NEW BEGINNINGS
Editor’s note
people, some whose art is vast as it is unique. I've interviewed a young woman who not only writes but with a tablet can create stunning animation and artwork. I've met a man who uses his love for ministry and the Lord imported into hip hop. I've spoken with creators of graphic novels and video games. It's more than what I expected to find and I know there is more to find.
Stephen Hillman is the Senior of Psalmist Scribe Magazine
DID YOU KNOW? If you’re reading this then thank you. At this moment I’m trying to sum up the pages you are about to see and what you have to look forward to in the future. As an early passion of mine I dabbled in creative writing, I never considered what I was doing an art form merely something I enjoyed. Once I did I began to examine all the other ways creativity was expressed. I found that I was intrigued by all of it, the visual, the musical, and the interactive. As Photograph by @Dae Dream Photography
someone who fell in love with Christ, without me purposely stirring the poetry, or the stories, I saw that my writing had a tendency almost on it's own to include some form of message. I began to wonder what others like me were doing with their gifts. If I wanted to know about a Christian painter my mind would go blank, a poet, (one that is much better than myself)? What you have in your hand is a proof of concept if you will, that they're is art being created by those who love Christ. I've met and spoken with fascinating
Art is a diverse range of human activities involving the creation of visual, auditory or performing artifacts, which express the creator's imagination, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA.COM
PSALMIST SCRIBE MAGAZINE | 4
CONTENTS
VISUAL
GRAPHIC
Digital Art
6
Harkin Deximire
35
Cultural Influence in Art
8
The LAM BOY
40
Making David
11
DD Miller Rise
42
The Artist J Illustrates
47
WRITING A Modern-Day David (poem)
12
Featured story: $100 later
16
MUSIC Music Therapy in the Bible Gospel hip hop: Get to know Joe
26 28
INTERACTIVE Going Virtual/Eternal Life Academy 51
OCTOBER
2020 | ISSUE 2
DIGITAL ART Going Virtual/Eternal Life Academy A Modern-Day David
-Poetry
"simpler for the modern man"
Paints and brushes were used as the form of creating art in the past. However, in contemporary days, many artists have shifted to use modern technology such as video technology, computers, and television to expand and explore their creativity. What is digital art? It refers to the creative work done or presented using digital technology. It includes images artistically designed using a computer or even hand-drawn and later scanned and sent into a computer where software programs such as Adobe Illustrator get used to complete the design. Additionally, digital art as well incorporates 3D Virtual images, animation, and other projects that make use of a combination of several technologies. Other forms of digital art constitute video image manipulation.
When was the term Digital Art Used?
Digital Painting was used in 1990 and made use of traditional painting methods such as watercolors, impastos, and oil painting. Digital painting uses a computer or a tablet, but the process is similar to traditional art resulting in painterly aesthetics.
Digital Photography makes use of
The term was first introduced in the 1980s where early computers with painting programs were used before they were named "Apps." Therefore it can be said that digital art generally involves an amalgamation between technology and art. Digital Art is impossible without computers. Ambitious artists explored the use of computers to generate digital arts between the 1950s and 1960s. The first experiment concerning computer art was done in 1965 by Frieder Nake, a German Artist. He creatively developed a computer algorithm, which made it possible to make some shape drwings. Those series of shapes were the earliest arts that were generated by the computer using an algorithm.The very first digital work to have been created was done in 1967 by two Americans, Leon Harmon, and Kenneth Knowlton. A nude woman photograph was captured and altered to form a picture constituted of computer pixels and named Computer Nude, and it resulted in the first form of digital art.With a brief history, let's dive into modern practices that constitute Digital Art.
real images taken through scanning, photographs, and satellite-imaging. Digital photography tends to mix between what is not and what is, causing boundaries to get blurred and distortion of what we understand as the truth. Sculpturing design is made possible
through computer-aided software and later displayed in the form of either physical objects or virtual images. Digital Installations is a form of
digital art has close relations with sculptures because of the 3D nature; however, the digital installation gives a new typology that impresses the viewer. It is interactive as it responds to visitors' inputs such as voice, touch, and body movements. Moving Image, Videos, and Animation , the three entails the
palpable scene for reality questioning. This technology permits the complete recording of an occurrence through time and space and, at the same time dealing with transformation and montage of what exactly happens. A moving image is mainly defined by two strands, namely; live-action and 3D and animation. Digital art has come a long way, and it has made things simpler for the modern man. Human beings have much-embraced technology and, as a result, tremendous developments such as algorithms made concerning Digital Art.
"the three entails the palpable scene for reality questioning."
OCTOBER 2020 ISSUE 2
CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN ART In this month's special issue:
A Modern day David
Get to know Joe $100 Later
Harkin Deximire
Written by Jennifer Fuller Artwork by Roman Bereziy
In 1885, a budding Dutch artist came across Japanese artwork while living in Belgium. The painter known for his still life, landscapes, and portraits in the predominant European art style of this period would be influenced by the Oriental elements he observed in the Japanese prints he collected. Today, Van Gogh’s work is world-famous for his distinctive style and a good case study on how culture influences artists and the art they create. Considering Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese culture and the impact it had on his art style, to say that culture directly influences the elements of a body of work would be accurate but simplistic. One needs to start with defining culture in the artist’s context, for it does not always pertain to ethnic or national identity. At least for Van Gogh, there was a true appreciation for Japanese art and sensibilities, and his artworks reveal how he engaged with the culture he drew inspiration from while already rooted in the culture he grew up in.
