Who We Are- And What Problems We Solve With Our Temple Art:

(the First 5 of 10 Solutions):

I’m sure you caught it already… but our brand name is a play on words for contemporary, and temple—smooshed together–Contempleary Art. (I know the spelling is a little weird, but we couldn’t miss the chance for a pun!)

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and tend to focus on temples and families.  Although great strides have been made in providing resources and images for the members of our Church, we found gaps in what was being offered in temple portraiture by artists in our day, and children and youth resources to teach about covenants.  We humbly offer our solutions to help encourage you on your covenant path with God:

Problem #1: Quality

Have you ever been frustrated with the pixelated lines or smudginess of a temple wedding picture?  What about trying to get a meaningful family photo enlarged only to find that the results are blurry??

Well, we decided to do something about that— We made it our family mission to create hand-drawn, vector-based graphics of photos of temples we have taken ourselves.  Vectors, unlike pixels from a photo or document, can be made as big as a billboard, or small as a postage stamp and still retain their image quality.  Vector graphics are mathematical points and lines, rather than little squares of color, so the images remain crisp and neat-  (just like a temple!)

When it comes to temple portraiture, we believe that although we use bright colors to inspire children and adults alike, we reverence the eternal nature of what a temple stands for, by using the best design technology available… (but not AI folks… everything is homemade here by our family of artists…)

Problem #2:  Selection

“It’s never too early to teach your children about the temple.”

In this amazing article, Nancy Dance and Dana Wright explain an important truth about teaching children.  They also give ideas by age group on how to teach children about the temple! (It’s definitely worth the read…)

There are plenty of vintage/aged temple portraits, or even hyper-realistic temple portraits, but that doesn’t always speak to a toddler…

So, we created Contempleary Kids!  Designed with kids in mind—we create temple artwork that has simple lines, bright colors, and hide-and-seek critters that are native to that area!  These charming posters are perfect for your child’s room, and we also have other products to help too!  We have temple puzzles for older kids, covenant lessons for most ages, and even clothing for youth to help every age and stage remember what is really important as they strive to choose the right way each day.

Problem #3: Style

I am amazed at all of the progress The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints makes each day!  It seems that every time I turn around, there is another temple dedication, an updated handbook, or new ways to reach the impoverished with advanced humanitarian aid…

I wanted to see more of that in the artistic offerings that are available for the public… To be more modern, bold, and unique as we stand for what is right—

So, we researched and developed our style over time, and were most inspired by the travel posters of the 1920’s.  How is going vintage going forward you ask??

We hadn’t really seen anything like it in temple art!  It’s about inspiring people to GO THERE SOMEDAY…

Just like the work of the Church, It felt modern, it felt bold, and it felt unique as we strive to stand for what’s right in our families… Our Temple Travel Posters are also designed to be collectible!!! Keep your family’s focus on faith as you create a modern visual reminder of your covenant path!

Problem #4: Authenticity

When I asked the Intellectual Reserve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for permission to make these artworks of the temples, I was given permission with a caveat—I had to take the temple photographs MYSELF to make the art from…   

So, not only do we create our own artwork by hand, shape by shape, but we also use photographs that we have taken ourselves!  We personally travel to each temple, use our semi-fancy camera, and create from those photos- for our original artwork.

We DO NOT USE copy and paste, AI, or use the direct front of the Salt Lake Temple (which is, itself, a copyrighted image)…

Each portrait of ours is a promise:

– that we have been to each location (sometimes as a family of 6– AND with our dog and cat)

– that we have used our own photography,

– and each finished artwork comes with our logo as a seal for that promise.

– As a bonus—we may share some of our crazy travel stories on the blog too!…  (Crazy things like getting lost in the Arizona desert or explosions over the Sierra Nevada Mountains!!!)

Problem #5: Break down

It has been noted, that the word “covenants” was mentioned 194 times in the April 2024 General Conference talks—I know it can be a little awkward when someone already says exactly what you wanted to say when we give talks, but I don’t think the leaders were worried about that…   

Both temples and covenants have been important recurring themes in the talks and guidance from the Church leadership… leading me to believe that holding to those two things will keep all of us safer, happier, and wiser…

I wanted to understand covenants more so that I could teach it to my children better—so I studied and researched and found that covenants are waaaay more than just a promise with God, as we usually say—they are gifts of His love, and a way to bless and empower us!!! It is being in HIS safe harbor…

But what does that LOOK LIKE?? (is the question I ask myself…)  The word covenant itself was even a little intimidating for me at first, but I broke down the word covenant into: COVE-enant… like a small crescent-shaped inlet of the sea… It’s shaped like a letter “C” like COVE-enant, and it represents a sheltered place to go to be kept from the ravages of the sea… Wanna know what else looks like a letter “C”??  A hug!  A Heavenly Hug– where there is always an opening to choose to come in or out, but we are kept safe when we are inside Heavenly Father’s COVE-ENANT embrace. 

So, we designed lessons in ways you have never seen that break-down important, complicated themes into memorable, engaging visuals for any age to learn!!! (especially kids…)

• Our Cove-enant lesson is a 3-D board game where children sail into the Heavenly Hug of God’s cove-enants. 
• Our ORDER-nance (or ordinance) lesson is a printable storybook and science experiment based on the technology of how they are building the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple!
• Our “Keep” of commandments is a castle knight and princess poster to hang up the commandment shields that help us stay guarded…

Breaking down information into charming analogies is one way we hope to help you, and all those you love and teach!!!  (These could be great 5^th Sunday lesson helps!)

Please see next blog post for the other 5 problems we solve with our temple art,

And,

Let us know what products you like best in our comments, or if there is something you would like to see!