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INSIDE
OUT
Things would be a lot easier for Trent "TC" Combs if life were black and white, divided in nice clean lines between good and evil, heaven and hell. But he knows, maybe more than most 20 year olds, that it's not that simple. Unlike his art, which is full of vibrant reds, sky blues and cheery yellows, TC's life has been filled with shades of gray. It was his mom, Kory Combs, who pulled together a few of his drawings and sent them off to the National Christian Art Competition hosted by Art For God (www.art4god.com). He didn't think his artwork, which draws heavily on pop culture, hip hop and graffiti, even had a chance. So it was a shock when he got the news in late March that he'd won. The winning piece, titled Weight of the World (see cover), is based on a passage from the book of Ephesians in the Bible. "I draw a lot of stuff for people who are hurting and struggling," TC said. "Ephesians 6:10-12 talks about a spiritual battle. Not just in the realm that we're in, but the spiritual battle between good and evil. And putting on the armor of God to protect yourself. In the picture, the guy's got the weight of the world on his shoulders from temptations and struggles that he goes through, just in his daily life." But the "guy" in the picture isn't just any guy. It's TC, channeling his soul and spirit into ink and paper. He draws stories about trying to live a Christian life in a world with no easy answers. "It's really my emotions that I'm portraying, out of my hand and onto a piece of paper," he said. "I'll be driving down the street and see a homeless person struggling. And my heart will go out to him."
SHIFTING SANDS TC's middle school art teacher, Rafael Mosqueda, calls his drawings "powerful stuff," and describes a picture TC drew right after 9/11 of the crumbling Twin Towers. Out of the rubble, a pair of hands emerge, "like God's hands trying to hold them up," Mosqueda said.
Mosqueda, or Mr. Mo as the students at Jefferson Middle School call him, was teaching TC during seventh grade, right about the time TC's family life fell apart. His parents divorced, then his mom ended up in an abusive relationship and TC stayed with his father. "I was kind of in a downfall for a few years," he explained softly, shifting from foot to foot in his baggy jeans. "Until our mom came back to us kids." But he left out a key piece of that story. "It took TC confronting me to get me out of that relationship," Kory said. "When you hear it from your own kids, it kind of wakes you up more." In the meantime, TC's dad had remarried. Eventually TC moved back in with his mom. Just a few months ago, his dad and stepmom had a baby girl, and again TC finds himself torn — this time between wanting to make time to be a good big brother and wanting to focus on his own life. "It's hard to be in their lives when you're trying to start your own," he said. In a world of shifting sands, TC is having a tough time finding firm footing. He can't decide what he wants to do with his life now, whether he should go to art school or continue working for his grandpa. And he's not sure how to promote his art. What he knows is that he wants to draw.
PROVIDENCE
When Stephen Sawyer, the founder and primary artist of Art For God, started the Christian art competition this year, he was trying to create a community forum that would help connect artists. "That's kind of what the competition has done," he said. "It's given people a chance to toss an anchor and say, 'At least I know I belong here.'" But does someone like TC, with his images of African American idols like Biggie Smalls and Tupac (who were both killed), and his edgy, hip hop style, really fit into something like Art For God? If he knew Sawyer even a little, TC might understand why the answer is yes, and why he won the competition. "It's about making Jesus relevant," Sawyer said. "When I do a picture of Jesus with a tattoo, or put him in a boxing ring, people say, 'Hmmm, that's different.' And guess who's leaving the church in droves? It's people his age. Trent's work speaks to the up-and-coming generation in a very dynamic and bold way that's exciting to look at. It's strong. It's profound. It's got meaning. His work will affect Christians in ways that other artwork won't." Choosing a young artist to speak to a new generation wasn't one of the things the judges considered, but TC's work stood out. "I tried to lay out a really strong philosophy for these artists," Sawyer said. "I wanted them to be themselves and create art that reflected what they've gone through in their lives as Christians. Every judge was different in their choices. The one place they all overlapped was on Trent's piece." TC is reluctant to speculate on why he won, simply saying other people find his work unique. But ask him to talk about his technique and what inspires the drawings, and he'll go into detailed explanations. "I always start from the center and draw outward," he said. "What I'm feeling I'll throw on paper. Once I see an image, I'll get more creative and get more ideas. Then I start throwing in what could look like random images. But everything means something, and I base it around that center piece."
YOU GOTTA BELIEVE Despite his family's turmoil, TC counts his parents as his main supporters. He doesn't know it, but his mom still goes through the trash and rescues the pictures he throws out. "I can remember him being 3 or 4 and crying because he couldn't think of something to draw," she said. When she entered his artwork in the competition, Kory said she was trying to "jumpstart him, get him going, but not knowing where or how to start." Or maybe her rescue attempts are an attempt to assuage the guilt she still feels. "TC has a lot of deeply intense emotions," she said. "And he doesn't have a lot of self esteem or confidence in himself. I think a lot of that was me and his dad making bad choices and not putting him first. I know a lot of his hurt is because of me, because of the choices I've made. And I've asked him for forgiveness." Even back in seventh grade, TC lacked the ambition that comes with confidence. "He's probably scared," Mosqueda said. "But I think he'd be willing to go head to head with the top artists out there. He could definitely hold his own, but he's got to believe in himself."
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