“After some time your vision changes, you see with a more Japanese eye, you feel color differently. I’m also convinced that it’s precisely through a long stay here that I’ll bring out my personality.” Vincent to his “After some time your vision changes, you see with a more Japanese eye, you feel color differently. I’m also convinced that it’s precisely through a long stay here that I’ll bring out my personality.” Vincent to his brother Theo from Arles, 5 June 1888 Preferences aside, Van Gogh could have dismissed the Japanese art style as unorthodox and unEuropean, and thus not worth emulating. Instead, he demonstrated his affinity for Japanese craftsmanship and perspectives in his art. The visual communicator in Van Gogh married the Impressionist style that was to be the foundation of his art with the Oriental elements he respected. At the same time, this engagement with culture was never detached from his personal preferences, experiences, and circumstances, giving birth to art that was organic and sincere.
To get a deeper insight into how culture influences art, one simply needs to look at how the artist is engaging with the culture they inhabit and how they choose to communicate this experience visually. One could argue for art movements that at a glance, do not seem to embody any kind of culture, such as in the minimalist, postmodernist, and non-conceptual art forms. But each of those examples express a different kind of engagement, one that limits culture’s influence by a rejection of its existing values and traditions. To communicate a certain worldview, the artist constricts or protests against the agency of culture upon their art. In more powerful expressions, the roles are reversed in that art influences and even transforms culture and societies.
brother Theo from Arles, 5 June 1888
In this sense, culture is more than a backdrop for art – it is the setting in which art is created. It inspires but also serves as the philosophical canvas and art materials that the artist can use. Its many facets reveal how the artist reacts to the culture and society they find themselves in, whether embracingly, critically, or violently. Having said all that, it is not the focal point of a body of work unless purposefully intended. That space is reserved for what the artist means to communicate and express through their art.
A MODERNDAY DAVID POETRY BY J. FISHER ARTWORK BY EVA CARBALLEIRA
A MODERN-DAY DAVID Writing the psalms I’m taking my deepest hurts And weaving them into songs I’m not great at just speaking and throwing words in the air I can articulate pros But I stumble in prayer So God, here I stand Pouring myself out to You Because all I have left is the promise of Your Truth I’m trying to make sense Of the way things turned out how I got to where I am And what this life is about David cried out many times From the pits of despair And just like him, I am begging “Please save me, I’m scared” I have known pain in this world That no human should know I was so buried in shame I had no prospect of hope When I first met You I couldn’t believe it was real But You took all that trauma That I thought couldn’t heal Inside my heart I was just a broken child I was angry and lost And maybe a little wild You gave me hope For the first time in my life You picked me up, brushed me off Promised me I’d be alright And there in that moment I stood in awe of Your glory Your greatness and love Were more than just a nice story But here I am some years late And I’m doubting You again Because life’s gotten hard And I’m stuck in my sin Oh God, I am hurting And I can’t find the
Tright words All I know is it’s heavy And the pressure...it hurts I’m so disappointed By what I can and can’t do And I have to remind my soul That You’ll use this too My story isn’t over I know it’s just a different struggle And at least now I know where To find hope when I’m troubled So why do I still doubt When I’ve seen what You can do And why do I hold on When You say to let loose I’m trying to trust And remember it’s not about me But the reason for this world Is making Your majesty seen So just like David From the depths of despair I’ll continue to cry out “Father, I’m scared ”Because just like a loving Father You save me from the fear And just like a loving Father You catch my every tear
M A K I N G D A V I D
1.First head
of
and
2.keep and
all,
a
rough
main
to
place
the
features
sketching
ends,
sketch
where
focusing
in
the
the
head
starts
general
shapes
less 3.Now
that
it
starts
to
have
a
human
shape, 4.I
start
the
shading
shadows
are
the
darkest
going
to
areas
be
done
where with
watercolor 5.defining one .I
some
between
start
the
mixing
watercolor
from
a
water
can
it
with
of
water[which
8.start
the
basic skin,
brush
a
lines,
as
the
lips
some
7.using do
important
in
regular I’m
expanding
beard
this
in and
case,
brush
using the
tones
and
crown
but
you
glass
later]
paint
through
the
sketch 9.Don’t dirty
worry,
at
shadow
the
the
is
normal
area
very
we
sketched
drawing
and
with
it
looks
in
the
on
the
first
adding
detail
same
watercolor12...increasing color
that
beginning10.focusing
place11.Keep with
it
each
layer.
the
intensity
of
TRA ERUTAEF
TUTORIAL AND ARTWORK BY EVA CARBALLEIRA
MAKING DAVID 24.aldough you can't really erase in
David, we can't forget about the crown14.I
watercolor, you can get a similar effect
start painting golden tones on the face
by using your fingers25.more mixed
15.since the crown's light will reflect on the
tones in the crown26.start adding the
face, as it happens in reality16.this is called
bright tones of the crown that we don't
"reverberation", and also put skin tones on
find in the skin27.keep defining shapes
the crown17.started using the regular brush
and adding color28.reinforcing the
now, with the glass of water18.by painting
shadows29.it is often the hardest part
the beard we also define the mouth19.start
to know where to finish!30.it is a matter
carefully detailing the eyes and their
of instinct more than technique31.there
expression20.here, to add expression to the
lies the true artist within yourself
last details, I just use less water21.From now on it starts to come together22.let's work on the crown and its tones, as it also reflects the skin23.there is nothing wrong with touching the painting to "remove" something
TRA ERUTAEF
Watercolor is all about layers13.since it is King
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Submit to submit@psalmistscribe.com
JUST
$100 LATER
By Stephen Hillman Artwork by Roman Bereziy
INVISABLE PEOPLE They are those who stand forgotten. They are seen yet hold power to you turn away. Their story is hidden beneath hopelessness and behind a wall of uncharity. Where they are is where you are, where they are few seek them, and where they are few desire to be found. For they are invisible.
