to the dance of life
Josh Havens (of The Afters) and I continue our conversation. In this episode, we talk his favorite and least favorite parts of being a musician and his challenge to Christian artists.
This audio podcast is under 7 minutes. You can download it by right-clicking on the link.
(P.S. The dog makes rare appearances in this episode.)
A few days ago (meaning sometime in January, February, or perhaps March), I sat down with Josh Havens, lead singer of the Dove Award-winning band, The Afters (as well as guitar and keyboards) and apparently Coffee Master, and talked about music.
This podcast is Part One of that interview, where we discuss how Starbucks is working toward Total World Domination in good ways.
Please ignore the incessant dog barking. Also the fact that we decided to have the interview outside with no outside lighting at night. I promise that is, indeed, Josh Havens.
Also, you can subscribe to these podcasts (and more!) through Blip.TV or through iTunes. Rumor has it the audio-only (mp3) version is floating around in cyberworld (on iTunes, I believe), but I have no idea how to get it on this post.
Psst–If you find this post interesting and think others might as well, would you mind taking a minute to stumble it? It would mean a lot to me.
Two years ago I attended a retreat that would have been dismally disappointing had it not been for two things: (1) a close friendship that came out of that retreat and (2) a breakout session on visual prayer.
Brenda Gribbin, an artist who attends my church, taught the breakout session. She armed us all with thick, 8×10 sheets, charcoal, and erasures. Then she taught us how to pray visually. For those of us new to the idea, she gave us some practical suggestions for images and symbols. But she also gave us the freedom to pursue this in our own ways. I left that session with peace and joy about a situation that had been nagging at me. God used it to allow me to feel his presence.
Since then, though I’ve used different methods (collage, sketching), I’ve made visual prayer a regular aspect of communing with God. I’ve asked Brenda if she would write her method here for us. Obviously, she agreed, so I’ll hand the mike over.
Simple drawing tools can be used to shed new light on God’s activity in any situation. This exercise creates a picture of a prayer.
“For nothing is hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light” (Mark 4:22).
Align your mind and spirit to allow the creative part of you to speak…acknowledge your ability.
"But we also need to be reminded in the do-it-yourself age that it is indeed God who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are human and humble and of the earth, and we cannot create until we acknowledge our createdness" (Walking on Water by Madeline L’Engle).
As you pray and work, memories will be a part of the finished image. Let your hand be guided by God’s inspiration and encouragement. No one else can make your mark on this moment.
Reach for solitude–quiet, prayerful, meditative–and ask God to speak.
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (I John 1:5-7).
Pray for insight from God’s perspective. Ask for Divine Light. Expect His love to soften your heart and allow forgiveness to make room for a new solution.
The supplies are simple: Charcoal, colored chalk, an eraser, and cotton pad or tissue.
Chose symbols to illustrate your issue and draw them on the paper with charcoal.
People – Circles, stick figures
Places – Square, triangle
Pain – Sharp, jagged lines
Confusion/Mystery – swirling, twirling lines
Spread charcoal over the page using a cotton pad or tissue in a horizontal motion until the page is covered. The original lines should be visible.
Erase spaces that “hold the light” or need light. Erasing symbolizes freedom from pain and worry. It represents the forgiveness necessary for God to work.
Choose a color to represent God’s action and add it to the image. It is more visible when it appears in the light spaces, where forgiveness has been applied.
Spread the colored marks in a vertical motion–God’s intervention from above.
Repeat the process of drawing, smudging and erasing until you are satisfied with the result.
Consider the finished image. Can you see a relationship that was hidden? Is there more weight in one area? What insight have you gained? Do you see a different perspective? Journal your discoveries and thank God for the gift of creativity and that He makes Himself available to us in so many ways!
Psst–If you find this post interesting and think others might as well, would you mind taking a minute to stumble it? It would mean a lot to me.
Sandra Glahn is the author of fiction (including a Christy-nominated
book), nonfiction, and Bible studies. She’s editor of the award-winning
magazine, Kindred Spirit, and adjunct professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.
In this podcast, we talk about how her writing affects her theology.
The podcast is approximately 4:45 minutes.
This is the final installment of my interview with Dr. Reg Grant, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, actor, author, and tap dancer. In this podcast, we talk about the artist, depression, and the pursuit of joy.
(To enter February’s Artuality on furniture, click here.)
In this podcast, we explore two ideas of being a Christian in the art
world: (1) seeing beauty and truth in art created by Christians and non-Christians alike and (2)
pursuing excellence in our craft because we are Christians.
Theologian Alexander Scmemann said that Christians see Christ everywhere (as quoted in God in the Gallery by Siedell). Because of the Imago Dei and because of God’s desire to reveal his beauty, we can taste it from so many sources–though the sources may come from non-Christians.
But as Christians, and in this case, specifically as artists, we must also take seriously our call to image beauty and truth with excellence. Just because we are Christians does not make our art acceptable. Just as accountants must work to have correct numbers and teachers must work to clearly communicate, artists must pursue their field with excellence. This means both working on the craft itself as well as the theology, philosophy, and ideas of beauty that become art.
The theme for this month’s Artuality carnival is furniture. How does furniture inspire you?
