Libby Baker Sweiger

Many people remember the Oscar winning film, Chariots of Fire based on the life of Eric Liddell, missionary and athlete who competed and won in the 1924 Paris Olympics. In a famous line, he said of his running, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

As a person of faith and creativity, I have searched all my life for the one creative passion that truly makes me feel that way. When Chariots of Fire came out in 1981, my passion was screenwriting. When Chariots of Fire won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1982, I cried I was so moved that a movie so close to my heart would win. I never sold my own screenplay, but I continued my writing for many years, adding blogging and I have two books in the works.

A part of my most passionate creativity had been long neglected. Since I was a young child, it has always been art: drawing, watercolor and ink. I was accepted as an art major at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1971. Personal issues kept me from attending college at that time.

I attended college 10 years later, after being in the business world. My interests were dominated by writing and speech. My major was communications. I doodled my way through every business meeting and every college class, but the writing bug had me then and I was determined to hone those skills, which I did for the next 30+ years.

In the summer of 2013, a friend introduced me to acrylics on a super fun weekend and art once again had my heart! That gal is a fellow artist and believer, Heather Jeanette Siebens of Believe2ShineDesigns.

I set up a studio in my office. I just let my creativity run free. I experience terrific joy when I paint. The Bride of Christ Bouquets are the signature pieces of my company: Bride of Christ Bouquet Art.  They are based on my spiritual and artistic imagination. I imagine what a bouquet would look like carried by the believers, “Christ’s Bride” to the wedding of Jesus and His Church as foretold in the book of Revelation, the last book in the bible.

This has led me to a whole arena of paintings based on scripture, many of them floral in nature because I love to paint flowers! I also paint fun floral and have one very traditional floral on my site I painted that I did for my husband who was wondering if I could paint the way I used to paint. I can but I feel more joy in painting in a more free form style.

Eric Liddell had a unique running style if you remember from the film. He threw his head back so he could not even see where he was running and just flew. That is how I feel when I paint. I just go. I throw my heart into my art and pray. I say, “God show me where to go with this piece.” I feel such joy that sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry, sometimes I dance and often I just smile really wide.

I market my paintings on my own website http://brideofchristbouquetart.com and I have a Facebook page. I am looking into marketing them on Etsy.com, I have more dreams for this art that has been gifted to me. Dreams I plan on making a reality with the help of my friend ~ the One who when I paint ~ I feel His pleasure!

Libby Baker Sweiger
Artist at Bride of Christ Bouquet Art
Website: http://www.brideofchristbouquetart.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brideofchristbouquetart