Welcome to Amanuensis Gallery

The Dictionary explanation for Amanuensis is this:

A literary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts.  The etymology of amanuensis:  In Latin, the phrase "servus a manu" translates loosely as “slave with secretarial (handwriting) duties’.  In the Cambridge English Dictionary: A person whose job is to write down what another person says….

We understand the creative energies that inspire us, and the work that we do, as coming from the God who created us and everything in this beautiful universe.  Throughout the Scriptures that we call the Bible, the understanding has been that God the creator pours out his creative energies on particular people, that they might declare the Glory of God.  These creative energies encompass visual imagery, drama, musical gifts, prose and poetic writing, and the myriad ways in which human beings can be creative.  The purpose of these creative energies is to reveal the God who created them. 

We chose the name 'Amanuensis', because it describes perfectly how we understand the creative energies we have and use.  We experience the wonder of God the creator in all the beauty of the creation, and we seek to display what we have imbibed through faithful expression of that inspiration. "Oh Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!  Your glory is higher than the heavens...When I look at the night sky and see the works of your fingers, the moon and stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?"  As well as the wonder of creation, we also seek to display the Glory of God experienced through his word to us in Scripture, and in particular, the experience of the Incarnate Word, Jesus, who perfectly displays the character of the God we worship.  

So this Gallery seeks to explore both the General Revelation of God, displayed through the universe, alongside the Special Revelation of God, displayed in the Word declared within the Christian Scriptures, but most especially in the 'Incarnate Word, and Son Jesus Christ, using the creative gifts given for that purpose, predominately visual (but not exclusively so).

About the Gallery

Amanuensis Gallery was created as a way of recording the creative energies, inspired by God, by Greg and Sharon Footit. 

Greg trained and has worked as an artist, particularly in the mediums of drawing and painting.  Most of his work has been intentionally seeking to visualize the wonder of creation, particularly found in the Australian landscape.  Having found ‘faith’ as a teenager, he saw the work he did as bringing the wonder of creation to be delighted in and enjoyed; but also, as artists throughout history, his intent at times, was to hold up a mirror to show something of the injustice that can be found in human choices and ways of behaving.  (In some of the works in Northern Territory, Greg sought to paint places where violence had been done to Indigenous Australians, but to show the strength, courage and resilience of these peoples, in the images of miraculous plant life coming out of the cracks of rock and desert; an identifying of the people with the land they steward. 

As an ordained minister, Greg felt a very strong call from God to serve and minister as a leader in the Anglican Church.  However, in all this time, his first call, and vocation, was always understood as using the creative gifts given to him by God, to declare God’s glory, and tell the story of our salvation; of Jesus, in ways other than just with words.

Sharon can’t even draw stick figures!  Here energy, creatively, is in words, and drama, wanting to bring alive the message of salvation, and the word of God, beyond the sermon; though of course, the sermon is still most important.  These opportunities were focussed on the big events of Christmas and Easter, particularly Good Friday reflections, using images, drama, poetry, and story, to bring alive the events for us in a new generation and a new time to reflect upon.

The work falls into 2 categories: The work recorded in this Gallery is the work created by Greg and Sharon over many years.  As already stated, Sharon’s work is in writing and drama, while Greg’s is in visual images, either two dimensional or three, as in sculptures also are part of the work. 

Please note that the Easter passion meditations are available for you to use in your own worship settings provided you let Greg and Sharon know that you're using them.

You may also be able to borrow the original paintings. Send them a message through the Contact Tab.