small thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over greater things? Above everything, seek the Kingdom of God, & He will give you all that you need. Don’t be afraid, little flock. It is your Father’s great pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
Luke 12:22-26, 31-32
Whenever your ears are graced by the steady chirping of a cardinal, the joyful melody of a robin, or the playful chattering of a house finch during these warmer months, remember that you are the crown of God’s creation—He is able & ready to meet your every need, according to His perfect will & timing!
It has been my privilege to bring you these words of encouragement & to share the news of what God is doing here in Pittsburgh each month. While some of our activities will be halted for the summer, we still have lots to do in other areas of ministry. On that note, we will not be publishing another newsletter until August. I am taking a break from reporting so that I can rest, focus on summer events, & work behind the scenes with our team to keep improving on what we do. Still be on the look out for important email updates during this time.
And now, please read on to discover what has transpired since our previous newsletter & find out what will happen over the next few months!
The COVE: Afterschool
The school year is ending, & sadly, that means Afterschool will be taking a break, as well. Beginning this past Friday, May 27th, The COVE: Afterschool closed for the summer. From front to finish, this year has been incredible—in fact, our best yet. There really are no words to explain just how enriching the entire experience has been for our team, & we believe we can say the same for our students.
With too many special moments to count, we will likely remember this season of Afterschool for the rest of our lives. Our great hope is that the children will, too—that they take what they learned in art & in scripture, apply it to their lives, & share it with their loved ones. Of course, we also hope to see them back at the end of the summer. There is so much more to learn that we are preparing to share. We are endlessly excited & expectant for next year to top this one!
Without further ado, we have a few things to celebrate with you & a couple announcements to make. Check it out…
He Has Risen!
Our mission statement, to “Restore creation to its Creator” declares our determination to redeem the arts, but it takes on a more sacred meaning in light of Jesus’ death & resurrection: by His sacrifice, Christ restored us (His creation) to a right relationship with God the Father (the Creator).
To observe Easter with our students this year, we decided to forego whimsical rabbits, egg hunts, & gratuitous amounts of sugar altogether. Instead, we set up “Stations of the Cross” in the sanctuary adjacent to our main space. Each station told a piece of the story, aided by thought-provoking visuals & prompts for the kids to respond to. Taking only two or three children in at a time, members of our team led the way & stood by them to explain the Biblical account in greater detail & answer their questions. It was a powerful encounter. Each student was incredibly reverent & receptive to the message, taking the prompts very seriously.
As much as we love to teach our students how to create works of unique art, there is nothing more precious than the Gospel. Sharing it with our students is the greatest treasure we have to offer.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
Romans 8:1-3
The Inside That Counts
This year’s Bible study at Afterschool focused almost entirely on the first chapter of Genesis. It may come as a shock to many that we spent so much time on one chapter of the Bible, but there is infinitely more depth to the Word of God than what lies on the surface. We also drew connections to other parts of scripture throughout the process, & ultimately, to Jesus. We never want to underestimate our student’s ability to comprehend a deeper, exegetical study of scripture; they have proven they are capable of handling it! It brings our team great joy to hear them repeating the ancient Hebrew words they have learned or ask tough questions about spiritual principals.
To really solidify the teaching, we connect each Bible lesson to an art lesson, delivered either by one of our resident artists or by an individual from our extended artist community. For Day Six, Part I - Land Creatures, we had our very own Megan Gray teach them a little bit about animal anatomy & instructed them in a lesson on pencil drawing. However, the kids didn’t just draw their favorite animals—they learned how to draw skulls!
After the kids finished their initial sketch, content creator Jordan King led a tutorial in digital design using Procreate on the Apple iPad Pro. Once they had learned the basics, our students were inspired to embellish their designs in very creative ways! We had them start on this project beginning in April, & they continued to work on it well into the month of May. Our students really put in the effort, which makes us all super proud. We printed large copies & die-cut stickers for each of them to show off their excellent work.
Jordan is an illustrator, as well as a story teller invested in raising funds for The COVE Art Center; he worked closely with one of our biggest supporters to procure iPads for our students & adult artists to create with!
Sewing & Reaping, the Sequel
The Novelty Collective community is stacked with talent. So many of our art-loving friends have blessed our programs by coming to perform, to work, & to teach over the years. However, it is rare for an out-of-state visitor to make an appearance two months in a row—let alone two distant visitors. Jackie King & Vicki Petersmarck recently returned for another week of sewing classes! All of us at Home of the Nomad & Afterschool are so thankful for their giving hearts & their ready obedience to God’s call on their lives.
Once again, they shared their time & talent with the kids in such beautiful ways. This time Jackie & Vicki also taught more of our resident artists how to use the machines, so that we can sew for ourselves & continue teaching students (as well as adults) in their absence. Please, continue to pray for them, for their families, & for their ministries. And, again, we encourage you to support Mountain Path Ministries so Vicki can keep supplying sewing machines, teaching lessons, & changing lives both here & abroad.
