Meet: Deryn van der Tang
“Looking back on my life, I see [making art] was always God’s plan for me...I continue to pursue it with greater enthusiasm, knowing that not only is it a gift from God that I must use, but it is also His primary means of speaking to me,” Deryn says.
We love to celebrate and introduce you to graduates of our Foundations Art Ministry course.
These artists have put in a lot of work and we are extremely proud of them, grateful to have them in our God Loves Art community, and excited to see where God leads them next in their art practice and ministry.
May you be inspired by these artists and may you keep creating because God Loves Art!
Meet: Deryn van der Tang
Author, botanical artist, and cartographer, Deryn van der Tang, 79, lives in Washington, D.C. and creates botanical art inspired by being in nature and writes inspirational devotionals. She enjoys writing poetry and creating “Visionary and Memory Art.”
What art ministry is Deryn involved with?
Deryn is part of the creative team with her church community. Life in the nation’s capitol presents the opportunity for her to regularly participate in community and creative events at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. She says, “I also plug into events at the National Botanical Gardens.”
While Deryn fills her time serving in the community, this has involved “facilitating an Art in the Park for Arbor Day at our local park.” She has called her most recent project, “Reforesting the Soul and Cultivating your Inner Garden.” Each month, Deryn has painted, she says, “on the theme of a different tree each month, as well as a poem and a blog post on each tree.” By the end of the year, Deryn says she hopes to share this collection as a “body of work that can be exhibited and / or made into a Coffee Table Book.”
What is Deryn’s creative process like?
“I focus on writing during the week, usually after 11.00 a.m.,” Deryn says. She sets aside time during the weekends for painting and creating other types of art.
Having a schedule to plan what she works on and when in her practice helps Deryn create. She says, “I like to have a framework to work around i.e., a schedule of what I need to focus on each month. I will do research, read, meditate, and pray and then I will start the work.” While planning is a significant part of Deryn’s creative process, she is restrictive about her plans.
Trying new methods and freer techniques has helped Deryn grow in confidence and opened an organic growth in her art. Deryn says, “I try to be led intuitively. I am working in collage and mixed media at the moment and this facilitates the process, as I cannot be too exact (as in Cartography) and need to be more organic.” The planning is helping for the direction of creativity she is moving, but she collaborates with God in her art. “You could say I am a general planner, but the work itself is spontaneous,” she says.
Why does Deryn create?
“Looking back on my life,” Deryn reflects, “I see it was always God’s plan for me.” She recalls the first botanically-themed art from when she was a fiver-year-old and even transformed it by sewing it together as pages and to create a book. This early book creation led to illustrating Bible verses and making a book with those, too. Eventually, Deryn developed an affinity for maps and map drawing. She says, “The first Art portfolio I did at school enabled me to get a job at the Geological Survey as a Trainee Cartographer.”
“I have always been creative,” says Deryn, “as I have an inner passion and drive to create.” Her relationship with God has contributed to this passion because she wants to honor God through making art. Completing the Foundations Art Ministry course “confirmed what I had always known,” she says. This encouraged Deryn’s creative pursuits with increased enthusiasm.
For Deryn, she says, “not only is it a gift from God that I must use, but it is also His primary means of speaking to me. It is also the way He has given me to glorify Him and share His love with others. I am still busy learning that!”
While she feels the urge to create in order to deepen her relationship with God, she finds inspiration from all kinds of artists. Being a resident of Washington, D.C., one of her “favorite hangouts,” she says, is the Smithsonian’s Galleries. “It is a privilege to live here and have access to the original works of the likes of Monet and van Gogh,” Deryn shares.
William Blake’s poetry and Visionary Art are continued inspirations for Deryn’s own devotional artwork. With the access to large and prestigious galleries, she says, “I feast my eyes on new exhibitions and ways of working with ideas, be they modern or traditional.”
