Gina Ferguson Foster is the author of The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective (2017) and Studio Art: Inspired by Art History (2023). The Master and His Apprentices was published under her then-maiden name, Gina Ferguson, while the new Studio Art can be found under her since-married name, Gina Ferguson Foster.
Below is Gina’s Story of How The Master and His Apprentices Came to Be:
God’s ways are definitely higher than our ways…
First, let me say that writing an art history textbook was never something I intended to do. In fact, it wasn’t something I wanted to do. So how did I end up here? Well, that is partly my story, but mostly it is God’s. I’m sure there are details I haven’t even connected yet, and the whole story would take a long time to tell, but let me share with you a few of the main points.
However, whatever you walk away with, the most important thing to understand is that this work belongs to God. Without Him, it never would have been completed. I was simply the tool He used to bring it to fruition. Any errors or inconsistencies are no faults of His; they are simply my human shortcomings. Moreover, my prayer from the beginning has been that God would use this work to draw many people to Himself, believers and nonbelievers alike. For my part, I’m excited to see what He will do –- trusting that His name will be magnified!
An apprenticeship begins…
In many ways, I feel that the Lord has been preparing me for this work since childhood. The stories are too numerous to tell, but suffice it to say that the Lord’s hand was in them. For example, in high school, my mom just “happened” to mention my interest in art during our multigenerational Bible study. As God would have it, one of the women in the group was good friends with an artist. This artist had classically trained several apprentices over the years. She was nearing retirement and had stopped accepting new applicants. However, she had mentioned to this woman that she wanted to find one last student with whom she could finish her career.
Well, as the story goes, by God’s grace, I became “that one.” For the next two years, we worked together in what can only be described as a gift from God. I learned the fundamentals of art far better than in any class I have ever experienced — college included. Because of my age, I was able to advance very quickly. Plus, it was only because I was homeschooled (another story) that I could accept the daytime training schedule. Moreover, Ms. Herta wasn’t concerned with just teaching me vital skills like value, perspective, lighting, and color theory. She also made art history an integral part of our studies.
The college years…
Ultimately, my art and writing earned a full college scholarship, and I graduated four years later with a degree in art and English. I could tell stories of how God directed my course selections –- often much to my annoyance at the time. But I am trying to keep this short. Suffice it to say God must have been lovingly smiling at many of my frustrations. He knew that one day these “unwanted” courses would assist in His plan, for which I am most grateful!
An art history class is requested…
Following graduation, my plans were to write and illustrate children’s books while I taught private art lessons from home. I have always believed that being a Godly wife and mother is one of the highest callings a woman can aspire to. Even though God hadn’t opened that door yet, I chose to focus my efforts on writing/art/teaching. This work/ministry from home was something I felt I could move smoothly from my single years to (hopefully) homemaking years. In other words, I wasn’t on the typical career path. So, a few weeks following graduation, I had the flexibility to accept an opportunity to serve the local community. By God’s direction, I ran into a homeschool mom (I didn’t even remember) at OfficeMax. She impressed upon me the need for teachers in the local homeschool community. Would I consider teaching high school literature, writing, and art history classes?
The challenge begins…
When I agreed to teach these classes, I figured the art history class would be the easiest. I mean, I had just returned from seeing some of the world’s most famous art in person (a whole different story), and I had taken several years of college-level courses before that, so how hard could a high school class be? Well, quite difficult actually. First of all, I assumed that by this point, someone would have developed an excellent homeschool resource covering all of the major artistic periods. This assumption proved wrong, and I realized I would have to create my own materials. Realizing this, my second assumption was that I could probably use one or two of my college textbooks and add the Christian history in myself. Nevertheless, this second assumption was also proved wrong.
Technically, having these resources was a provision from the Lord. I had sold back all of my other textbooks but had kept my two favorite art history books. The problem was that these books contained a lot of nudity that the co-ops had made clear that they did not want to have included (the classes being taught to a mix of 13 to 18-year-old guys and girls).
My “calling” to this work comes…
Ultimately, I ended up working from over a dozen different books. I literally used a rolling suitcase to transport the 30-40 lbs worth of material back and forth between classes. Often, I had to tape over pictures so I could still show images on the same or opposite page. This became quite a headache to organize! In August 2006, as I had all of these books spread around me, preparing for that first class, I remember complaining to the Lord: “God, this is so frustrating. There really needs to be an art history resource available from a Christian perspective. Why can’t I find one?” Like it was yesterday, I can still vividly remember this thought in my spirit, “You are right; a new resource does need to be created, and you will be the one to write it.”
Now, I can’t say I heard a voice, but I knew this idea wasn’t from me. I was really frustrated putting the lesson plans together. And I had no interest in non-fiction writing — let alone a textbook! I remember almost laughing with a reaction like, “You can’t be serious. Me, an art history textbook? No way!” However, even though that was my initial response, and there have been several occasions when I have wanted to quit, I am confident the Lord called me to this, and that is the only reason you are reading this now. On my own, Chapter 1 would never have been written!
