Tag Archives: Inspirational Art

{Downers Grove Photography} Our Trip to Lancaster County

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{this post is a re-post from this past summer, but now that I have a brand new beautiful blog in which you can actually see the images, I wanted to show them again}

 

This may be one of my favorite photography posts ever! Oh, how we love this family. This past summer, our road trip brought us to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania {Bird in Hand, in fact} to see our Amish friends in person.2013-09-17_0002

We went to church with them {3.5 hours of singing, preaching, devotional, prayer, testimonies, & do it all over again; sweet little toddlers passed out on their mama’s laps all around us, large families coming together into real community}. After church, I drove “B” & their 5 kiddos in our minivan to their home while “A” drove Sam & our 3 kiddos in the horse & buggy!
{btw: can you imagine a family of SEVEN fitting into that buggy?! well, they do!}2013-09-17_0003

We came at a good time:  the mama cat just had kittens about 3 weeks ago! The bulldog mama had puppies about 6 weeks ago {i think}.My kids were in animal HEAVEN at their home: my favorite little mister caught bugs & toads all day {the boys said, “they had never seen anyone go crazy for bugs before” … my poor city boy} & the girls chased kitties & puppies for about 5 hours straight! {I am allergic to both, so the fact that they were free to play with animals in the barn was the best part of vacation for pumpkin-poos. It was a hot day & of course, no air conditioning in the barn, so they would periodically emerge red-faced & sweaty, with big smiles on their faces.}

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I was THRILLED to do their family portraits!!! 
{maybe their first, in fact?!}

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I did all of my typical poses.

 I think it is safe to say we all had a great time.2013-09-17_0006

Many people have asked me how on earth did I {a midwest girl} attain an Amish friend?! Well, that Amish friend of ours started as a business partner of Life Verse Design. He is a framer and contacted me to see if I would partner with him to frame my art & sell it to Christian bookstores, gift shops & furniture shops. I love the above photos of the frame shop, Beechdale Frames, as it shows the heart of the business: family. It is run by the Millers and is definitely a family affair! They work hard together & play together. The showroom is filled with my art and the reason we went was that they had an open house to meet the artist and allow buyers into their showroom.

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At the open house, they offered free lunch & fresh lemonade! Their oldest son {who is all of 14} manned the grill all by himself!!!! He is also able to create a frame & plaque from start to finish all by himself!!!! What a mature & responsible young man. And so humble also. If you are ever in Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania during the summer & meander down Beechdale Road, you will come upon the sweetest bunch of kids selling THE BEST fresh squeezed lemonade you have ever sipped. Trust me, you’ll go back for more.

Meet Mr. Miller! He has a heart of gold: wanting to encourage others with the beauty of art, the truth of the Word of God, and always keep family first. Our work is currently featured in the Christianbook.com catalog that arrived in the mailbox the other day! {Funny God story: I normally flip through the first few pages to see what’s “hot” in the book industry since I design books for Tyndale House Publishers, but this day I kept flipping & ta-da! I got to see my artwork! What a blessing to see my little nephew’s feet featured in a catalog}

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 The other fun little surprise I got while at the Beechdale Frames open house was that I got to meet author Ira Wagler who drove a half hour just to see me! Turns out Mr. Miller is friends with Ira! Ira wrote his memoir “Growing Up Amish” a few years back and Tyndale published it!  My best friend at Tyndale designed the book and he claims she has “sold him many copies” {as he knows people pick up books often due to their covers… music to a designer’s ears!}

I JUST finished the memoir the other night & I highly recommend it. If you love auto biographies as I do, you will love to get a glimpse into Ira’s world as he grows up Amish & struggles with the desire for freedom in the “outside” world, yet constantly feels pulls back to the safe & secure world he knows. It is a story of identity struggle, yearning for freedom, and finding the truth that alone can set our hearts free.2013-09-17_0009

I created this custom Life Verse Design art for our friends & I am happy to report it brought tears to the parent’s eyes. YES! My job is done. It is the highest compliment {I think} when my art makes someone cry.

I love immortalizing not only an image, but a moment & feeling in time to create a memory forever. Though their kids will grow {& grow quickly!}, I hope their closeness, bond & direction in life will remain the same, as shown in this image.

If you have an image of your family that you would like created into a lasting memory, contact me & I would be honored to create it for you.You can find more information here.

FREE SHIPPING in the shop ends tomorrow night, so if you are interested in any custom design work, or any other inspirational art, order now!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

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NEW! COLOR Inspirational & Scripture Art just for you

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I am SO EXCITED to share this new style of art with all of you! Some of my business partners, Beechdale Frames, asked me to come up with a new line of art in COLOR! It was so fun to go through all of my “original” color images to see what inspired my heart for this brand new collection.