All of these visits give her the travel bug, too. She says, “I am inspired by travel to new places and nature, as well as the folk art or culture of the place. I never leave the arboretum or botanical gardens without being inspired.”
Her favorite painting is Monet’s waterlilies. “It is so peaceful,” she says, “and I love the way he has created the reflections, and just the amount of different greens he has been able to capture.” Deryn’s love for this painting and artist nudged her to take a trip abroad. “I have visited the gardens in Givenchy in France and that is probably why I feel so passionate about this piece, as I saw what had inspired him,” Deryn shares.
…
Reading books of many genres and subjects fills Deryn’s inspiration well, too. She says, “I also read a lot and am inspired by spiritual and mental health books, historical fiction, memoirs, and people’s stories as well as Scripture.”
Deryn’s gentle smile reveals her sense of humor and delight through her comments on creativity, faith, and life. “My favorite book is usually the one I am currently reading,” she says. Stories and characters that have stood the test of time for Deryn are Jo March in Little Women and Anne in Anne of Green Gables because of how they confidently hold to their individuality.
Her favorite Scripture comes from Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Her faith has grown as a result of holding onto this verse. “I have had to pull that one out on many occasions throughout my life,” Deryn says.
Encouragement from Deryn van der Tang:
The best advice that Deryn has ever received is: “Just keep creating, practice, practice practice.” She has held onto this advice since her start as a five-year-old painter.
In speaking to aspiring artists, Deryn’s encouraging smile comes across when she says, “Keep an open mind and be curious about everything. Be willing to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them.”
For Foundations Art Ministry course graduate, Deryn, continual inspiration is crucial, too, and she shares this wisdom born of experience. She says, “I think it is very important to keep your inner well full, so you have something to pull from when you are working.”
To find out more about Deryn van der Tang’s work and to be encouraged by her even more, please visit her here:
Deryn’s Website – showcasing bio, blogs, art gallery, books, and freebies
Deryn’s Online Shop
Deryn’s FB Page and Creative Facebook Group
LinkedIn
Amazon Author Page
Deryn’s Social Media:
Instagram – personal and “artsy page”
Twitter (X)
YouTube
Not yet a graduate of Foundations of Art Ministry?
Find out more here.
Deryn van der Tang is a graduate of God Loves Art Foundations Art Ministry Course, led by Jessie Nilo.
Deryn van der Tang says, “Unequivocally. Yes!” Completing the Foundations course had significantly impacted her growth as an artist in a positive way. “I particularly found the modules on Community art inspiring as I had not been exposed to this before. I also find that being plugged into a Christian artist community is what I really need as we understand and share one another’s frustrations and joys. It is so good to have an encouraging and praying community to be a part of, when the rest of the world just does not get you.“
Deryn says that as an instructor and mentor in Foundations, “Jessie is one of the most compassionate people I know; her passion for equipping artists and encouraging them in their ministry is extraordinary. Her ministry has enriched my whole artistic experience. She has such a wide range of knowledge which she generously shares. I learned more from her during the Foundations Course than I had learned in decades of art lessons. Her manner of allowing me to develop in my own way has been particularly liberating, she does not prescribe how things must be done, but encourages experimentation and finding your own pathway.”
Thank you for joining us for this installment to share about graduates of our Foundations Art Ministry Course. Artists like Deryn van der Tang have put in a lot of work and we are really proud of them, glad to have them in our God Loves Art community, and excited to see where God leads them next.
Not yet a graduate of Foundations Art Ministry Course?
Click here to find out more.
About Author + What is GLA?
Molly Ovenden writes Artist Stories. When she’s out in the wild making art you might find her writing poetry on her vintage typewriter for new coffee shop friends, photographing lines or textures in the streets, or experimenting with acrylics and collage.
Meet the rest of the team here.
You were born highly creative. Everyone around you was born creative, too. By the time they’re adults, most people believe they’re not creative at all. Let’s listen to God together. Art is important, so let’s get creating. God Loves Art.