I would define ‘Hidden Art’ as the art which is found in the ‘minor’ areas of life. By ‘minor’ I mean what is involved in the ‘everyday’ of anyone’s life, rather than his career or profession. Each person, I believe, has some talent which is unfulfilled in some ‘hidden area’ of his being, and which could be expressed and developed.

After describing to us the first artist – God – Mrs. Schaeffer now spends some time explaining what she means by “hidden art”.

You may or may not believe this but we are all creative, artistic if you will, in some way. We were made in the image of the God who created the universe so how could we not be creative to some degree. That being said, we are all diverse from one another and our ability to be creative and artistic varies accordingly.

This is an area in our life that we should be constantly growing in. Being creative does not mean that you go around painting murals on the walls of your home or building a sculpture for your living room. 

It does mean that we should each be developing the special talents God has given to us and using them to make our life and the lives of those around us beautiful. We will have to learn how to balance our time and set priorities so that we can develop our talents.

Priorities always a tricky subject for a homemaker. Who needs our time the most? Which jobs are the most urgent? It’s an ever-changing kaleidoscope in the managing of our homes. Here is what Mrs. Schaeffer has to say about it…

Of course something is being neglected every day. That is the finite bit of humanity asserting itself! But – and this needs emphasis – A Christian, above all people, should live artistically, aesthetically and creatively. We are supposed to be representing the Creator who is there, and whom we acknowledge to be there.

So we should be actively looking for ways to live life in a more artistic manner because of the God we serve.

Again, this doesn’t mean that we need to take art courses to develop into an artist in our home. Each of us can use the talents we already have to make life more beautiful. The important thing is to start looking for ways today to live more artistically. 

We won’t all emphasize the same things because we are all different, but we should all be able to develop some kind of beauty wherever we are living.

In the following chapters Mrs. Schaeffer will look at various areas in our life that can be developed. Ways that we can make our homes more beautiful as we seek to honour God through the unique talents He has blessed each of us with.

I would encourage you again to purchase your own copy of this book  – The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer – and read it. It will bless you as you work towards making your home a place of beauty and loving fellowship.

You can find links to other studies in this series here.