Artist's Statement
Hi! My name is Brandon Ekblad. I am a catholic, A husband, and the oldest of 14. As an artist, my goal is to both highlight the concepts of truth and beauty and to lead the viewer to what I believe is the source of that truth and beauty, that is, God. I hope to capture these moments in order to help those who may be walking through darkness to see the great light that is all around them. I believe that this light, in a spiritual sense, can be found in the physical world all around us and that is what I strive to show through my work. By using physical light to capture moments in time that I find to be beautiful or inspiring, I hope to point people to the spiritual light that I have found through my faith.
As a photographer, since I use light to craft my art I decided to call my business "Crafting with Light". This name was inspired by St. John Paul II's letter to artists in which he writes about how God alone creates from nothing, but as an artist I craft my work using the creation God has blessed me with. My faith is an integral part of my art and will never be separated from it.
I can't wait to work with you!
The inspiration for "Crafting with Light"
"What is the difference between 'creator' and 'craftsman'? The one who creates bestows being itself, he brings something out of nothing—ex nihilo sui et subiecti, as the Latin puts it—and this, in the strict sense, is a mode of operation which belongs to the Almighty alone. The craftsman, by contrast, uses something that already exists, to which he gives form and meaning. This is the mode of operation peculiar to man as made in the image of God. In fact, after saying that God created man and woman 'in his image' (cf. Gn 1:27), the Bible adds that he entrusted to them the task of dominating the earth (cf. Gn 1:28). This was the last day of creation (cf. Gn 1:28-31). On the previous days, marking as it were the rhythm of the birth of the cosmos, Yahweh had created the universe. Finally he created the human being, the noblest fruit of his design, to whom he subjected the visible world as a vast field in which human inventiveness might assert itself.
God therefore called man into existence, committing to him the craftsman's task. Through his 'artistic creativity' man appears more than ever 'in the image of God', and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous 'material' of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him. With loving regard, the divine Artist passes on to the human artist a spark of his own surpassing wisdom, calling him to share in his creative power. Obviously, this is a sharing which leaves intact the infinite distance between the Creator and the creature, as Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa made clear: 'Creative art, which it is the soul's good fortune to entertain, is not to be identified with that essential art which is God himself, but is only a communication of it and a share in it'.
That is why artists, the more conscious they are of their 'gift', are led all the more to see themselves and the whole of creation with eyes able to contemplate and give thanks, and to raise to God a hymn of praise. This is the only way for them to come to a full understanding of themselves, their vocation and their mission."
- From St. John Paul II's Letter to Artists