Creativity is Rising


Local residents and church members, Perry-May Britton and Jenny Meldrum both describe here how they have each recently launched creative businesses which, they believe, have been inspired by God.

Perry, can you tell us how your business came about?

After an unexpected and somewhat unfortunate start to 2018, instead of thinking, ‘How can I fix this problem?’, I decided to ask God, ‘What am I made for?’  I am quite good at fixing problems, so often fix things myself without consulting God!  This time I decided to do it differently. I have done illustration since I was a child and always longed to start a creative business.  Even though, in many ways, it did not make sense, I decided to embrace what I was made for. My husband Mike is brilliant at all the online stuff, so we make a good team. My heart and vision is to create a business that makes others smile, speaks truth, produces good quality products as well as bringing in an income for our little family. When I asked God what I should illustrate, I felt He said, “Put truth on walls”, and that is why I started specifically with Christian messages and images… but who knows where this may lead?

How has your faith inspired you?

I love seeing others flourish and doing what they were designed by God to do, but somehow I felt I had been settling for less myself.  So, whilst this feels like a huge leap of faith and as yet makes little financial sense,
I have an awareness of God’s peace, and that He is behind what I am doing, and it feels exciting! My biggest seller at the moment is a print that says, “I have pitched my tent in the land of hope”, and I think that describes the place that I am choosing to live in right now.

How do you feel that God is leading you in what you are doing?

I try to be diligent in spending time with God before starting a new design. As I pray I listen to Him, and see what He wants me to draw or which Bible verse He would like me to use. It truly feels like a partnership with God, and I look forward to seeing where this adventure will lead.

Jenny, can you tell us how your business came about?

I loved painting and drawing from a very early age, I did A Level art but didn’t really take up painting again until after my three children were at school. I’d only ever painted in water colour – usually small detailed pictures involving rabbits and fairies!  But I was given the opportunity to sell some oil paintings of big seascapes through a shop in Brighton and, having been encouraged by friends, had my first exhibition at home. A well-known person came and bought a painting, and asked about the possibility of me illustrating a book they were writing. I felt that God had led me to this moment, and had a surprisingly quiet confidence and peace that this would happen which was very exciting! A few months later, I was producing illustrations, and loving the experience of creating drawings that complimented the words.

I ended up with an agent who felt there was a gap in the market for a children’s prayer book. I knew that I didn’t want to produce something too twee, with a kind of kind of Victorian focus on children being ‘good, helpful and obedient’!  But rather words and pictures that would connect children to the true heart of God, and how much He loves them, and wants to have a deeply personal relationship with each of us. And so, after a whole year, the thumbs up came from the publisher Hodder & Stoughton, who asked for five books, not just one!

What is your heart and vision for what you are doing?

My heart and vision for these books is that whoever reads them will have an experience of God’s love for them, and the intimacy that He longs to have with each of us, no matter what age.

How has your faith inspired you to serve and bless others in this way?

Growing up, one of my favourite films was Chariots of Fire, and I loved the iconic quote of Olympic runner Eric Liddell who said, “When I run, I feel His pleasure!”  When I paint, I feel His pleasure. I feel connected to my Father, and my love for Him intensifies. How exciting it would be if children looking at these books, were released into the specific gifting God has placed within each of them!

How do you feel that God is leading you in what you are doing?

Whilst I was working on Little Moments for Children, I often listened to worship music, and when there were times when I struggled for inspiration, I simply put down my pencils, rested in God’s presence, and within moments the ideas would come. 

I do believe God has given me a gift, and it’s not about comparing my gift to other peoples – there will always be people far more talented than me! It’s about being the shape God has made me to be, and honouring Him in all that I do, no matter how small.

View Perry’s work at perry-may.com

For more of Jenny’s work visit jennymeldrum.com

Little Moments for Children is published by Hodder & Stoughton and are available at Steyning Bookshop or via Amazon