The Work of
Our Hands
A day of art-making, Scripture, and the question every creative ministry person carries: What does it look like when God establishes the work of our hands right where we are?
This is a day for making things, studying God’s Word, and thinking together about how creativity can become a ministry of welcome — in your church, your home, your community. Proceeds support the work of Big Heart Studiosin Albania.
Event details
Full address shared at registration
All proceeds support Big Heart Studios in Albania. This is a fundraiser that also happens to be a really good day.
Why I wanted
to do this
For years I’ve watched what happens when you put art supplies in front of people who don’t think of themselves as creative. Something opens. The guard comes down. Conversation starts that never would have started otherwise.
In Albania, that’s been the doorway. Here in Georgia, it’s been the same. And I keep meeting people — in churches, in neighborhoods, in their own homes — who have that same instinct. Who sense that creativity could be a way to love their community and they just don’t quite know how to begin.
This day is for those people. We’ll make things. We’ll study Scripture together. We’ll talk practically about what it looks like to be a place of creative welcome right where you are — what we call a Heart Hub with Big Heart Studios.
You don’t need to be an artist to come. You just need to be willing to show up with your hands open.
A Heart Hub is any person, space, or community that uses creativity as a ministry of welcome — not to produce professional art, but to create a place where people experience that they are made in the image of a Creator God who loves what they make. Big Heart Studios helps scatter these hubs across Albania and the United States. You could be another, right where you live.
This is an event by Jessica Handwork. Proceeds support the work of Big Heart Studios in Albania through ACT International — all giving is tax-deductible.
What we’ll do
together
Three teaching sessions woven together with two hands-on art experiences, lunch, and time to breathe.
Arrival
Coffee, introductions, and settling in
Arrive, find your seat, meet the people around you. Art supplies are already at the table. No pressure yet — just come in.
Session 1
Made in His Image — The Theology of Making
The first thing God does in Scripture is create. The first thing we learn about being human is that we are made in the image of that Creator. We’ll spend this session grounding the day in what the Bible actually says about creativity, craft, and why it matters eternally — not just aesthetically.
Studio Time
First Art Experience — Expressive Watercolor
No experience needed. This is not about making good art — it’s about discovering what happens when you give your hands something to do while your mind is full of something true. We’ll work with watercolor and a simple Scripture passage as our guide. You’ll leave with something you made.
Midday
Lunch & Stories from the Field
Lunch is provided. While we eat, I’ll share what the work actually looks like in Albania — specific people, specific moments, what God has done in communities through art and welcome. A chance to see the connection between this day and that work.
Session 2
What Does a Heart Hub Look Like?
How do you actually create a space of creative welcome? What does it look like in a church corner, a kitchen table, a community center? We’ll look at practical frameworks for using art as outreach, relational ministry, and discipleship — grounded in Scripture and drawn from what has worked in Albania and Georgia alike.
Studio Time
Second Art Experience — Scripture Journaling & Mixed Media
A guided project that ties together the Scripture and conversations of the day into something you can hold. We’ll work in mixed media — layering words, color, and texture in response to what we’ve heard and made. This is the piece you’ll most likely take home and keep.
Closing
Sending — How to Begin Where You Are
Practical next steps. Questions answered. Prayer over everyone in the room. If you came curious about how to start something creative in your community, you’ll leave with enough to take a first step. And if you just came to make art and think about God — that’s enough too.
Linger, connect, and head home
Time to gather your work, exchange contacts, and ask any final questions. The day officially ends at 4:30.
This day was built
for people like these
You don’t have to be an artist. You don’t have to be in ministry. You just have to be curious about what it looks like when making things becomes a way of loving people.
The person who senses creativity could be more than a hobby
You make things — paint, draw, write, arrange flowers, cook — and you keep wondering if there’s a way to bring that into something that matters for others. This day will give language and framework to that instinct.
The church leader thinking about arts outreach
You have a building, a congregation, and a neighborhood. You’ve wondered what it would look like to open creative space as a ministry of welcome. Come and think that through with people who are doing it.