Some of you, being more visually artistic than I am, may tell us about a particular piece or style beautiful and artistic in its creation. You may choose to tell us how a particular piece inspires you spiritually.
I have chosen to show you a simple (and cheap, I might add) piece that inspires me not because of its inherent beauty but because of what it inspires m
e to do.
(Side note: My original idea was this chair, which I think is brilliant, beautiful, and inspiring, but Jen talked about it on her blog yesterday. The theif.)
(Side note 2: I also thought about telling you about the dollhouse my grandfather built for me, complete with wallpaper, shingles, and a beautiful white door. For years and years, it housed by imagination. But since Tanya talked about that yesterday, I thought I should find something new.)
So my piece of furn
iture is my new bookshelf.
There’s nothing special about this particular piece. It came from Target. My husband and I assembled it using no outside tools. A gerbil could have done the same job.
When my husband began working from home on a regular basis, we realized we couldn’t work in the same office, much as we love each other. So I moved. I took over a spare bedroom. (Yes, we left the bed in the room, and don’t think I haven’t made use of that for a fifteen-minute power nap!) When I got my new office, we realized we were also out of shelf space, and I needed more book space. So forth we went to Target.
Why would I choose a simple (and cheap!) black bookshelf? Because it makes me do the happy dance. Think of the shelves to fill! Think of the books and characaters who will become my friends!
And think of the characters about whom I’ll write, the stories from my imagination I’ll share that will someday (hopefully) take up a space on someone else’s bookshelf.
So what furniture inspires you? (Don’t forget to leave a comment when you link to give me a heads up!)
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a video blog/podcast. Here’s the next in the series of conversations with Dr. Reg Grant.
In this episode, he compares acting to Christianity.
The podcast is under five minutes
Today’s Artuality day! Our theme this month is movies. How have movies or a movie inspired you artistically or spiritually?
(For more explanation of Artuality, check out this post for more on this month’s theme or this one for the genesis of Artuality.)
For me, there are so many movies I can use to answer this question: how Chocolat inspired joyful living, how Hero portrayed sacrifice, the friendship and resurrection in Steel Magnolias, unconditional love in When Harry Met Sally, creation and creativity in Babette’s Feast, community in Rent, the list goes on.
But today, I want to tell you about a movie I saw last week: Bullets Over Broadway. It’s a Woody Allen movie, and it got me thinking about what it means to be an artist.
Of course, being a Woody Allen movie, part of the greatness lies in laughing at yourself. This movie is about a struggling theater writer who finally gets his big chance to produce a show. Of course, he demands to direct it so that some random director won’t mess it up. Fine, fine. But one thing: since the production’s being funded by the head mafia guy, it has to star his girlfriend. Who can’t act. Heck, she can’t even pronounce most of her words correctly. Oh, the frustrations! The impurity!
As the movie unfolds, we see that the play is really dribble. The story sucks. It doesn’t move. Finally, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer, the mafia hitman who’s been escorting the lovely mafia girlfriend, suggests a change. It’s wonderful! It’s exactly what the play needs! Everyone loves it!
Except, of course, the artist, the playwright.
The movie goes on, and the mafia hitman makes more and more suggestions. The playwright eventually recognizes the hitman’s brilliance and meets with him secretly to improve the play. By the end, the play’s a huge success. But it’s written by the hitman, not the playwright. In fact, the playwright, it turns out, isn’t an artist at all. And the hitman is. As the hitman’s artistry emerges, he can’t take the un-acting of the mafia girlfriend. So he kills her. And when he’s shot by the mafia don, his last words are about his play.
All nonsensical. Yet all true somehow. In the beginning of the movie, another playwright asks, if you’re in a burning building and you can either save a human or the last existing copies of Shakespeare’s plays, which would you choose? The rest of the movie answers this question. The main character (played by John Cusack) asks his girlfriend, do you love me as a man or as an artist? And he has to explore that question.
In some ways, it asks the same questions that Asher Lev asks: do artists have rights that other humans don’t? Are they ultimately responsible to humans or to art? What does it mean to be an artist?
These questions have to do with the spiritual formation of an artist. How do we love artists as the church? In what ways do we hold them accountable both as artists and as humans? As an artist, how do I balance a demand for excellence with loving my neighbor as myself? Obviously, I’m not going to knock off someone when they get in the way of my art, but if my attitude toward them is disparaging, isn’t it the same thing? What is the posture of an artist?
Also, in this movie, art comes from unexpected places. Who would’ve thunk that a mafia hitman who didn’t finish high school would be a brilliant playwright? Who would’ve thunk that the playwright wasn’t an artist at all? I love this part. You never know where God’ll plant beauty. In that way, it shares a theme with Amadeus.
You’re turn! Tell me on your blog about the movies that have influenced you then come back and let me know you’ve posted your entry. Oh, and when you use Mr. Linky, please leave a comment so I know a new link was left. Feel free to participate throughout the month of November whenever inspiration or epiphanies or apostraphes hit.
This is the fourth and final part of my interview with Dr. Glenn
Kreider of Dallas Theological Seminary. In this conversation, we talk
about the importance of the physical redemption of the earth to our
theology of art.
This video runs under four minutes.
I tell tales--tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones. Some call it compulsive lying. I call it writing.