Support Mountain Path
Very Good
During our last month of The COVE: Afterschool, we focused on God’s final act of creation, His masterpiece: humankind! We talked about why we were made, what God designed us to do & to be, & just how much He desires a relationship with us. You & I—all of us—are here to know God & make Him known, to reflect His light & magnify His glory, to delight in Him & all He has created, to be redeemed & partner with Him in redeeming creation… to “Restore creation to the Creator!”
We wanted our last art project for the school year to be a memento representing the theme of our lesson on Day 6, Part II - The Image of God, so we had our students start by photographing one another. Each portrait became the center of a collage. Using Polaroid cameras, the students also got to photograph various subjects representing all the days of creation.
We are all God’s children, & we are all beautiful in His sight. While God called the other things He made “good,” He calls us “very good.”
Come & See
Kids have come & gone from The COVE: Afterschool in every season. We know students get involved with sports & other extracurricular activities. The older ones often find after-school jobs. They sometimes move away with their families. Whatever the case, we pray that their spiritual needs are being met & that they find ways to express themselves through creativity beyond our studios.
However, several of our students faithfully attended Afterschool every week since school began this year. Our regular participants accumulated a colorful portfolio of artwork in a variety of mediums, & we wanted to honor them on our last day of programming by displaying it publicly for their parents & all our supporters.
Our “Come & See Gallery” was a wonderful time for celebration & connection. Our team finally got to meet some of the parents of our students, & the parents finally got to see where their kids have been creating all year! We featured the art projects our students made in connection to our Bible lessons & displayed them in front of the studios representing the Day of Creation they correspond with.
Thank you for all your prayers & support throughout this unforgettable year of The COVE: Afterschool. The many ways in which we get to serve these precious students are made possible by folks like you who believe in our mission.
If you would like to learn more about our program, our studios, & what we offer here at The COVE Art Center, please visit our website!
NoCo: Open Studios
Don’t forget—providing opportunities for you & other adult artists to create is just as important to us as Afterschool. We understand that life gets busy, time is precious, & it’s normal to feel pulled in too many different directions. But the value of expression through creativity is immeasurable. Art can restore our vitality in a way food & drink cannot. It has a way of drawing out our deepest thoughts & strongest emotions, from every corner of our compartmentalized psyche. The act of creating can sometimes connect us to God more naturally than prayer. We invite you once again to freely enter our studios & be creative—draw a picture, make a scrapbook, design new clothes, write a song, construct a LEGO® set…
Our next Open Studios will be on Saturday, June 25th. We look forward to seeing you.
Sad Fox
The Novelty Collective is connected to a vast network of musicians, from amateurs to professionals, of every genre, across every state. We frequently get to host bands on tour & give friends in our extended artist community a place to crash if they need space when they are passing through Pittsburgh. Additionally, we now offer professional audio & video recording services through The Nursery Recording Studio at The COVE Art Center.
In April, our in-house studio manager & audio engineer, Sean DeKonty, invited a large group of artists to write, record, & finish a compilation album over a 24-hour period. We had local guests & other friends from hours away come up to Pittsburgh to participate. Everyone who contributed came almost completely unprepared—many never having played music with any of the other visitors.
The result is a fun & unique exploration of different riffs, grooves, & lyrics that were inspired in the moment, without heavy tailoring or editing. Under project name Sad Fox, the group completed four original songs, now available on Spotify.
Hit the link below to listen!
Sad Fox
From Church to Tango
Even more recently, The COVE Art Center hosted a concert series promoted by Chamber Pittsburgh Music. “From Church to Tango” featured a trio of incredible musicians, led by conductor Alejandro Pinzon playing bandoneon. Our sanctuary served as their concert hall, & tango-lovers from all over Bellevue & Avalon came out to hear them play. From the beautiful classical music resonating throughout our historic building to the golden sunlight illuminating the room from our stained glass windows, the whole thing was an ethereal experience.
God is constantly building bridges in The Novelty Collective community & empowering us to care for the creatives He sends our way. Our Lord never ceases to amaze us in His faithfulness to the promise He spoke to our program director, Brittany Hartman, a year & a half ago—
“Make space, & I will fill it…”
The Future Is Yet Unwritten
There are amazing things happening daily here at The COVE Art Center, so much activity that it would be impossible to cram everything into a monthly newsletter; but we always want to highlight what we can & celebrate all of it with you. Our team is working to make a lasting difference in Pittsburgh & beyond. You share in the fruit of our efforts when—
a child discovers a new passion for art & benefits from our daily Bible lessons.
a struggling artist finds the peace & comfort in our space they need to feel inspired to create again.
a stranger finds help at The COVE when he or she was not expecting it.
Your prayers & support reach further than you know & have a much greater impact than we can measure. Thank you so much for believing in us.
So—what’s next for The Novelty Collective?
Well, we have several irons in the fire & plans upon plans for the future of our ministries. We are praying, pondering, & waiting, but expect to hear from us within the next week or so regarding summer events! In the meantime, please continue to pray for our team, the students, the Nomads, & our extended artist community.
In His Service,
The COVE Team
Article written by Jordan A. King
