REBECCA ACKERMAN
The Light of Her Work: Through the Lens of Rebecca J. Ackerman
by Andrew Mixon
Even before coming to Anderson University, Rebecca’s faith was intertwined with her work, and the overlap only became stronger throughout her education. Originally coming into college as a Painting and Drawing major, she remembers being challenged with a sense of comparison to her classmates, who appeared more passionate about painting and drawing than she was. Then, when she took her first photography class, many opportunities began to appear as people asked her to take pictures for them. Interestingly, she originally disliked this first photography class—but in spending time with the Lord, she remembers feeling an unusual push to switch her major and focus primarily on photography and ceramics. “I’ve never trusted like that in my life. It was just a feeling like, ‘I should do this.’ And I felt like it was the Holy Spirit, and I was like, ‘Okay, sure.’ This thing that I dislike, I feel peace about. It doesn’t make sense and can only be the Lord. That was my thought process.”
Since making this switch, Rebecca has enjoyed all the encouragement, help, and resources which were provided by her professors in order to eventually become the teaching assistant for one of her favorite classes: Photography 2. Having produced many works, been a part of some galleries, and experienced critique, she has become an experienced artist who is passionate about her mission. “The art world is very dark sometimes. People are making out of the darkness inside them that they don’t know what to do with, so they’re just putting it out there. But being at a place where I can make from the light and be encouraged in that is huge.” One example comes from a photograph she took in which light was coming through a stained glass window. She wanted to speak on how the Lord is the throughline between all denominations and there is connection between believers through the Holy Spirit.
“I want them to see the Lord, and I want to share the gospel with my work.” And one might look upon her fine ceramics, such as the grand sculptures and lamps from her Shell Series adorning beach-aesthetic designs, and consider the infinite variety of shapes, textures, and patterns—and wonder what kind of god could be so creative? Or one may gaze at her photograph entitled Spray at Yellow Branch Falls, and note the creative choice to embrace a disparity between light and dark. As the water washes over the stones of the falls, which are encased in shadow, one may begin to realize that the light rushes over the darkness just as the light of Christ rushes over sin, death, Hell, and grave. Rebecca J. Ackerman is a photographer and ceramicist who is drawn to God’s divinely inspired creative work as a source of inspiration for her own evangelistic work.
Throughout her art, Rebecca has noted that light tends to be a throughline which connects all of her pieces. More specifically, the light is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ. “It’s all about the Lord,” she says. “I never want to make something that the Lord hasn’t put on my heart.”
In relation to her love for God’s creation, Rebecca loves to go rock climbing or hiking whenever she’s not working in the studio. She also loves to go to concerts, because music is a big inspiration for her as well (often filling the role of “studio DJ” among the art department). Her family especially has been inspiring in her journey as well. With a twin sister at AU, a younger brother at Liberty, a fellow artist in her mother, and a minister in her father, Rebecca has always been encouraged to do what she loves and what she feels called to do. This has given her a lot of confidence.
As someone who is called to direct people towards the Lord with her work, Rebecca was asked about what advice she might give her younger self. To this, she said, “I would want to offer confidence. Like, ‘you will get to a point where you love what you’re making.’” For a long time, she wasn’t sure if she would get there—but eventually she found that fruitfulness in her work followed her faithfulness to obey God.
In switching her major, in persisting in producing works of art, and in growing through critiques, Rebecca has found that her work is taken seriously among galleries and continues to be cultivated day after day. Even in encountering darkness along her path, she chooses to focus on the light of Christ as it appears in creation and in everyday life; she embraces the good things the Lord has given. “I look at the world and I look at life, and there’s so many good things that He didn’t have to give,” she says. The greatest gift of all, Rebecca believes, is the gift of His Son—the light of the world and the light of her work.