artists

She arranged the six squares of construction paper--red, blue, and yellow on the top row, green, purple, and orange on the bottom. In a Modrian-esque way, she then selected smaller squares of tissue paper in colors that mimicked the construction paper blocks.

The other four-year-olds left the table, one by one, as if retreating from the ark. They found legos and kitchen sets and toy cars.

She undid some of her work in order to glue it down, every decision made after contemplation.

After that came the streamers--not dumped or thrown, not amassed like a shimmering mountain as the other children had applied their goodies. Her silvery streamers, each with hints of different colors, she smoothed, twisted, and swirled just so.

"Do you want glitter?" I asked. (Actually, Kim, the teacher I assisted in the Sunday school class may have asked her this.)

She considered her piece. "No, thank you." Then she signed her name.

A masterpiece.

Josh Havens (of The Afters) and I continue our conversation. In this episode, we talk about the creative process.

Yes, the dog barks on (perhaps it's poetic). And no, now that it's fully night, you can't see us. I'm looking into getting the audio-only version. I know it's out there somewhere.

Ah-ha. I'm starting to get somewhere. But apparently, blip.tv can't handle having both available on the same blog. Since it's dark, let's try the audio-only (mp3) version today, shall we?

Also, if you right-click on the "Click to Play" link, you can "Save link as" a file on your computer. That way, you can download it on your iPod. I know you want to take me everywhere you go, don't you?

Click to play

I can't put my finger on it quite yet, but something compells me to come back to this piece. It's not flashy, like watching Ed Harris re-enact a Pollock creation. Perhaps it's the meditative quality or the improvisational nature as Susie Ibarra and Makoto Fujimura influence one another.

Whatever it is, it's beautiful:

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.

Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture collects essays written by Makoto Fujimura to artists from 2004 to 2006. Living in post-9/11 New York City, Fujimura challenges artists: How does your art recognize the brokenness around you? How does your art offer hope and redemption in the midst of it?

I began this book months ago. The essays demand to be read contemplatively, even devotionally. I savored it morsel by morsel, letting each piece roll on my tongue, slide down my throat. As I digested it, it became part of me and part of my art.

I read this the other day on Pandora about Bobby Darin:

This is the third and final installment of my talk with Sandra Glahn.

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. You can learn more about Sandi and her writing at her website and at her blog.

A little boy in the pew in front of me on Sunday studied something behind me. Then he knelt at the pew and drew a couple of seconds. He stood again--he was no higher than the back of the pew--and studied. He studied more than he drew. I couldn't see his work, but I knew.

This was an artist.

Soon, his mother, probably afraid he was distracting other worshipers, told him to sit down.

"But I need to see that," he whispered. He didn't whine. This was a matter of fact.

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.