It's almost sunset. The downtown traffic switches over to the night shift. Nothing really stops, but it does slow a little. For Harvey Dodge, however, this was the end of the line. Not that he had a job, not in the traditional sense anyway. Not in any sense, to be honest. Harvey had no job, he had no home either. His days were as you would expect them to be; Monday was Harvey standing on a corner with a sign that said “hungry. Need food”, Tuesday was Harvey standing on the corner holding up a sign that said “hungry people need food” and from Wednesday to Sunday was more of the same. Although he had three signs that he liked to rotate from time to time. He
liked to think he had some say-so over the encounters. He had a few spots where he could stand, and no one would bother him, other areas were more fruitful but had a time limit. That limit usually came in the form of a manager or a passing police car. None of that mattered anyway, not today at least, because some days it didn't matter what sign Harvey used, or what corner he stood at, some days people were tight with cash and their eyes looked past him. Unfortunately, today was kind of a bust.
Not $1, not even $0.01. There were plenty of bad days all around, but this had been a particularly bad week. Who was he kidding? They were all bad. Calling it anything else would have been a delusion, and despite everything, the one thing Harvey didn’t believe in was self-deception. He thought he’d seen enough of the world to see it for what it was- a trap- it just took a while for some to realize it than others. Life is simple, you're born wanting something you don’t have, only to fear losing it once you finally get it. Whether it’s your life, or a loved one, your house, your car it didn’t matter. Everyone loses in the end, the stuff that comes before was cruel. Harvey accepted that and knew it was nothing to get angry over. Who was he to want for something more than fleeting moments of happiness? To want was to welcome pain, and he’d had enough of that.
Lost in thought, Harvey only realized he was nearly home when he looked. Home was a loose definition these days. It was wherever he found himself at night when he was too tired to stay awake. Although he had found a spot under a bridge that suited him just fine. It was close to the downtown area, so he was in reasonable walking distance of all the major events that went on, which meant more opportunities to make a buck. He even had a view of the river, “Ha! You see, world, I don’t need you”, Harvey shouted eternally, “I make my own way, set my own rules”. He made his way over to his usual spot and made camp. A massive eruption from his abdomen reminded him he would be losing weight yet again, whether he wanted to or not. He grabbed one his old shirts, made a pillow out of it, and drifted off to sleep.
“Excuse me? Hello?. The voice was irritating, but he couldn’t ignore it any longer. His eyes popped open and met that of a young woman’s. What was this about? His first thought was that a police officer was giving him an eviction notice, which meant he would likely have to move further out of town. But then again she had on plain clothes instead of a uniform. And besides that, she did look young, almost teenage-like. Why couldn’t this wait till morning? “What? I’m not doing nothing, can’t you just leave me be”. “I’m sorry we don't mean to bother you..” Wait! We? He looked passed her and saw, true enough she was not alone. He wasn’t fully awake yet, but he counted four of them, including the young woman speaking with him. And now that he saw all of them together, he placed them in the category of children. At least compared to him, they were, which put him more on edge than before. A police officer or two he was used to, but teenagers? Whatever prank or rascal plan they had in store for him, he wouldn't lay down and take it. “ What are you doing? What do you want? Everything you see is mine! Don't touch anything!” Raised hands, the young woman motioned to her group to step back, “ No one wants to take anything from you, Sir. We want to give you something.”
Looking from the young woman to her friends who looked more scared than menacing, he considered the possibility that he might not have to fight tonight. Still, he wouldn’t let his guard down even for an innocent face like hers. “What do you want to give me?” She began shaking, and reached into her back pocket, Harvey brought himself up to a crouch position in case he was wrong about intentions despite her innocent-looking face. He relaxed when she withdrew a red envelope. With a smile, she handed it to him. “Have a good night, Sir” she rose up and withdrew with the small group. They disappeared into a nice car, up the hill and were gone before he realized there was writing on the outside of the letter.
“Priceless Lamb” was written on the front. Besides the confusing label, he thought it looked harmless enough. Surely if someone wanted to do him harm, they're more effortless ways to go about it than this. He ripped it opened, and his hand caught the five twenty-dollar bills that slid out of it. He was dumbfounded, this didn’t just happen, he thought. Moving the cash from one hand to the other, he counted again and again—$ 100. A group of teens just gave me $100 he repeated to himself. It must have been a full five minutes before he noticed that there was a letter inside as well. “Hello Harvey, if you're reading this then it means that we finally followed through. You don’t know us, but we've seen you many times. I don't know what kind of life you've had, or what you've been through to get to this point in your life, but I believe in helping each other when we’re put down. You see my friends, and I attend a church nearby. You've actually visited before, we were giving out food. Our pastor met with you, and you introduced yourself. I overheard, so that was where I picked up your name. That was months ago, but ever since then, you've been on my heart. I'm not sure why, I think God wants me to tell you he hasn’t forgotten you, and that he loves you. I’m kind of shy so sorry if I don’t say much. And I'm sorry if this isn’t a lot, but I hope it helps With Blessing Rebekah.
Drops of tears washed over the ink in her name. He sat there until he fully came to terms with what happened. When he was through, he got up and made his way down the street. First things first, food. Something simple at a local fast food restaurant was enough. It had been so long since he had a juicy burger. When he stepped in, he reached for the money quickly, he’d been here before, when it got cold, and the staff was not too keen on him staying longer than five seconds. Not a customer, no seating! Like clockwork, a Sawed-off little man sped walk from the front counter. Before he could get the words out of his mouth, Harvey lifted up one of the twenty-dollar bills. He rolled his eyes and disappeared into the back. “Good. Hope I don't have to see him again”, Harvey thought. He ordered a number seven with extra fries.
