Hands On Art Studio

As it was a rainy day, we went to a place about 1/2 hour away from our "home" in Door County.  Jill had found a place called Hands On Art Studio and had tagged it for when there might be a rainy day.  This was the day!

We walked around to all the buildings to look at what was available to work on.  You could paint a picture on canvas, you could do ceramics (they would glaze it for you) or you could work in the glass studio.

 All 3 kids wanted to pick out a ceramic to paint.  Of course, Claire wanted to paint a horse!

 Hannah picked out an elephant.  And Sophia a container for her paints.

Originally, we were just going to watch them, but when we saw these little suncatchers or Christmas ornaments at the glass studio, we decided to try it!   We purchase a Christmas ornament each year from a place we have been (like from Israel, or Turkey or Colorado) so why not one from Door County for this year!

I got the idea that it would be neat to make an ornament to replicate the cliff the girls jumped into the water from:

 We have never done any kind of glass work before, so there was a learning curve for sure!

 Thankfully, there were helpers there.

 Al learned how to cut and grind the glass.

We finished our piece.  They would need to fire it and we would need to go back to get it another day.  Well, this was our last day in Door County, but the kids were staying a little longer so they would return for it.  

We went to check out the girls.   Claire finished painting her horse but the older 2 girls were not done yet.  It was lunch time however, so we went into town and found The Wild Tomato, a pizza place.

 

 It was really good!!  After lunch, Allen offered to stay with the girls while they finished their projects and Adam, Jill, Claire and I found shops to walk around in.  Adam hung out in a guitar place while we girls found other things of interest.

 We drove back to see if the girls were done with their ceramics.

  They weren't quite done, so we watched them complete them.

 Claire got bored and wanted to play outside, even if it was raining.

  Sophia made a little "bone" for the new dog they would be getting this coming week.

It was finally time to go back to our place for the evening.  It was also date night for Jill and Adam while we watched the kids.  We began a new puzzle since we finished the other one.

 It was a little easier than the other puzzle! 

As I think about the fact that we made these artistic things, it reminds me of Eph. 2:8-10.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Handiwork - Other versions say "Masterpiece" or "Workmanship".

In Greek, the word is "poiema" from which we get the word "poem".  It can mean any great or magnificent work of art.  A painting, statue, lyric or even architecture.

In Latin it is the thought of "magnum opus", the greatest achievement, like Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistene Chapel in the Vatican city or Handel's Messiah.

Mankind is His "poem" but what is His Magnum Opus?  God's greatest work?  The "saved man", the fact that He saved us!  We can't save ourselves.  It is His most amazing gift!  His work of art!!  

Even the angels are intrigued by this!  1 Peter 1:11-12

A couple of days later, Jill sent me photos of the finished projects.

Cana Island Lighthouse

We finished the day going to Cana Island Lighthouse.  It is on an 8.7 acre island on Lake Michigan.  There was only 1 more trip across as it was getting late in the day,  We debated going, as it seemed rather pricey.  But we thought, we may never come this way again.  So why not.  We were glad we did!

There is a causeway across to the island.  Some days it is dry and you can walk across.  And other days it is not very deep and people wade across.  But other days, you take a tractor with wagon across, like this day.  I suppose we could have walked across too.  It wasn't that deep, but the water was COLD!  And it was pretty rocky and you could easily twist an ankle.

We paid the guy our fare to get across and got on board the wagon.  It was so bumpy on the ride across!  Bumpety-bump-bump!!  It jarred us good.  But it was fun!

  

This reminds me so much of monkey island in Japan!  We took people there quite often.  Sometimes you had to take a boat over for the short ride, but when the tide was out, you could walk over.

I am on Taniguchi-san's lap.  My mother is holding Barby.  Our family and the Unruh kids, another missionary family, were together this weekend.  The monkeys can be a little scary.  In fact, you do not want to put your hands in your pockets or they will think you have food and will try to get it.

Here is Cana Lighthouse.  It was built it 1869 and lit in 1870.  The waters around Cana Island are filled with the wreckage of many wood-hulled schooners, as well as modern vessels.

We climbed the 97 steps of the lighthouse to the very top to the watch deck.

Someone is afraid of heights!

The workers were preparing to leave the island for the day.

They would return to the mainland with us.

The Fresnel lens was hand-crafted in France.  The light has been in continuous use since it was first lit.  It is one of the few lighthouses in the States whose original lens still works as an active navigational aid.

The lighthouse keeper and his family resided in the lighthouse.

It would be rather lonely not having friends around.  There is no more need for a lighthouse keeper living here as it is automatic.

Returning to the mainland.

Thinking of ship wrecks and the need for a lighthouse to guide the way, our lives sure can be a wreck too.  There is One who can guide us.