Day by Day: A Lenten Art Calendar

Day by Day, the Season of Lent unfolds. Traditionally, Lent is a time of sacrifice, denial and penitence, but can also be a time to embrace new opportunities for self-reflection, meditation, and renewal. The Season of Lent with its emphasis on daily devotion is especially suited to the addition of a new routine during the 40 days (excluding Sundays) from Ash Wednesday through the Saturday prior to Easter. This Lenten Season of 2022 I invite you to join me in a new daily practice that melds art and spirit: My Lenten Art Calendar.

On the wall of my office is a large perpetual calendar made up what I call Calendar Tiles- miniature paintings and collages. Each month I assemble a moveable feast of art as I carefully choose tiles, affix them to the blank calendar and imagine the days ahead.  I create these tiles from simple materials: 3.5” paper squares covered with mixed media and mounted on ordinary foam board (not ceramic tile).  Each individually created tile entwines art and spirit in unique ways, although certainly they were not all created with a Lenten devotion in mind.   A mood, life event, phenomena of nature, spiritual insight—all may inspire me to create a single tile or dozens.  Each blank “canvas” reflects a range of emotions; marks celebrations and crisis points; evokes memories; expresses dreams.  The calendar evolves and changes each month as I create new tiles and arrange and rearrange them. These small icons give form and focus to my life and add a simple beauty to my everyday world.

Art has power. It’s a mystery that allows beholders to see in a visual image something that is theirs alone. The use of art as a companion to devotion is a long-established practice that invites the discovery of personal meaning and connection to the Divine through careful observation of art.  These brief entries and accompanying calendar art tiles from my collection can complement any other study or practice that you may undertake during Lent.

How to use the Lenten Art Calendar:

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 2, and ending on Holy Saturday, April 16, I will post one tile a day, accompanied by a description. My role is to arouse curiosity and invite you to linger awhile with God. I pray that these brief daily entries will stir you to a new practice or action, evoke precious memories, and touch you in some way. They may soothe you or challenge you. Most of all, I hope they inspire you.  You may share your comments with me and others, or you may keep your thoughts and prayers private. 

I am not a theologian or Biblical scholar.  There will be gaps in these mini-devotions that others with more training or insight may wish to fill.  These writings and art pieces emerge from a sincere and ever-deepening faith. Over the years, I have been encouraged to share these small art pieces with others.   These deeply personal creations are my Lenten offering to you, given in a spirit of vulnerability and generosity.  The entries are intentionally open-ended and I invite you to use them in whatever ways are meaningful to you. You are welcome to share the images, giving credit to me as the artist.

Together, we will draw nearer to the Holy One as we move Day by Day towards the celebration of Easter.

Today’s tile gives a visual picture of the entire Lenten season.  It overlays the dependable structure of a calendar onto a free-flowing watercolor painting.   During Lent, the weeks flow into each other in a pattern of sameness, yet each day presents a singular experience.  This tile symbolizes the Discipline (the Calendar) and the Spirit (the Art) of Lent, a melding of focus and inspiration that together gives Lent its rich potential and promise. 

As you look at the picture, notice the drip-art background and the purple base, topped by the mini-calendar with its circled days. The green circle marks Ash Wednesday and the magenta circle denotes Holy Saturday.  Is Ash Wednesday a beginning or an end?  Will Holy Saturday be an end or a beginning? There are many days in between these markers to savor, each with its own beauty. In what ways could your Lenten practices enrich your life over the next few weeks?

O God, help us to see anew Your form and Your beauty in each day of the upcoming Season.  Thank you for the Structure and the Spirit of Lent. Amen.

Art Work by Beth Hatcher.