 

So far, I am releasing 10 new designs {there are more to come!!!} The above is in the inspirational art category & the rest {below} are in the Scripture art category of my shop.

 

To kick it off, I have decided to giveaway one 12×18 fine art print every week for the next 10 weeks, so check back here often to see what print I will be featuring in the giveaway & learn a little of the behind the scenes of my art!

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I hope you enjoy this new art as it brightens your day with beauty & the truth of the Word.

 

My FREE shipping in the new shop ends later this week, so don’t miss out on that offer.

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

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{FREE Scripture Art Download!} Psalm 57

Ps57_JulieChenRGB{to download this FREE 4×6  fine art print, go HERE}

I am happy to be a monthly contributor over at Pick Your Portion, a brand new blog which encourages you to sit at the feet of Jesus and pick the good portion of the day, which is His presence. Go check it out & be encouraged by the Word.

The founding editor, Lisa Velthouse, wrote Craving Grace {a book I happen to be the designer & cover model for! Ohhhh, honey oozing all through your fingers is such an interesting feeling!}

I was excited to be asked to take part, & I think it is a great thing when authors recognize the importance of the visual arts & allow us to partner together to get the beauty of the Bible out there. {Thanks Lisa for encouraging me in my gifts!}

{larger size prints are available for sale HERE}

No matter what you are going through today, I pray you will take refuge in the shadow of God’s gentle, yet strong wings as He lovingly looks over your life & cares for every single detail.

Print this 4×6 image out & hang it where you most need the reminder: on your mirror, by your kitchen sink, on your refrigerator, next to your computer & remember that He is with you!

 

Enjoy FREE SHIPPING for a limited time in my shop!

www.lifeversedesign.com

 

CONDITIONS OF USE
All photos and artwork are ©Julie Chen of Life Verse Design. Artwork in the downloadable 4×6 jpeg is free strictly for personal use, not for commercial use. Sharing these photos via Facebook, Pinterest, or your blog is welcome only if you agree provide credit to me as the artist and link back to juliechenphotography.com. Please be respectful and have integrity when choosing to download the free art. By downloading the art, it does not give you the right to sell it digitally nor on print nor in any other format. Thank you for furthering God’s Word in new & fresh ways.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
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Remembering 9.11

Today, I, along with the entire nation remembers 9/11. I will never forget driving to Tyndale & hearing the reports coming in on the radio of such confusion, disbelief & horror. Once I arrived at work, I went straight to my boss’s office & said something strange is going on in our country & we tried to get online but everything was backed up. Eventually the entire company was called to the chapel where we watched the news, read Scripture & prayed. Later that night, there was an eerie silence in the sky. Sam & I live in the suburbs of Chicago & our townhouse at the time was along a frequent plane route leading planes to O’Hare, but they had cancelled all remaining flights for the day.

 

The above art honors some of our country’s heroes. The firefighters, police, and military who truly sacrificed their lives for the behalf of others. The mere thought of the firefighters going in that day chokes me up every time, as my grandfather, father, & brother have been or are currently serving their city as firefighters.

 

All art is available in the new shop with FREE shipping for a limited time.

The above books were created by Tyndale within weeks of 9.11. I had the honor of designing Finding God’s Peace in Perilous Times and my friend, Jenny, designed Let’s Roll the story of Todd Beamer who truly was a hero that day & acted like Jesus for others, sacrificing his own life for others. If you have not read it, I encourage you to find a copy!

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

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{Behind the Scenes} Inspirational Art that came out of a trip to the Apple Orchard

Every year one of my family’s favorite traditions is a trip with Grandma & Grandpa

to Edwards Apple Orchard.The first thing my kids always want to see is Ollie the dog.Then onto the store, where mama gets her year long supply of their famous corn salsa. YUMMY!Being there is a photographer’s dream.Especially when you have 3 little turkeys!Pumpkin-Poos desperately wanted a pony ride & was terrified almost the entire time.Then onto the raspberry patch to battle the bees for the goods.
This is some of my inspirational art which I have created from photos I took at the orchard.

The “touch of color” apple above is available here & makes a lovely addition to the seasons collection.Proverbs 25 art is available here.

 Psalm 118 art is available here.

Both would be lovely in a kitchen & I think both images are pretty self explanatory

as to why I would choose the apple & the rooster to go along with those verses!

Order Now as my FREE shipping offer will end soon!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

 

 

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