Whenever I am scrolling through social media, I find myself drawn to the videos of people creating. From glassblowing and crocheting to painting with hundreds of unique techniques, there is something mesmerizing about watching people express themselves through an art form they clearly enjoy and have perfected.
The same goes for art and the gospel. In recent years, I have noticed an increased emphasis on interpreting the gospel through art, especially at a child’s level through things like videos on the Church’s Gospel for Kids YouTube channel, Friend to Friend events, and crafts and Come, Follow Me ideas in the Friend magazine. Creating and the gospel just go together.
For Scottish illustrator and artist Joy Nevada, this is certainly true.
Whether drawing in her unique style or creating with ceramics, she finds ways to share one of the important tenets of the gospel: joy.
“It’s hard for me to describe my artwork,” she says. “I like to think it’s fun and has a subtle humor and also that people can emotionally connect with it. My first name is Joy (though I go by Nevada), and I hope my artwork brings joy into people’s lives.”
A Work of Heart
As one of three sisters and an aunt to six nieces and nephews, Nevada has been illustrating commercially for around 12 years now and finds inspiration for her artwork in everything around her, from people to places. She explains:
“When I draw something, I like to think it’s passing on a feeling rather than something that is accurately portrayed or simply an image someone likes to look at. I also love beautiful scenery. I live in a beautiful country and feel inspired by that. And I love to travel and feel inspired by the cultures and beautiful places I’ve been able to see and experience.”
This inspiration often leads Nevada to imagine people, situations, and scenes for her artwork and create them in ways that feel brand new. And though her approach stays the same, her methods for creating have changed with the growing demands on her time and the addition of digital aids.
“I started working on my iPad and drawing with the pencil, which is an amazing tool,” she says. “It’s so clean and easy to edit any mistakes.”
But despite her appreciation for the cleanness of digital drawing, Nevada confesses that she also revels in the opposite found in a different medium: ceramics.
“I love how messy and unpredictable [ceramics] are, and so fragile,” she says. “They go through this amazing process of being mud and turn into these lovely glassy little stone objects. It gives me such a thrill to see the finished pieces.”
While Nevada views ceramics as side projects that she creates for fun rather than a way of making a living, she applies lessons from the art form across her work.
Transforming the Book of Mormon
Much like the process of turning clay into beautiful objects, Nevada recently took on a project to help turn the sometimes confusing and messy timeline of the Book of Mormon into something engaging and easy to understand.
She worked with her friend Morgan Choi to create The Book of Mormon Timeline, published this year by Deseret Book. Written and organized by Morgan and illustrated by Nevada, the book serves not only as the testimonies of both women but also as a fun way to help children and adults alike picture the events of the Book of Mormon in a memorable and chronological way.
The unique project highlights simultaneous timelines of overlapping events, accompanied by creative interpretations of scenes and people in Nevada’s lighthearted but heartfelt style as an illustrator.
The book was an opportunity Nevada knew she couldn’t pass up, although the decision required careful consideration.
“While I have always wanted to illustrate children’s books and would love to do more, they are big projects that take a lot of time, so it’s not something I easily say yes to,” she says. “However, I really felt that this was something I had to do and was worth spending my time on.”
With the popularity of time-lapse videos, it can be easy to forget to appreciate the effort it actually takes to create art, but Nevada hopes that the project will help learners from all walks of life and learning styles learn more from the sacred book of scripture. She aimed to create illustrations that would make the Book of Mormon feel accessible to a variety of demographics.
“By seeing the people and stories in context, I feel the reader will gain a better understanding of the messages contained within the book, regardless of age,” she says. “I’m a visual learner, so I knew that I could learn a lot from working on this with Morgan (and I did!).”
Bridging Art and Testimony
Whether creating ceramic pieces or illustrating books, Nevada knows from personal experience that art and creation go hand-in-hand with building faith and testimony, as pictures can say more than words.
One of her favorite drawings that she feels illustrates her own testimony is this sketch she made of Jesus riding into Jerusalem with crowds welcoming Him on Palm Sunday.
The Church’s social media accounts and magazine departments have shared Nevada’s visual testimony many times. She works with them to create drawings that “capture the essence” of resources like conference talks, magazine stories, and scriptures.
She believes gospel art can be a powerful tool in both learning and sharing the gospel. “For me, art bolsters the written messages and conjures up feelings and emotions that words alone can’t always. These personal emotions and connections can help people feel closer to gospel principles and the stories of Christ.”
In the process of creating those connections for others, Nevada’s own testimony has been strengthened. She believes that art is a way for God to work through her and has felt inspired in a variety of projects, both gospel-related and otherwise, throughout the years:
“Sometimes I really don’t feel like I am the one that comes up with the drawings or ideas. I feel like I’m an instrument, just someone who has the ability to create the drawings that want to be made and share the messages that need to be shared.”
Whether or not you consider yourself an artist, we all have unique creative skills that we can use to share similar messages of faith, be it through drawing, cooking, writing, or even gardening. As Nevada recommends, if we want to share our testimony this way, we simply need to be brave enough to enjoy the journey in the first place and not be discouraged when things don’t turn out as planned.
“Once you can accept that, you can appreciate the joy that just creating will bring you,” she says. “I believe everyone has been born with the desire and ability to create. So just go for it, and don’t be put off by what it [turns out] like.”
No matter how we share our testimonies, we can trust that our efforts can bless and lift others. As Nevada has come to learn through her spiritual experiences with art, “[We] all have different roles to play in life, and sharing art is part of my role.”
