About the artist
Artist Agape exists to glorify God by creating art that spreads joy, hope, and encouragement, covering hearts and landscapes with His Word—trusting, as Isaiah 55:11 declares, that His Word will not return void but will accomplish all He intends.
I am
a Child of God, wife, mother, artist living in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in North West Georgia, endeavoring to spread joy and hope to encourage and uplift others through art and to cover the landscape with His word, because His word does not return void and always accomplishes what He intends!
How it all started
Pablo Picasso famously said, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
When I was a child, my artist grandmother would take me to art classes with her at a local college and at a local art studio and I loved that time we shared together. One of my favorite lessons was when the teacher would put some flowers and still life, aka fruit, in the center of the room with the tables all around and everyone would draw and paint what they saw. I loved seeing the same flowers and fruit from everyone's different perspectives! How we were all looking at the same thing but each masterpiece created was so different and beautiful in its own unique way. Fast forward to my mid-teens, both of my grandmothers died within a year and my heart was broken. I stopped making art and sadly, I turned my back on God. Fast forward 20 years. I cried out to God for help - I had turned to the bottle as a coping mechanism for anxiety and undiagnosed autism + adhd for years and I did not think I could stop. But God! He rescued me and healed me. He never turned His back on me and He was waiting for me with open arms! He restored my identity as His child and He created me to be an artist.
As I healed I started making prayer bottles. At first I used old wine or beer bottles but I switched to kombucha bottles because I never want to cause an addict to want to take a drink. I painted them and collaged prayers, scriptures and pictures of angels or flowers on them. Even though I was constantly giving away the prayer bottles at AA meetings and to friends, it wasn't long before I ran out of horizontal space for all the bottles so I had to switch to painting canvases - they stack easier and can hang on vertical space!
Ashley Petty
Our mission
Artist Agape exists to glorify God by creating art that spreads joy, hope, and encouragement, covering hearts and landscapes with His Word—trusting, as Isaiah 55:11 declares, that His Word will not return void but will accomplish all He intends.