Missionary answers religious and artistic callings by carving decks of cards – Ramona Sentinel

When Ben Baker Jr. arrived in Ramona in mid-January after short stays in Lakeside, La Jolla, Chula Vista and Poway, he discovered a way to combine his church mission with his love of art.

The 22-year-old, an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on his mission in the San Diego region, revived skills he had developed before the mission. They involve an X-Acto knife, a deck of cards and video editing on YouTube.

With the coronavirus putting the usual door-to-door visits on hold, Baker decided to reach out to Ramona residents virtually. He made a card sculpture of the Welcome to Ramona sign, posted a video of him making it on Facebook and announced a raffle for his artwork.

Ben Baker Jr., an elder doing a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, created a card sculpture of the Welcome to Ramona sign and held a raffle on Facebook to give it away.

(Photo courtesy Ben Baker Jr. )

For his sculptures, Baker slices through all 52 cards in the deck to create a colorful, three-dimensional image.

The cool thing about this is that everyone has their own perspective, things that click with them, said Baker. Me, I love movies and art. I knew that if I start doing this form of art and try to share it out, everyone who loves art would appreciate that and possibly reach out to see how I do things.

Ben Baker Jr., 22, with partner Slade Sevy, 19, who came up with the idea for the Welcome to Ramona card sculpture.

(Photo by Susan Gill Vardon )

Replicating the Ramona sign wasnt his idea. That suggestion came from his partner, elder Slade Sevy, 19, who had noticed in his several months living in Ramona that residents often expressed pride in their community.

I said, You can make that and post it, said Sevy, who enjoys helping people with genealogical research. With COVID we have to find other ways to connect with people and invite them to learn more about what we teach.

The frequent moves Baker is making during his two-year mission are nothing new. His family bounced around quite a bit living in Colorado twice, Germany twice and North Carolina twice because his dad was a munitions specialist in the Army. He considers Copperas Cove, Texas home.

When he was 13 or 14 his parents asked him if he wanted to go the route of the church and eventually embark on a mission. They told him they would support whatever decision he made, he said.

After reading The Book of Mormon and praying about his future, Baker said he decided a mission was in his future to help people come to Christ. His mission started July 3, 2019.

As for his art, Baker has always appreciated three-dimensional works.

I love looking at videos of sketchings but Im not good at sketching, he said. What I love is picking up an X-Acto knife and doing little details on a piece of paper. Or building things.

Ben Baker Jr. uses all 52 cards in a deck when he creates his card sculptures using an X-Acto knife.

(Photo courtesy Ben Baker Jr. )

Baker thought about using cards for his art, but wanted to work with them in a way they could be layered with the X-Acto knife to provide depth. How to do that? Use all 52 cards in the deck, he decided.

He had another inspiration for using all the cards in the deck. God doesnt consider anyone on Earth to be an extra, he said.

It takes a full deck to create the masterpieces, he said.

Bakers research on the internet showed that no one was creating the type of card sculptures he had in mind, so he started from scratch.

Ben Baker Jr.'s first card sculpture was a silhouette of James Bond and gun in Casino Royale.

(Photo courtesy Ben Baker Jr. )

His first card was, of all things, a silhouette of James Bond in Casino Royale, with the gun barrel pointing up. It took him four hours to complete.

That was the first thing that popped into my mind, Baker said. I have never seen Casino Royale but I know that silhouette. Im jumping on the Bond wagon when I get home.

He also has created card sculptures with his favorite Marvel movie character, Captain America, as well as several religious works.

One of Ben Baker Jr.'s religious card sculptures.

(Courtesy Ben Baker Jr. )

Bakers card sculptures and social media outreach have not gone unnoticed by church officials.

Card sculpture... what is that? I had to study it, said Rebecca Davies, communications director for the San Diego region of the Latter-Day Saints church. Thats pretty amazing. How in the world did he learn to do that? And to have that skill grow into a raffle, that was pretty clever.

Social media has been a godsend during the pandemic, Davies said. Other missionaries have told stories virtually with Legos or have done musical performances where each part is videotaped separately and combined into a whole.

Whos really good at social media? The kids, she said. They were already doing this and fine-tuning their skills before they came out as missionaries. No one has to teach them. They run with it.

Baker considered his card sculpture video and raffle a way to let Ramona residents know Im here and super-excited.

It was also a way to conduct what he and Sevy call a social/religious experiment. To enter the raffle, participants had to choose a number from 1 to 531, which corresponds with the number of pages in The Book of Mormon. Baker would send participants the page from the book and ask them to mark up any references regarding a deity.

The point of the experiment is to see if the book testifies to any supreme being, Jesus or God if every page has something to do with that, Baker said. That is the purpose of the book, to teach people about Jesus Christ.

On Feb. 5, the winner of the Ramona welcome sign card sculpture was revealed: Ramona resident Karen Rawls.

Rawls said she saw Bakers video on Facebook and was amazed.

Ive never seen anything like it before, she said. I dont know how he came up with that idea. And his video was really well put together.

Rawls has the card sculpture on her piano.

I just love it. Im the only person who has one, she said.

Baker, who has about five more months on his mission, is already looking ahead. Joining the Air Force is one goal. The next is going to school to train as an architect.

He said he enjoyed getting to know Ramona residents on Facebook during his experiment. And he continues to do his card sculptures and share them.

Even if they didnt win the raffle, hopefully we can help them see the blessings that come from the page they got, Baker said.

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Missionary answers religious and artistic callings by carving decks of cards - Ramona Sentinel