Cost= $7.30 Balance=$92.70 He admitted having a chair to sit on was slightly more comfortable than concrete. While he ate, he eyed the convenience store across the street. It was nearly 9 A.M., so Jimmy would be working, which was a good thing because he had always been nice to him. The bell announced his presence and a tall, slender kid came around from the back, carrying a box full of items. “Hello and welcome to..oh hey Harvey.”“Jimmy, mind if I browse around?”“ Sure thing bro. The boss isn't here, and you know I don't mind” Jimmy replied and went back to filling shelves. He wasn’t even going to keep watch on him like some others would. Good kid! One of the few that he cared to carry on a conversation with. Most likely because he treated him like a human being and not some stray animal. Whenever Harvey got some cash, this was his favorite place to spend it. So... “hey, Jimmy let me ask you something. If you came in possession of some money, what would you do?” Jimmy turns away from stalking the shelves “oh? Did you do good today, Harvey? It's not even noon yet.” “Oh I did good Jimmy, I didn't even go looking for it. These pack of kids gave me $100! FIVE $20 bills at once!”“ Wow! They must be super-rich. How much you got left? I know you got that burger already.”“ Couldn't help it. I got around 90 left.”“ You know if you spend it right, you can do something with that.”“ Jimmy a hundred dollars is like a thousand to me right now, but to everybody else, it's chump change.” “ I wouldn’t say that Mr. Harvey, you never know that could be all you need. Be careful with the cash, though.“ It’s not like I got a MasterCard Jimmy.” Jimmy pointed to the front counter “ you know we do sell those”“ What credit cards?”“ Sort of it's one of those prepaid cards, you put money on it, and you can use it as a debit.”“ And why would I do that?”“ People tend to take you seriously if you're paying with a card nowadays”. On that, he could not argue. Jimmy had a point “Harvey stop, what if you could do something meaningful?”. He cast his mind back to the front of the envelope. He hadn’t thought of it at the time, but the girl knew his name but still put “Priceless lamb” on the front. Jimmy Get me a razor, shaving cream and a comb and ring me up!
Cost= $8.95 Balance=$83.75 It was another ten blocks before he reached his next stop, maybe Jimmy was right. Perhaps a little could go a long way. “Priceless” the word repeated itself over and over again until he breached the doors of a local thrift shop. With renewed determination, he headed right for the suits. He may be homeless, but maybe if he didn’t look like it, he might avoid the dirty looks. He found a nice three-piece blue suit, and better yet it was on sale with a pair of shoes to match. Cost= $12.50Balance=$71.25“ And how can we help you?” the gym employee looked Harvey over, he could imagine what he was thinking. Must be embarrassing having a homeless man in your lobby, carrying big bags, not including the backpack. He must be worried that he would set up camp. Well, he was practically right. Harvey knew this gym was one of those 24 hrs gyms, and that members have full access to showers, bathrooms, and even a massage bed. He may look like a mess, but today it was a paying customer. There was nothing anyone could do about it, Harvey withdrew his card “How much is a monthly membership?”. The hour was well spent. He took full advantage of the members-only locker room; he showered, got a fresh shave, and put on the new clothes. After this grooming, he could hardly recognize himself in the mirror, let alone front desk clerk. Cost= $10.00 Balance=$61.25With only two stops left, Harvey gulped at the front entrance to the Lockard hotel. This was a bit of a gamble but here goes nothing. He noticed instantly as he strolled through the lobby; actually, he noticed when he left the gym. People looked at him differently. For once, they looked at him and not just a sideward glance as per usual. And in some cases, they actually smiled. Which had been different, to say the least. As nice as that was, he didn’t come here to be looked at. Nope, he wanted at least one night of no concrete, and perhaps it would be the last time as well. “Room for a night.”
Cost= $30Balance=$31.25 From the moment that he left Jimmy all those hours ago, Harvey knew that despite all the stops that came before, this was the one that mattered. He had promised himself that if there were a clear sign that he wasn’t supposed to die in some gutter, he would fight back to civilization. The words on the envelope were still present when the floor manager took a seat across from him. “Harvey, right? I have to admit, not too many have been applying for this job. It’s long hours, and you’ll be in charge of the whole facility. That means at any given time you’ll be in charge of 50 or more employees, many of these guys are a little rough around the edges if you know what I mean. I see that you have a gap in employment history, I’d interested to know what you’ve been up to. But my first question is simply can you handle this?” With a held breath, Harvey did the most difficult thing he’d done in a long time. “Sir, I’m no stranger to harsh conditions, and difficult people I can relate to. As for the gap in employment, I disappeared for a while. See five years ago, I lost everything. I once had a family, and then I didn’t. Before you ask it was a car accident, I blamed myself even if no one else did. I lost my son, and couldn’t bear to look my wife in the eye anymore. My work suffered until they couldn’t afford to keep me anymore. Instead of going home, I went nowhere, in particular, however recently I got some …..mail that motivated to try again. I know that a lot of this is probably not good to hear in an interview, but I wanted to be transparent with you. ”There was silence for what seemed like an eternity. The manager got up, met Harvy around the desk, and held out his hand “Glad to have you. When can you start?”
