It’s Thanksgiving–and I Finished It!
Oh–the tears and frustration, the struggles along the way… The YEARS that I’ve been trying to finish it.
I supposed I should explain–or as Inigo Montoya says in The Princess Bride, “Let me sum up.”
More than 30 years ago, when I was in college, I was assigned a project by one of my professors called a Progress of Redemption pictorial bible chart. Back then, the tools I had to use were limited to construction paper, markers, pens, pencils, rulers. They were adequate–but the greater challenge was the limited amount of time we were given to complete the project. I did the best I could with what I had in the time available, but–it wasn’t quite what I envisioned.
Thirty years later, I still have that project. In about 2011, I scanned the pages and saved them. The originals are a bit tattered and the inks are bleeding and fading, and changing color.
See? Not terrible, but not great either.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a long way away from finished with this chart.
I liked Zazzle’s poster and print options, so I put my chart out online and made it available as a resource for Bible teachers and pastors, and missionaries and whoever else needed it. But the originals were already in rough shape because of originally not using acid-free paper or non-toxic bleed-free fade-fast permanent markers. And there were design issues that I wanted to improve. I most especially wanted to fix the colors for skin tones.
With the new graphic design skills I was learning, I was able to do quite a lot, but there were still some things that could be improved… Like Cain and Seth. <Facepalm> I didn’t like how they looked–and that was after trying and trying to fix them.
Feel free to laugh–I did.
There were other things I wanted to improve on too. I even experimented with textures and 3D effects–and sometimes this worked better than at others.
Would I ever finish this project?
And then Mom weighed in and mentioned that there were things she didn’t care for. She’s always been a big supporter of my chart, and even took a copy of the original back to Indonesia with her years ago. So, I took her input seriously. I had to fix it.
One thing that Mom didn’t like was how I’d drawn some of the biblical figures. She also didn’t like the little flame and cloud representation for God in every picture. God has appeared in the likeness of a man far more often in biblical accounts than as a burning bush or a pillar of fire or cloud–or even as a smoking pot.
So I kept trying.
I liked how this panel turned out the second time around. Except for adding Christ to the design and messing around a bit with the platform, I finished it a while ago, and it’s essentially the same as it was.
I liked the bricklayer with the red hair in this panel so much that I borrowed and used him for Seth:
Cain received a make-over and I added Jesus to the picture. I also moved the red thread of salvation to the front of the ark, and made the raindrops smaller and gave them shadows.
Another panel that looks so much better now than originally.
And of course, the grand finale!
So–I finished it–and someday, God will really finish it–oh, what a wonderful day that will be! I hope you’ll be there to see it!
The entire chart can be purchased here:
This artwork can also be found on other items such as binders, mugs, and even neckties and scarves.
What’s next: I will be adding more and redoing some of the original gift items now that the chart is finished. I also plan to publish it in book form with the original notations to assist in use of the chart, and will probably turn it into a coloring book as well.