September 12, 2024
JEFFERSON CITY. Mo. — When God called Rhonda Schrage to leave a traditional career and build a new one where “faith and art intertwine,” some thought she was crazy, but she stepped out in obedience and found the Lord walking with her every step of the way.
In 2015, Schrage became a full-time artist. While she’d practiced abstract art for a long time, she mostly sold paintings of florals and churches, which “felt safer.” Within the last couple of years, however, abstracts have become her focus. “Abstracts are where God works through me,” Schrage says. “[It’s also] where God has grown me through my art… teaching me to be more vulnerable… instead of building walls, which I was accustomed to doing.”
Schrage’s abstract paintings usually begin with Scripture or a prayer, written within the first layers of the art piece. Those words get painted over, sometimes bits of them peeking through, but they remain the inspiration for the painting. Whatever is written on that foundational layer is also included in a certificate of authenticity. This transition into selling abstracts, according to Schrage, was a “huge milestone” as it helped her open up and become vulnerable. It also enabled her to talk about the important messages behind her art to buyers and other artists.
When she first started learning about art in high school, however, Schrage would have never guessed she’d end up creating such meaningful spiritual pieces.
A high school art teacher was Schrage’s first mentor, the woman who taught her the basics. Although Schrage loved art, at the time, it didn’t seem like a viable career path. She ended up as a mortgage underwriter. Over the years, she “had a family and [art] got kind of pushed aside.” Eventually, Schrage wanted to be more available for her children. She dropped her hours at work.
About the same time, Schrage’s salvation story unfolded. Her family was invited to Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City after her son had attended a few youth events there. The church held a revival, and the sermons spoke the gospel into some difficult situations the Schrage family was experiencing.
“I remember [the preacher]… was talking about being forgiven,” she says. “There was a long pause, and then he said, ‘Yes, even for that,’ and there was something very specific going through my mind.” Schrage and her husband felt God speaking to them and couldn’t deny God’s intervention in their lives. They accepted Christ together at the altar and were baptized that same day.
After that, Schrage prayed for direction. Even after dropping her hours at work, things still weren’t quite right. A few months later, she found a free online class titled “Becoming the Unfolding of You.” In this class, Christian creatives from different professions such as woodworkers, painters, and writers “shared their stories and how it related to their work.” Schrage resonated with these creatives and began painting again. Then, she opened an Etsy shop, and a year after going part-time at her traditional job, Schrage became a full-time artist.
“I wasn’t selling enough to justify [quitting my job],” Schrage confesses. “It wasn’t an easy thing.” She had to make sacrifices in order to afford the transition, and she faced skepticism about her decision. However, God’s calling on her life had become clear; that was enough for her. “It really has been about a lot more than the art. It’s been amazing… Our family life changed because I was there and more present.”
With the Lord’s help, art became a tool of healing in Schrage’s life. It also became a tool for growth. The world of art is often hostile to Christianity, but God has given her multiple opportunities to be a light for Him. It is an ongoing prayer for Schrage that she finds more courage and opportunities to share the love of Christ through her art. “This fall, I have a show at a gallery in Columbia, and as part of that, there’s an opening reception, so I’ll… tell a little bit about my art and my process,” Schrage says.
Growing in the way she shares her faith through her art is important to Schrage because “art can be used for the Kingdom [of God]. There’s a lot of people in the art world who are very against Christianity. There’s a lot of people who say they’re Christian but have a lot of non-Christian ideals. [Those] who… are trying to be obedient to the Lord really can make a difference through their work and through building those relationships.”
Schrage’s art career is growing and thriving, even when it’s challenging. It’s hard work to run a creative business. “People have a very romanticized idea of what artists do,” she says. “There are days where I think, ‘I just want to sit behind a desk from 8-5 and then go home.’” But the lessons she’s learned about obedience and vulnerability have been worth it.
To those Christians who are thinking about pursuing a career in art and want to know how, Schrage says that the answer is “prayer… that’s all I did… I was praying and following what I felt strongly convicted to do. It’s not going to be the same for everyone… I know that sounds kind of cheesy or crazy, but pray about it and try to follow what God is doing. Realize that it’s not going to be easy. I’ve always thought that nothing good is easy, and so sometimes when I start to get those uncomfortable feelings, I think, ‘This is going to be good because it’s going to stretch me.’”
Schrage hopes to one day open a brick-and-mortar, but that dream seems far in the future. In the meantime, Schrage says, “I’m going to keep praying for God to show me… the way.”
To learn more about her art, visit Schrage’s website at www.rhondaschrage.com and sign up for her newsletter.
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This story was first published by The Pathway.