The person who wants to understand what God is doing in Albania
You’ve been curious about the work, about Big Heart Studios, about what art has to do with mission. This day gives you an experience of it, not just information about it.
The one who “isn’t artistic”
You have heard yourself say this your whole life. This day gently and genuinely challenges that story. The goal isn’t to make beautiful things — it’s to discover that you are made in the image of One who does.
The ministry worker who is running low
You give a lot to other people. This is a day that gives something back — space to make, to be still, to be in the Word without a lesson plan, to remember what it felt like to create just because it’s good to create.
The financial partner, or someone considering it
Proceeds go directly to the work in Albania. This is one of the most personal ways to understand what your support makes possible — and to decide if you want to be part of it.
You won’t leave
empty-handed
Every person who attends will leave with something concrete — in their hands, in their thinking, and for their community.
- Two original pieces of art you made during the day
- A Scripture-rooted theology of creativity you can teach and share
- A practical framework for starting or growing creative ministry where you are
- A clearer picture of what the work in Albania actually looks like on the ground
- Connection with others who are thinking about the same things
- A set of simple techniques you can use immediately with any group
I want to be straightforward: this workshop is a fundraiser. Attendance supports Big Heart Studios in Albania. The work there is sustained entirely by individual partners, and events like this one make a real difference.
But I also want this to be a genuinely good day — worth your Saturday independent of the cause. So I’ve built the content to stand on its own. You’re not just giving money. You’re coming to make something and learn something and walk out changed in some small way. That’s the goal.
If the day moves you toward becoming a regular financial partner, we’d be grateful. But that’s not an obligation you carry walking in the door.
About Jessica
Jessica Handwork is an artist who splits her time between Georgia and Albania. The Lord has taught her how to build a life around creativity, community, and the conviction that ordinary people doing faithful things in ordinary places is how most of God’s work gets done. She has been teaching art as ministry for over a decade, and she believes that the most transformative art experiences happen not in galleries but at kitchen tables and church halls — wherever someone decides to make room.
Jessica Handwork Artist · Following Jesus · Georgia & AlbaniaCome make something
with us
Space is limited. When it’s full, it’s full. Registration and donation through GivingFuel — all contributions are tax-deductible through ACT International.
Questions? Email here
Reservations are non-refundable, as this is a donation, but transferable. Materials and lunch included as a hostess gift.
A few things
people ask
Do I need to have any art experience?
No. The techniques we use are chosen specifically so that someone who has never touched watercolor or mixed media can engage fully. The point of the day is not to become a better artist — it’s to experience what happens when you make things in the presence of Scripture. Anyone can do that.
What does “Heart Hub” mean?
A Heart Hub is a person or space that uses creativity as a ministry of welcome. It might be a corner in your church where art supplies are always available. It might be a gathering you host once a month. It might be how you run a home group. The concept is simple: art lowers walls, and when walls are lower, relationship and faith are possible. The afternoon session gives you a clear framework for what this could look like where you are.
What materials do I need to bring?
Nothing. All art supplies, materials, a Bible for the Scripture portions, and lunch are included. Just bring yourself and something to take notes in if you’d like.
Where exactly is this being held?
The workshop is at a church in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The full address will be shared with registered attendees. If you’re traveling from outside the area, Gwinnett is northeast of Atlanta, easily accessible from I-85.
Is this only for women?
The day is open to anyone, though it will likely draw mostly women. If you’re a man who is curious about art ministry or who supports the work in Albania, you are absolutely welcome.
Where does the donation money actually go?
All net proceeds go to Big Heart Studios in Albania through ACT International, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The studio is sustained entirely by individual supporters — there is no institutional funding. Your reservation is a donation that comes with a really good Saturday attached to it. You will receive a tax receipt from ACT International.
Can I bring a friend?
Please do. Space is limited and it will fill, so make sure they register before coming. This kind of day is almost always better with someone you already know in the room.
Still have a question?
Email Jessica