Artist

Timothy Boyd

Artist bio

Dr. Timothy A. Boyd Tim is a psychologist, currently in private practice.  He moved to Hickory, NC in December of 2009 with his wife, Anita.  They moved there to be close to family, and to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mts.  Tim has been in counseling practice since 1974, and has been a therapist in a variety of different settings in the US and across the world.  Tim has a strong interest in the integration of Biblical truth with the practice of psychology. In his counseling he utilizes various appropriate therapies, and weaves the timeless truths of the Scriptures with those practices. He also integrates those same truths, as well as what he has experienced in his counseling practice, into his art.   Tim has been a therapist, teacher, missionary, and artist.   Tim and Anita became full-time supported missionaries in 2004 and joined the counseling department of Wycliffe Bible Translators, and then served with Barnabas International, a pastoral counseling and support organization for missionaries and their families. They were global counselors and traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin and South America. This gave Tim the opportunity to do a variety of exciting service opportunities, things like leading marriage retreats in Afghanistan, psychological assessments for children in Pakistan, post-earthquake counseling in Sichuan, China, and counseling the victims of the World Trade Center disaster in New York.  He loves having the opportunity to alongside cross-cultural workers who are out on the front lines.  He currently does clinical assessments for missionaries-in-candidacy.   He believes that God takes the painful and traumatic experiences of our life and transforms them into growth and wholeness (creates beauty from the ashes).    Art experience and philosophy   Tim is primarily a self-taught artist.  He has taken some classes in ceramics and painting at the college level.  Most of his art comes out of trial-and-error.  Many of his pieces are constructions made from found objects.  He loves to beachcomb for flotsam and jetsam, tramp through a forest looking for unusual shapes of wood, or dumpster-dive (much to his wife's chagrin).  Taking something that is a discard or an artifact and incorporating it into a piece of art is an act of redemption.     He seeks to make the images found in Scripture come alive- to make them accessible.  It is all about integration.  Fragments and pieces coming together to make a whole.  Integration births God’s Shalom/Peace/Wholeness.

Title

Fiery Furnace

Artist Statement

Ceramic, glazed. With backlighting

How it fits into contest

Based upon the Scripture: 
“….we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."  Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, Your Majesty." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."  Daniel 3:18…25

3 children of Israel were in captivity in Babylon. They refused to bow the knee to worship the king.  In his anger, he sought their annihilation, and so he threw them into the fiery furnace.  Our world, too, seeks the destruction of the children of light. We see persecution against the Church happening every day.  This story reminds us that there is a fourth person in our furnace, the savior. We are not alone in the battle.

Credits

Tim Boyd

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