One Year later It’s late, and the city changes positions once again. Tom waits outside of the downtown music hall, but he’s not trying to get in, that would be ridiculous even by his standards. Not that any of the employees would let him get two feet in the door anyway. A quick look from his scruffy shoes to his worn skull hat made it clear that he didn’t come to this neighborhood for a good evening, but his home was around the corner. Or rather it was the corner. He kept a good distance and waited for the show to end. It was a bit of a long shot, but if even one of these big wiggs gave the smallest bill out their wallet, he might be able to eat tonight. The big clock that hung overhead stuck ten, and with a few minutes, the sidewalk was filled with a higher class. He held up his sign and a bucket at his feet and hoped for the best. A bird's view would see the scene as puzzling, like a stream of flowing water the people parted around the beggar. Occasionally a few droplets of coins echoed in his bucket. He smiled and met their glances Fleeting though they were. Except one broke from the pack, a large grip squeezed his shoulder so much that he thought he was being thrown backwards. Except he was being embraced, a small amount of terror was standard for the occasion. “Hi there, fella!” the boisterous words of a large man echoed through Tom’s eardrums. The man was well dressed, like everyone else. The blue in his suit matched the color of his irises, the fact that he could see his eyes was a strange event in and of itself.
But more than that he was speaking to him, perhaps he was intoxicated. "You know you remind me of someone who used to come down these streets and carry around a little bucket just like that. Here you go, friend, just reloaded it". In his hand was a debit card. "Should have at least $100 on it"."Wow, thanks, Sir! I don't know what to…" what was happening was this a trick?" Ha! I know that look. No, this isn't a trick or no cruel joke. It's my pleasure to be a blessing. You See this makes my night, you see that pretty angel there" he motioned to a woman a few feet away. “We're celebrating our anniversary, a year ago almost to the day God rescued me from sorrow and disparity.
Now I'm about to take my lady out for dinner, ha God is good!"“Well that’s a good thing, Sir, and thank you for this. You two have a pleasant evening" He just couldn't believe it he turned to leave not wanting to press his luck any further. However, once again, the arm turned him around again."Now I do apologize for running my gums a little, but my wife can tell you, once I get going it'll take a brick wall to stop me. So if you wouldn't mind, would you want to join us for dinner?""What? Are you serious? You want me to come with you?""Well, all I'm saying is I can eat, and anyway I can tell you what I did with my last $31.
MUSIC THERAPY IN THE BIBLE
By Ivy Cabading Music is a gift from God, and God has a purpose for it in our lives. The Bible is full of historical accounts of Music. Starting from Genesis to Revelations, you will see Music
suggested that they hire a musician who could
being used to praise the Lord, to cry out to
play Music to make him feel better. One of these
God, and even to win battles. The longest
servants recommended that they hire Jesse's son,
book of the Bible, when it comes to the
"David." David was described as "a talented harp
number of chapters and verses, is the hymnbook, Psalms. One of the significant composers or writers of this hymnbook is
player, a brave warrior, a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him." ( 1 Sam 16:18) . So they brought David to the temple, and he worked as
King David.
Saul's music therapist, "And whenever the
David as Saul's Music Therapist Before David
took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul
fought with Goliath, he became the music therapist of King Saul. According to the Bible, in 1 Samuel 16:14-23, after the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, he suffered depression and fear. His servants
harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him." ( 1 Samuel 16:23).
First Recorded account of Music Therapy According to Dr David M. Greenberg, 1 Samuel 16:14-23 is the first recorded music therapy session in history. Music therapy is still relatively young compared to other disciplines. It was only in the 1940s and 50s after the World Wars that community musicians went to veterans ' hospitals across the country to play music. This activity was done in the hopes of helping veterans cope from their physical and emotional trauma. Music therapy then progressed from there until the world's first music therapy degree was established at Michigan State University in 1944.
He wants us to "sing and make music from 'our' hearts" (Eph5:19) Music Therapy is defined as "a comprehensive and evidence-based use of music to accomplish individualized outcomes within a therapeutic relationship by a licensed specialist who has completed an accredited music therapy program". Looking at the record in 1 Samuel 16:14-23, it is valid to claim David's music sessions with Saul as the first-ever music therapy session, over 3000 years ago. David's music therapy session with Saul helped Saul recover from his troubles, and David is the professional music therapist who was licensed by God's Holy Spirit to bring healing through music. Music speaks to our emotions. It is a very powerful tool that can control how we feel at the moment that we engage in it. That's why God wants us to "sing for joy and shout aloud" (Ps. 95:10) to Him. He wants us to "sing and make music from 'our' hearts" (Eph5:19) for Him because Music influences our hearts, and when we sing praises to Him, our hearts heal from all the worries of the world and be reminded of how wonderful, powerful, and loving our God is.
Get to Know JOE FOCUS Joe Focus
Joe:I started listening to Christian hip hop in 1998,
Cross Movement came out with the House of
which was around the time Grape Tree Records was
Representatives in ‘99.
pretty much at the peak at the time. My first gospel rap album I ever listened to was Lil' Raskull, Glory to Glory.
Stephen:I remember that.
