Finding Beauty in Broken Pieces
At first glance, the paper mâché cameras created during I AM ART 2026 looked like colorful works of imagination. Built from recycled cardboard, paper, and found materials, each camera reflected the creativity and personality of its maker. But the project was designed to be much more than a sculpture. It invited students to think about how they see the world, how they see themselves, and how God brings restoration through brokenness.
Led by volunteer artist Nichole Rich from Ohio, the workshop unfolded over several days, with each stage building on the last. Students began by creating detailed still-life landscape drawings, carefully observing and illustrating the world around them. They also designed abstract silhouette self-portraits filled with symbols and images that represented their interests, gifts, and unique identities.
Once the drawings were complete, the project took an unexpected turn as all of the Core Workshop projects did in session three: I AM BROKEN.
Students were asked to tear apart the artwork they had spent so much time creating. For many, the assignment was difficult. They hesitated before making the first tear, unsure why they would intentionally damage something they had worked so hard to complete.
Rather than discarding the pieces, students gathered the torn fragments and combined them with sections of their silhouette portraits to create entirely new collages. These restored images became the “photographs” displayed inside their finished paper mâché cameras. What had once seemed ruined became the foundation for something new.
The artistic process reflected session four’s theme: I AM RESTORED.
As students explored the idea of brokenness through art, Nichole also invited them to consider places in their own lives where they had experienced hurt, disappointment, or fear. To help make the conversation personal, she shared part of her own story and encouraged students to reflect honestly on their own experiences.
She later wrote:
“The students didn’t understand brokenness at first. But after sharing my own story, they began writing about the places in their own lives where they felt broken. Then we painted over those words as a reminder that God sees our brokenness and can restore it into something beautiful.”
—Nichole Rich, Workshop Leader
The atmosphere in the room changed as students began writing their reflections. Workshop interpreter Sergio Chávez from Guatemala noticed that the creative process had become something much deeper than an art assignment.
“The students took their time. They thought deeply before writing about a painful memory on their cameras. It became more than an art project—it became a moment of reflection.”
—Sergio Chávez, Workshop Interpreter
The workshop also connected naturally with the story of Ruth, which students explored throughout the week. After experiencing profound loss, Ruth found herself gathering leftover grain in the fields of Boaz—collecting what others had overlooked. In time, God used those ordinary moments to provide for Ruth and Naomi and to begin a much larger story of redemption.
The creative process echoed that same pattern. Students gathered recycled pieces of artwork that appeared damaged or incomplete and discovered that those very pieces became essential to the finished composition. The restored collage served as a reminder that brokenness does not have to define the final outcome.
By the end of the week, each student held a finished camera that represented more than artistic skill. It told a personal story of observation, creativity, reflection, and restoration. The project challenged students to look beyond first impressions and recognize that beauty can emerge through unexpected circumstances.
For Athentikos, the workshop also reflected a larger philosophy of creative formation. Art was not used simply to illustrate a lesson. The creative process itself became the lesson. As students made, broke, and restored their artwork, they experienced with their own hands the themes they had been discussing throughout the week.
The cameras will eventually become keepsakes from I AM ART 2026, but the conversations they inspired—and the reminder that God continues to bring restoration through every season of life—are the project’s lasting legacy.
Read the Full Impact Report for Opal House I AM ART camp here.
