HELLO.When I was young I remember long car rides. My family lived about 30 minutes from school and church. I used to sit in the back seat of our 1985 brown station wagon between my older sister on my left (who would do everything she could to annoy me) and my younger brother on my right.
My weapons against the boredom of our daily commute and the attacks of my sister were simple: lined paper and a #2 lead pencil. I filled that lined paper with all kinds of things—dinosaurs, animals, robots, cartoons and people. Those doodles were the beginning of my love for art. As I got older, I was fascinated at the skill illustrators used when drawing the figures in X-Men and Spiderman comics. I would buy the illustrators I liked best and sit for hours in my room learning to draw the muscles, movements, and expressions. In High School an art teacher encouraged me to consider studying art in college. Four years later I graduated with an art degree in Graphic Design. However, my love during those college years was for the fine arts - relief printmaking in particular.
In my early thirties, I began writing poetry. My first poetry collection began as a series of Christmas presents to my friends and family. Initially, I wrote five poems. The following Christmas I wrote another five. Inspired, I wrote an additional twenty-four poems and self published my first book called Godbirth. After Godbirth, I immediately started writing a second book exploring the life of King David. As a way to give structure to the David poems, I borrowed the haiku form and crafted many of the poems in lines of 3, 5, or 7 syllables. I connected with Liz Ranney who created some magical watercolor illustrations for the front and back cover. The poems and the illustrations eventually became Read These Poems About David. As I continued to write, I turned to the season of Lent. I felt that a collection of straightforward and thoughtful poems would be a helpful companion on the 40 day journey. The project eventually became a book of 40 poems called The Reason Love Reaches. Beside the poetry books, I also create curriculum such as The Jesus Questions and Haiku Bible Study to help folks in small group settings grow in their faith. In 2016, I partnered with my friend Matt Timms and created The Jesse Tree. This project continues to bless churches and families as they journey their way through the season of Advent. |
SAM GUTIERREZContact me at: printandpoem@gmail.com
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Sam Gutierrez / Print and Poem