“Impressions of the Cross” at The Stirring Art Gallery

Event description:
“Impressions of the Cross” is a group art exhibit at the Stirring Art Gallery featuring local artist Kyle Holley and his unique clay crosses with impressed designs and patterns. Kyle Holley creates what he likes to call “Impressions Pottery.” He grew up in a family of potters and can remember as a child going into the yard to find rocks, sticks or anything else that would leave a neat impression in the clay. Over the years, Holley worked in about every method of making pottery. However, he never found the same excitement or pleasure that he did as a kid simply by experimenting with pressing things into the clay.

In addition to Holley, ten other Stirring artists have submitted many original paintings reflecting their own personal impressions of the cross. The total of over 140 cross-themed works reflect the many different interpretations and perspectives of the cross that each of us has.

When:
Opening Reception
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9th

Viewers are invited to attend The Stirring worship experience at 7:00 p.m. During this special service, local artist Richard Fudge will create original artwork live on stage. Following the service at 8:00 p.m., guests can view the exhibit talk to the artists, and purchase work.

“Impressions of the Cross” will be on display from April 9th to June 7th.
The gallery is open 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. The Stirring Art Gallery also can be viewed during Hope Church’s regular office hours.

Where:
The Stirring Art Gallery in Hope Church
(located upstairs inside Entrance 1)
8500 Walnut Grove Rd., Cordova, Tennessee 38018
www.hopepres.com • www.thestirring.net • 901-755-7721


Kyle Holley:
Clay has the wonderful ability to accept anything that you are willing to press into it and forevermore hold onto the design as if it were with it all along. Holley is continuously searching for that next design just waiting to be captured by the open canvas found within a slab of clay.

Kyle Holley didn’t start making crosses until 7 or 8 years ago. Before that, he had made about everything that you could make out of clay except crosses. His mother, in that infinite wisdom of mothers, told him one day, “You should make crosses. Everyone loves crosses and besides that, they sell really well.” Although he just didn’t feel that was his calling, he gave it a try. That was 8 years and many thousands of crosses ago.

“I would have thought that I should have run out of new ideas and definitely lost interest in making them but I think God definitely has His hand in what I’m doing and thanks to Him, the ideas never stop flowing and each week a new batch heads out into the world hopefully to help spread His word a little further,” say Kyle Holley.

The Old Rugged Cross ministry:
One evening, Kyle Holley picked up a copy Billy Graham’s autobiography. If you know anything about Billy Graham, you know that he only really has one message and that is about the importance of the cross and sharing it with other people. While reading his amazing story, Holley came to realize that through his work he was not just selling thousands of crosses, he was making a great witnessing tool available into the hands of thousands of people all over the world.

With renewed vigor, he set out to increase production and also decided it was time to start giving some of his success back to the people who made it possible. He came up with the idea of his own ministry called “The Old Rugged Cross” a name that he borrowed from the old Baptist hymnal. This was his grandmother’s favorite song and as a child she would have him play it on the piano while she sang along. She was one of the most inspirational people in Holley’s life. Through this ministry he donates small crosses to groups who use the money to support mission work around the world or for their own ministries.

Background on The Stirring Art Gallery:
Various works by local artists are currently on display at The Stirring Art Gallery, located inside Hope Church. Many of the paintings were created live on stage during The Stirring service. Each month, a different local artist volunteers to paint during the service. The completed painting(s) and several other selected works by the artist are then displayed in the gallery and available for purchase by contacting the artist.

The Stirring meets every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Hope Church at 8500 Walnut Grove Rd. in Cordova, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.thestirring.net.