It had certain beats because that was ‘98, and I had never heard of gospel rap before 1998. I was listening
Joe:I took heat off of that because I was into Wu-Tang,
to mostly Wu-Tang and things like that. That album
and there was a group of people rapping pretty much
was my first gospel rap. I bought it at a Christian store
like Wu-Tang at the time, but they were talking about
that was right across the street from Blue Gibbons in
Christ. If you remember, they made a mention of this on
Bond Hill, called True Broom. I bought that album, and
the History album in 2007. They made it number three
I listened to it. I didn't get another till Cross Movement.
on the rap city charts. The number one single at the
INTERVIEW
PAGE 29
At the time was Eminem’s Hi My Name is. When they found out that they were a Christian rap group, they kicked them off of MTV. Stephen: I do remember that, a little bit Joe:Yes, because they mentioned that on the history album that when they found out that they were Christian, they kicked them off. When I heard that album, I went and found it because it was difficult. Gospel rap in those days, it wasn't like you could just go and pick it up. You had to find a specific store and all that, and there weren’t that many places. Stephen:You have to seek that out. You have to hunt it down. Joe:Yes, especially if it was a popular album that just came out, you really had to. In those days, there wasn't really any internet. You had to listen to the thing. They probably say, “Out now at Sam Goody's,” or something like that. You had to go to Sam Goody. They probably didn't have it in stock because it wasn't popular and no one knew what gospel rap was. They knew Will at the time. Will Smith was out with Jiggy Wit It but they didn't have House of Representatives. He was like, “Oh, man.” You had to know somebody that knows somebody that listens to gospel rap. They know how to maneuver.
After a while, I started listening to mostly Cross Movement, Grape Tree Records, but then I got really into Cross Movement. They started having their own record label, which brought out, of course, Da' T.R.U.T.H., Flame, and Lecrae in ’04 because all their albums dropped the same year, 2004. After that, I was a fan. I was already doing rap. I was a hip hop artist. I used to do battle raps at Top Cats and different things like that. I've been writing music since I was 12 but I really didn't get all the way into gospel rap, or really be a gospel rapper until I got the calling in 2007. Stephen: So, you were introduced to it in ‘98. It starts popping a little bit across 2004. Do you want everyone to talk about that time? Joe:Yes.
So instead of looking at him and saying, “I want to be the next Lecrae,” be the first you..
Joe: Yes. I've told many young artists that first come in and try to get started. Be yourself. Talk about what you know. The one thing that I think has damaged some of the industry is, even though it's no disrespect, but now that you see Lecrae getting Grammys and this type of stuff, now everybody thinks that I got to be a Lecrae. You got to be you. Lecrae had to put in a lot of work. Lecrae has almost 15 years in gospel rap. He put in a lot of work. He put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, and a label. So instead of looking at him and saying, “I want to be the next Lecrae,” be the first you..
I wanted to be me. I already knew what I was capable of being but I had to learn my craft. I had to learn how to relate certain things. I had to learn how to have stage presence. I had to learn how to write a song and make the song make sense. I had to learn how to study the Bible and find what scriptures made sense of what I'm trying to say so it can float better. It wasn't just I’m making songs. I had to really do a lot of studying to find out what I'm trying to deliver. Me and my wife had just talked about that yesterday, about what each album meant at the time that I wrote the album, and why did I write that album?
Stephen: I do remember that because I did listen to all those albums but I think I came in a little bit later because I was in college. I'm thinking of 2007, 2008. That's when I started listening on a consistent basis but it was like one or two guys at my church. It was in that weird time where CDs were out, but cassettes were still around. They were into Christian hip hop. I didn't know what it was. At the time, maybe I was just a little more conservative kid. I just though hip hop is bad hip hop, bad rap, or whatever. Joe:I think, what caught my eye was I grew up with D-Mob, and I grew up with Classic K, DJ Classic K. Stephen:So you were already exposed to some? Joe:Yes, because I had heard of F.I.C. They came to me and was like, “We're going to do this group called F.I.C.” This was in the mid90s. I didn't know anything about gospel rap at the time. This is before I got introduced to the Cross Movement in ‘98. This was probably ’97 or ’96. I was still a senior in high school at the time. They were like, “We got to make this group called F.I.C., and all this,” and I was like, “Okay.” I didn't think too much of it after that. I didn't know how deep this thing was going to be.
By the time I got into my calling in ’07, I went to a person that we both know, Miss Sharon and Calvin at the pharmacy. At the time, me and my partner, because I came into gospel rap as a group for E4C at the time, we were trying to get on. We were trying to get into gospel rap. She gave us a chance. We only had one song and she’d let us perform this one song every week until we wrote a second song. Then she said, “Did you get another song?” We were like, “Yes” “Okay, go up on the stage and do it.” We were like, “Okay.” She and Calvin took us to different places, to roller skate places. We did the Radisson Hotel and went to Tennessee, and all these different places. I met R-Swift through Sharon, Me, and Kindle, Lionel Clark. When we were E4C, we opened up for R-Swift. We opened up for Gambino. And we only had two songs at that time. We opened up for Diesel. I still have those poster covers when Calvin and Sharon did it back then. You will see our little name at the bottom E4C, and we only had two songs at the time that. We were recording the album and going there but things went different. He decided to leave the group, and then I went solo in 2011 when I did my debut solo album, Encouraging Words, Jesus Loves You. Everything else went from there after that.
Stephen: I guess what my second question is, for people who never made a hip hop song, what goes into making a song? Joe: First of all, you have to have what are you going to talk about? We’re going first with, why do you even want to be a gospel rapper? Once you understand your mission and understand what your gifts are, that's pretty much how me becoming a gospel rapper even happened. It was learning what my gifts were, and then saying, “These are my gifts. Now, how do I apply these gifts?” I had already been doing music so it was this little connection that was happening, and encouragement. I was mostly a hip hop artist, like Gang Starr, Brand New, being commentconscious. I was already a conscious-type person anyway, so gospel rap linked in pretty well, because it was already about thinking: thinking about the Bible, thinking about how the Bible connects to this, how the Bible connects to that? It made it really easy for me. That's the first part. The second part is confidence. If you're not confident in your song, if you're not confident in what God gave you to tell people, to encourage people, if you don't have that type of confidence, it is not going to relate to anybody. You got to know for yourself. After you know for yourself, then know who you are and be like, “I have something to share with the world,” even if it's different than what's normally going on because my life wasn't like a lot of other people's lives. Some rappers, they went to jail and they went to this as Da' T.R.U.T.H. said. They had all these crime stories. I didn't have any crime stories. I'm a church boy that used to usher and sing in the choir. I talked about what I knew. Stephen:I can relate. I know what song you’re talking about. The Open Book .Joe:Yes. The Moment of Truth was his debut album. Another thing was, why would I try to say that I was this and that when I grew up with Classic K. I grew up with D-Mob. I grew up with Chosen. We all grew up together. You know my parents. You know my sister. You know my family. You know I went to Woodward High School. So, you know I wasn't a thug.
