Artist Story: Bethany Dittman

I could spend hours upon hours discussing the intricacies of a captivating and well-developed storyline in a play. Or the use and balance of line, shape, space, composition, and more. Once you ask me to talk about art, I may not want to stop. I love to create!

However, I would like to focus on “the why.” Why does one create art? God’s Word in Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created…” God created a vast world, diverse in landscapes, in creatures, and in humanity. I find my creative inspiration from God. In the beauty of painted sunrises and sunsets, the velvet sparkling starry skies, the soft yet vibrant colours in a flower petal, the pattern of a butterfly’s wing―God is the originator of creativity.

I create because I am made in the creator God’s image. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). I am the wonderful combination of God’s creation–as the created being, and, at the same time, as the image bearer of God.. 

As humans, we easily get caught up in distractions, thinking about what we don’t have, what others have, what we want, and what we think we want. We are in a constant battle with ourselves, brewing discontentment and forgetting the beauty of all that God has made.

There is so much beauty and wonder in the world God has created that I am drawn to celebrate it! I am attracted to the small details of God’s creation. I paint and draw, desiring to bring attention to the beauty created by God. I make art to foster thankfulness and contentment. Every day I want to be reminded, and to remind others through my art, of the beauty of God’s creation–what God has done, what God is doing, and that it is good. 

So often our stories show human nature, wrestling with the old and new self, what is good and what is not. I act in plays and direct theatre to share the complexity of human stories. Often, theatre will encourage the risk of taking a look inside of oneself, into who the characters in the play are, and what their motives are. And many times it is horrific! We ask ourselves, as we sit in the audience, “How could they?” How could someone make such choices? Be so selfish? But if we are honest, and take the risk, we begin to see that it could be us up on that stage. I have had those motives, I have been selfish, I have put my needs in front of others at their expense. The stories show our need for God―our need for Jesus our Saviour.

If we stop there, sorrow will overtake us. I thank God the story does not stop there. We must discuss and express that we have all fallen short of the glory of God and are sinners. Then, we can see our Savior in the beauty of his creation. He is Jesus, and he has borne the weight of our sins and forgives us.

Why do I make art? I make art because I was created by the Creator to create. I make art because art is willing to ask hard questions. I make art because it shows our need for a Saviour, Jesus, and because it reminds me that no matter how hard life might be in the moment, or how hopeless we feel, God is still good. There is still beauty to be found in this world.

Bethany Dittman lives in Estevan, Saskatchewan, with her husband Ryan and daughter.