ANNA ASBURY ART, A GLIMPSE INTO ANNA'S HEART AND STORY, + FAMILY PHOTOS FOR THE ASBURY FAMILY | FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE

A few weeks back, I had the sweetest opportunity of traveling to Franklin to photograph the Asbury family, specifically focusing on capturing Anna's artistry. This past summer, when I was serving as a resident with Bristol House Music, we took a trip to Nashville / Franklin and had lunch with Anna, her husband Cory, and their four amazing kids. We spent the entire week in Nashville diving into the ins and outs of music making and learning from the Cory and Anna was the sweetest part. During that time, Anna shared her story: motherhood, leading worship, and art. She shared her spectacular stories about encountering the Holy Spirit through painting.

Personally, hearing her story put words to the stirrings in my heart. At this time, I was starting to realize that creativity has eternal implications. It is not simply a momentary pleasure, rather, it is a reflection of the Father's heart and a glimmer of His New Creation. As Anna shared her story, I was able to see even more tangibly the Holy Spirit's role and the Father's heart in creativity.

Later on, I messaged her and shared about how much her story served as an inspiration, and then shared that I'd love to co-create with her. Anna replied and shared that she had just found out that she was expecting her fifth baby, and that she had an idea of capturing the artistic workflow while pregnant - "Art in all Stages of Motherhood."

Fast forward a few months, we were able to shoot together and it was such a special experience. Anna has so generously shared parts of her story throughout this blog post. She is such a deep well, and I am so honored to have been able to create with her

What is your mission statement?

You know, I've never really had a mission statement. I've never thought about a sentence or paragraph being what I live by. It almost stresses me out a little bit, to be honest. I love it for my business, but for my personal life I guess I've always just leaned into "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength". To me the scripture is enough of a guideline to follow, but not in the way you would think. It's all about a relationship with a Savior, so maybe that's why I have never even thought about having one. My focus is to have a relationship, true, authentic, vulnerable relationship with a real God, and live life through that space. That's not to say I think that it's wrong to have a mission statement, not at all. I think that I have always lived in a space of relationship since I was Young, and trusting God to bring me back into focus should I stray, and He has always been faithful to lead me

Could You share about your experience with co-creating with the Holy Spirit as you create?

Interestingly enough, I didn't go to school to be an artist. In fact, I didn't even know I could paint at all until I was 28 years old. I grew up singing and was a ballerina up until high school. Once I started having kids, the outlet to sing and lead worship, along with dancing became a little more difficult. I was sitting in my kitchen one day with my two little toddlers, and I got this nudge to paint a buck. I grabbed my son's 5 pack of Crayola watercolor paint, and some printing paper I had on hand. I sat down, and began to give a stab at painting this deer. As I began, I was overcome with a burning heat all over my body. I'd only experienced this a few times before while in worship. I knew it was God saying, "Lean in, pay attention, I'm in this moment". I finished the painting, and could not believe my eyes. I had painted something that looked good. It was good enough that I sent it to my husband via picture text. He didn't believe me that I had painted this thing! I realized I had discovered a hidden talent, something that had been inside me, but lay resting until the right timing of the Lord to come out. I felt the HS share with me in that moment, "You thought you had discovered all your talents and gifts, but I had this one waiting for you to discover until this perfect time". It truly was a perfect time too. I was so in need of a creative outlet at the time in the harder, more hidden season of motherhood. From there, God began to open creativity in this area in such a beautiful way. I was painting almost everyday, while communing with the HS. It was in this place that I felt a sweet partnership of releasing beauty and light with Him, through my paintbrush. I have now been painting for 12 years.

Could you share about the coexistence of art and motherhood in your life? The impact the art has on the home?

Like I shared above, Motherhood is actually what pushed me into finding something new and beautiful to release creativity. I think  a lot of times having children gets this bad rep of taking you away from the moments of creating, but it's such a lie. Children can be the exact thing that you need to bring you into the next level of trust and surrender of creativity. They cause you to not be able to control your environment, and push you into new spaces of discomfort that you would not usually choose on your own. Therefore it's the perfect space to receive HS inspired ideas, words, colors, and content. Being a mother was the beginning of my awakening. They caused me to come to the end of myself, and have to lay down perfection, and truly embrace surrender and leaning. What better place to create from? I think the impact on my kids has been massive. I've taught them how to listen to the HS through a paint brush and paper. We've stopped, slowed down, and learned to listen and see. And you know, my children have been a lot of times a voice of God to me through what they create and see. Sure, our home is FULL of messes, but you can't replace the gold that's been curated in our home through long hours of my little artists making and designing, and expressing the deep feelings of their hearts.

How is art a form of worship?

Last year I did a large scale Art Gallery Show in New York City on an art row. It was a crazy opportunity that God opened all the doors for. While I was there in the middle of all these artists displaying their works of art in the middle of art week, I began to see something play out that I'd always believed, but it truly was happening before my eyes. People from all over were struck deeply by something different in my artwork. I cannot tell you how many people came up to me, and asked, "what is the inspiration behind your craft? It's so full of Light". It was there that I was able to lead a man to Jesus, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ to many who had been living in darkness. When I paint a painting, from beginning to end, there is a heart posture that happens. I invite the Holy spirit to lead my brush, and in it all it's an act of worship, partnership, and relationship. I'm so aware that it was Him who gave me the gift in the first place. From that space, the masterpiece comes to life, and it carries the feelings and emotions within every color, shape, and design. It's quite mind blowing, and as I displayed my 65 pieces of art in the middle of Manhattan, I watched as the ones who had never seen His light before, or felt His love, were drawn in by something that from the beginning of time has been calling them by name. All art whether photography or dance, or poetry, when done out of a space of awareness of Jesus carries Him. That is why I absolutely love doing what I do. Art has the ability to go places I cannot, and there it can speak in ways that show Jesus to the wandering, needy, heart. Creativity is one of the greatest forms of worship and adoration. ​