I did not stay saying those types of things. That’s not Joe. Joe played video games and things, and stuff like that. I talked about what I knew. I had confidence. I stayed in my own lane. I didn't try to be anybody else. I just tried to be me. Stephen: So you would discourage anybody that will get into this, and try and play another character, like another person that is not them?
You have to have those things. You just don't want to just be coming out with anything and then people are like, “Why did you write this song?” Especially, people, that's really religious and really into the Bible. They will sit there and know every scripture that you're saying. So they're going to ask you, “Why did you write this?” You have to have an answer to it. Stephen:So every one of your projects has a theme and there was a purpose? Joe: Yes, every album. Encouraging Words was dealing with encouragement, so it was mostly the fruit of the Spirit type of situation. It was a happy go lucky because, at the time when I wrote Encouraging Words and Jesus Loves You, you had a lot of people talking about the truth. I didn't go to jail. I didn't have this case, and that case, and then I found God, and then this and this. I had to tell my own story.
A lot of the songs were the real negative or real down, so I was like, “I don't hear anybody making just a happy song.” That's why I've made Encouraging Words. The album is "There were a lot of very happy. The second album was a little bit about who I was as a young people person. Some of the struggles, committing suicide some of the successes, some of the so I wrote things I've gone through, and how I got to who I am as a person. Bubblegum Bubblegum Smoothie at the time in Smoothie as an anti2015 as you remember, the suicide suicide, anti-bullying game was really big with kids. There were a lot of young people album for little kids." committing suicide so I wrote Bubblegum Smoothie as an antisuicide, anti-bullying album for little kids. That's why Bubblegum Smoothie is for little kids, five years old to 10 or 11. It's all about to be yourself, and God loves you, and you have hope and things like that. It was directed to little children. That's why I did a lot of little kids shows in those days.
HARKIN DEXIMIRE Harkin Deximire is an artist and a novelist. She was born in Manila, the Philippines
Harkin Deximire
"There's always an inspiration and motivation in your heart no matter how tiny it may seem"Â
18
ATTIC Â | Â OCTOBER 2020 You have done illustrations, writing, and animation. What started all this? I think it is when you have dreams and goals in life. There's always an inspiration and motivation in your heart no matter how tiny it may seem. But that's what helps me to boost my imagination and to start with everything that I am doing ever since. When creating work such as Reaching out to the Mighty Savior, what prompted that? I believe "Reaching out to the Mighty Savior" art piece is a Holy Spirit inspired. Basically, I drew that artwork for my client's project last year. He has a song and he wanted to put that a story which would be done through many drawings and animation as part of worshipping the Lord Jesus, and "Reaching out to the Mighty Savior" is one of the drawings I drew for that animation. Before I began the project, the first thing I did was praying and asking God to help me to deliver the message wonderfully through drawings. Also at that time, I was still very new to 'semi-realism art style' and I was so worried that I might not meet my client's expectations. I knew it would be difficult for me...
But along the way, I believe God was there with me... like He was my teacher. I felt I didn't do the drawings all by myself. For me, it felt like He was at my side and He led me and helped me during the progress. He filled my heart with such joy, inspiration, motivation, and admiration in order for me to keep going. It boosted my imagination more and helped me to picture the concept in mind to convey the message beautifully by drawing them. Until then I know I pleased God too with my illustrations and animation when I received my client's good feedback about it, and that inspires me more and more.
That's very inspiring. From a technical standpoint what are the tools you use?. I use drawing tablets, such as Wacom and IpadPro.
HARKIN DEXIMIRE:
BUT ALONG THE WAY, I BELIEVE GOD WAS THERE WITH ME... LIKE HE WAS MY TEACHER
So with you using tablets do you consider what you create digital art? And if so does that make bringing your imagination to life easier? ItI do traditional art and digital art. But I don't use different pencils or any tools in traditional art. I only use a mechanical pencil for 2B lead, tissue and cotton bud for smudging, and of course eraser for erasing and sometimes for highlights.But since I am a self-taught artist, I am still in a process of learning and trying to understand the techniques all by myself. Same goes with the digital art, I am still learning the uses of the tools and other features of the drawing software I use. I'm also still in the process of learning new techniques as I always seek for new different art styles or improvement on my drawing skills. For me, I think bringing your imagination to life easier could be done in both ways. But that will only depend on how you're going to make it. (Which I am referring to the tools, techniques, knowledge, and else you have)
But of course, there's an advantage of creating illustrations through digital. Especially the tools you need are already there in the software. You just have to find and learn about the uses of each tool to make your drawing become easier.
THE LAM BOY What brought you into animation.
In high school we had access to adobe flash (now adobe animate) and it was common for kids to be playing around animating something. So I would follow suit and enjoyed making skateboarding animations. And Where did you get your start?
