Sunday, January 17th
9:15 a.m. in Room 310
Psalms Meeting #4 will be the one where we start dividing up tasks for the 'Prayer & Wisdom' installation that will open at the 930 on Feb. 26th. So, you don't want to miss this one. If you don't show up we might just assign you a really tough job nobody wants, like figuring out how to submerge a couch in a large aquarium (Psalms 6:6).
Here's the idea list and notes from our meeting this past Sunday:
PRAYER EXHIBIT IDEAS
IDEAS BASED ON PSALMS CONTENT
A TREE PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER (1) – A modified tree, hung with ribbon and fruit. Covered white maybe. Make a seat that looks like water so kids can sit there under the tree.
2 PATHS (1) – Two paths made on the floor. One crumbled, maybe including broken teeth of the wicked. The other path clean and straight.
THE HIGH AND THE LOW (2) – Depictions of kings, movie stars, politicians. Somehow show how God is much bigger than them and their plans.
SHIELD + SUN (3, 84, 91, 115) – A shield hung from the ceiling with an inscription: “Thou o Lord are a shield for me, the glory and lifter of my head.” (3). Have arrows in flight as well.
QUESTIONING CLOCKS (4) – “How long O Lord?” Hang clocks on the wall, each covered with a question mark.
PROUD CAN’T STAND (5) – Depictions of prideful and powerful people, but with their legs cut off.
OPEN GRAVE THROAT (5) – A mouth with a coffin in it.
I DRENCH MY COUCH WITH TEARS (6) – Submerge a couch in a tank of water.
FINGER-PRINTED STARS (8) Stars imprinted with finger prints.
LION IN WAIT (10) – Nail drawing or photo collage of a lion in wait. Potentially place in relation to a deer panting for water (42:1)
IT’S RAINING TRAPS (11:6) – A silhoutte figure ducking to get out from under the heavy rain of bear traps falling from a dark cloud overhead.
LIP GRID (12) – Psalms references lips and tongues a ton. Have a wall full of lips pictures in different expressions. Alternatively, arrange lips and ears randomly around the space and connect with lines. Hang written prayers from these lines.
JESUS CAN STAND IN THE SANCTUARY (15) – An interactive puzzle piece making up an image of Jesus.
HEAVENS DECLARE (19) – Stacked televisions all showing cosmic images.
POURED OUT LIKE WATER WITH BONES OUT OF JOINT (22:14) – “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.” Make a small pool of water. A cross on the bottom in paint or mosaic. Bones floating on top, kept moving by a water pump.
HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES (23) – A regular bed except the mattress is made of grass.
CUP OVERFLOWS (23) – using a fountain pump, have grape juice continually overflowing a cup. Label cup salvation (116).
TASTE + SEE (34) – Have a cake made. With icing write on it, “Taste and see: The Lord is good.”
WHY SO DOWNCAST (42:5) – A looping video with two separate scenes, one showing a soul in difficulty, the other showing the same person happy.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD (46, 19, 
– A large suspended cone. Viewers would need to stoop down to step inside. Once inside they’d see a view of outer space, possibly backlit paper cutouts or maybe a projection. On the floor, a print of animals put under feet.
LIST MY TEARS ON YOUR SCROLL, JARS OF TEARS (56) – A scroll with numbered tear drop shapes covering the entire surface. Shelves with tears labeled with names. Accounting log books too maybe.
REFINED LIKE SILVER (66:10) Place silver pieces on the wall in the shape of a human figure. Or black pieces that fade into silver, like charcoal to diamond.
FORTRESS (71:13) – On a stack of bricks, spray paint images of a sword and/or shield using stencils. Alternatively make the image moveable for kids to put together on the floor like a puzzle.
BREAD OF HEAVEN (78) - Create a plywood cloud from which hang loaves of bread or angel food cake. People are instructed to ‘take only what you need’.
UNDER THE SHELTER OF GOD’S WINGS (17, 36, 57, 61, 63, and 91) – A plaster of paris wing set with feathers and lit in such a way to cast a large shadow on the floor.
GOD’S FEATHERS (91) – hundreds of feathers hung by strings from the ceiling.
FUTILE THOUGHTS (94) – A headpiece contraption that looks like it might read brain waves, hooked to a monitor. When someone puts it on the word ‘futility’ scrolls on the monitor over and over again.
TURN YOUR EAR TO ME (102) – A wall-mounted sculptural ear is attached to the wall with pivoting brackets. There is a hole in the ear. Visitors are encouraged to write a prayer for their needs and place it through the hole and it’s caught in a fish bowl.
I EAT ASHES (102) – A table with one place setting. A plate full of ashes. A cup full of tears.
AS FAR AS EAST FROM WEST (103) – At the furthest spot east, put a small figure labeled ‘me’. At the furthest point west, put some symbol representing sin, and label ‘my sin’. Alternatively have a conveyor belt that moves some object representing sin to the farthest part of the room.
WRAPPED IN LIGHT (104) – Make a suit out of lights or weave a blanket out of Christmas lights. Display the actual thing or just show a photograph.
CALENDARS (118) – “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Have that quote on each block of a March 2010 calendar. People can take a copy.
HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER (136) – Use a heart border around the entire gallery.
LIPS DOORWAY (141:3) Transform the main entrance into a giant set of lips that everyone must walk through.
LET EVERY BREATH ANIMALS (150) – Animals cut out of tin. The animals heads are turned up towards heaven with mouths open. The text of Psalms as the background.
LET EVERY BREATH MIRROR (150) - On a mirror, smudge the words ‘praise the lord’. When someone breaths on the mirror,
IDEAS BASED ON MATERIALS/PROCESSES
STICK FLOW – Like Eric Scholtens has done before, make many sticks available for a tinker toys sort of abstract sculpture that fills a corner of the room.
CABINETS WITH PROJECTIONS – Mount cabinets to the wall and inside have baby projectors customized to project psalms text or themes from the psalms, maybe reflecting the creation psalms.
POWER CORD TEXT – anything that gets plugged in could use an orange extension cord wall mounted and arranged to spell words with the cord.
LIFE SIZE PHOTO COLLAGES – Use the laser printer and recombine to make large photo-based prints.
FRAMES – A large area of wall space full of framed images.
IDEAS BASED ON SOUND
BASKETBALL CHIMES – Make a basketball and goal available. Instead of a regular net, have chimes. Possibly connect to the piano underneath the chimes, so that the ball hits the piano.
SING PRAISES KARAOKE PSALMS – Have a karaoke machine show Psalms. Provide the microphone and a small amp so people can try singing the psalms.
RECORDED AMBIENT - Records lots of different types of drones and ambient styled music without beats or distinct tempo. Record them all in the same key, so that there is harmony between them. Set up speakers in various corners of the gallery. Some can be aggressive. Some can be somber. Some can be tranquil.
Sunday, May 9th is mothers day. Before and after Sojourn services, we're going to honor the moms in our midst by making portraits of them with their families. We'll then mail each mom a print. We did this last year too. 