Art history classes begin…
While this project has been overwhelming and stressful at times, I haven’t exactly been “kicking and screaming” the whole way through. The Lord laid the project on my heart before I had even taught my first class. Working with the kids and seeing their excitement greatly encouraged and motivated me. Many of my first students had no interest in art. However, when we got into the material, many realized they really enjoyed it. In fact, often, for the first time in their lives, they could make connections between their different classes. Visually “seeing” the periods allowed them to create a framework for combining various timelines from other disciplines, be it history, Bible, literature, science, philosophy, etc. More importantly, many students were awakening to the fact that the Bible isn’t just a story but history. A history that overlaps other famous periods, places, people, and events.
Further research and writing begins…
For the next five years, I didn’t worry about “writing” anything. I simply worked with the kids, learning from their questions and interests in various periods as I continued researching and refining my “lecture notes.” However, when my parents decided to move from the suburbs of Chicago to a tiny rural town in North Carolina to start a small family farm, I decided to move with them. As a result, I spent the first half of 2011 helping to design and build a home, while in the second half, I spent a semester in Colorado as part of an intensive discipleship program. Having part of each afternoon off, I spent the time reading through the Bible, noting every reference I could find regarding art and creativity. Upon returning home and having an even clearer Scriptural focus, I began writing The Master and His Apprentices in January 2012.
The writing continues…
Writing continued on a steady part-time to full-time basis for the next five years. I also helped on the “farm,” managed a few small online businesses, and taught weekly private art lessons (and later online classes, which is another story). Graciously, God “blinded” me to many of the challenges I would face until I was ready to tackle them, thereby preventing the project’s sheer scale from becoming too overwhelming. Time and again, I saw God leading me to the right resource or person when I needed the most help.
For instance, the layout required an understanding of Adobe InDesign, a program I had never worked with. Creating templates, inserting images, and flowing text between pages was proving difficult. Fortunately, God provided a “friend of a friend” to guide me to the right resources to simplify this process. Next, I had to find all of the images I wanted to use in the public domain. I’ve since seen God’s timing in this, for I realized that even had I wanted to hurry through and publish the work during my first couple years of teaching, the majority of quality images hadn’t yet been uploaded under the proper licenses!
Publishing decisions…
From the beginning, I wanted to create something people could afford. The way I saw it, if God wanted me to write this, then He wanted people to read it. Price shouldn’t be an obstacle — something I knew an almost 400-page book with full-color photos would be in a printed version. Therefore, the book was designed with an 8½” x 11” layout so families could inexpensively print pages at home. Nevertheless, when I started the project almost 11 years earlier, I had no idea how I would disseminate the work. By this time, though, digital books rivaled printed copies, so the timing was again perfect.
Through an unexpected turn of events, the book became available in both digital and print versions. The textbook and teacher guide were released in late 2017 in preparation for the 2018-2019 school year. I remember being so excited to see how God would use this curriculum in reader’s lives. From the beginning, I prayed that God would use this book to draw non-believers to Himself and push believers further into Jesus as His fingerprints become more visible in creation and history. In fact, I can tell you that I personally believed in God growing up but working on this project has caused me to love Him so much more as my own understanding of His work in history and Creation has increased.
End of the story?
Initially, the ending read… “So where do I go from here? I don’t know exactly, but I trust that God will continue to direct my life and provide in new and unforeseen ways. I hope that one day I will be blessed with a family and children to whom I can read this book, but in the meantime, I am excited to help others. Furthermore, I hope this story (albeit condensed) has encouraged you. There is nothing exceptional about me; I am just a young woman trying to love and serve the Lord as best I can. God has graciously met me where I am and opened doors as I’ve continued to walk with Him. I know He can and will do the same for you if you trust Him. Ultimately, I hope we can one day meet and share our different stories in more detail. Until then, God bless!”
However…
In 2018, through God’s perfect timing, I connected with a man (partly due to our similar teaching interests and ministries) whom I later married in 2019! God blessed us with a son in 2020 and a daughter in 2022. All the while, The Master and His Apprentices: Art History from a Christian Perspective was selling, and I was receiving feedback on its impact on readers’ lives. However, one question that kept coming up was if I could write a companion resource that covered studio art projects. Initially, I was not interested. But in 2022, we felt led to move forward, and I began writing Studio Art: Inspired by Art History. This second curriculum was later published in 2023.
So, once again, I can say that I do not know exactly where I will go from here, but I trust that God will continue to direct in new and unforeseen ways. I continue to pray that the resources will have a great impact on readers. If they have been a blessing to you, please let me know. In the meantime, God bless!
You can learn more about the homeschool art and art history curricula here.