While I was studying character animation at university there was an opportunity at my church to make an animated short videos about what the kids would be learning in kids church. I made a weekly animated cartoon explaining the Bible stories that were played during the church service. How long have you been doing work like this?
I started making comics and animated short films in 2006 while at university, so around 14 years now. Technically I started making comics when I was very young. I think I may have been around 7 when I made a superhero comic with very bad spelling. Regards Jonathan
Psalmist Scribe
ISSUE NO.2
DD MILLER RISE
INTERVIEW
PAGE 26
PSALMIST SCRIBE
INTERVIEW
ARE COMICS ART? AN INTERVIEW WITH DD MILLER BY STEPHEN HILLMAN
Yes, I believe that comic books are an art form. I mean, of course, it's got to be an art form. The whole main makeup for a comic book is the visuals. I have the lettering to tell the story, but you have the pencils, the inks, and coloring. That's what makes comic books, in general, more unique than any other art form because it's done in community form. No other art form is done in community form where you have different people in. The community form of the way a comic book is put together makes it more unique than any other art form. Giving in the fact that normally, you would have the creation of the shared – the penciler, the inker, and the colorist,
the letterer, the writer, and the creator – they all come together as a community to put a comic book together. That makes it unique. Usually, when you have something like painting or sketching, it's the creation, and it's done from one person. But in comic books, normally, it's four, five, six people, maybe even more to create that comic book. That's what makes it a unique art form.
That's what makes it a unique art form.
AI just wanted to be able to make cutting edge
I'm trying to put together a graphic novel, like the
Christian comic books in the hero genre so that
Justice League, for DC. All of my characters are
Christians could have a superhero, like Superman, to
going to join together and they're going to be
look up to themselves that carried the Christian values.
called the Legion of Light. It will be a graphic novel
I want our Wonder Woman with Christian values. All of
based on some huge event that unites them, I
them, all their powers are supernatural that come from
should say, to fight together against some huge evil
the Creator, and the acknowledgment of needing the
plot. You know how it goes but it will be me
faith to draw upon the faith in God, in Christ, to be able
introducing all of them together, united, called the
to have that power and that strength. Even if I might
Legion of Light. That's also in the works, too.I plan
not put scripture upon scriptures, the stories will show
for the Legion of light graphic novel to be 45 to 60
you that these people depend and call upon the name
pages. I'm sorry about that. The Legion of light, I
of the Lord and Jesus for their power, their
have something very unique. It's going to be a very
supernatural.I'm going to run a Kickstarter for Rise,
unique group of villains going to be fighting against
issue two. It will pick up with him discovering who is
them. It will be controversial for some people but
behind the creation of this man-beast, and the actual
it's good. It's basically where we're heading
plot, what they're trying to do, which is create a man-
religious-wise. The signs are there, but yes, the
beasts army. It will also have plenty of action right off
Legion of light will be everybody together to fight
the bat. That's where Rise is going. If you haven't read
against this evil group of super-evil villains. It's
Christian flag though, you need to get that. Issue two is
going to be very unique though in its approach.
coming. We had a successful Kickstarter with Christian flag issue two. That's pretty much what I got going on.
What made me get into comic books, just at childhood, love for comic books from the very beginning, always wanted to come up with my own characters, which was different because everybody took the route it seemed like of always drawing something for Marvel and DC. When I was a child, from the very beginning, I was always trying to create my own comic books. I have never gotten to a place where I would even draw anything from DC or Marvel. I’ve always drawn my own characters. I do all the layouts for the comic books that I have now published. That is what got me into it. I wanted to be an artist.
I never grew into being a great artist, in my opinion, to where I felt I could stand on my own, and pencil, and ink, and color my own comic books but I learned and got really good at typography. That's the layout of the comic books, creating the logos, and doing the sketches and layouts for all my comic books. I do all the sketches and layouts for my comic books, panel to panel. One unique thing about me is I don't write scripts. I do all the layouts page for page, panel for panel, send it to the artists to have it redrawn, inked, and then colored. Once I get the pages back, I
ÉCHAPPER | 04
write the script according to the final product. I do my scripts after I get the pages back. Sometimes I start the script off in the idea. Once I did the sketches in the layouts, I pretty much know where I want the story to go. That's one reason why I do all the layouts myself because I want to know where the story is going to go by looking at it myself. Then, once I get the inks back, I'm already starting to write the script out. Normally when I got the colors back, I'm pretty much finished with the script. That's how I do it. I don't send scripts for artists to do the layouts according to what I write. I lay out everything, page for page, panel for panel, myself, and then just have them redraw it in their own styles. Every artist has their own style. I take advantage of the fact that they have a better style in art form discipline than me,
ÉCHAPPER | 03
but I do the original sketches and layouts for all the books.
I consider what I do Christian comic books in the form of like ministry and evangelism. I want to reach people with the gospel but my whole goal was to also make comic books. The way comic books were in the golden age where good versus evil was clearly seen. If you look at all my characters, one thing I made it a point to do is none of them are vigilantes. They all have been sanctioned in some way by their respective governments to be allowed to be the heroes that they are in their cities where they're from. That was one thing I made a huge point in.
OCTOBER 2020, ISSUE 2
THERE'S MORE!
One more thing NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Did you know there is more to this issue? I know but
ETERNAL LIFE ACADEMY
unfortunately, due to the current restrictions We’re aren’t able to post the full issue on Issuu (Pun intended). Don’t worry you won’t have to spend anymore, however, if you’re interested in the rest please head over to Psalmist Scribe.com -Making David Issue 2 and entered code PSIssuu2 for the free download. Hope to see you there!
