Loading Video . . . This video art work by artist and priest Regan O'Callaghan explores the edges of faith and the liminal space between the holy and the mundane in response to 2 Peter 2:18-21. 2 Peter 2:18-21 Fonisoun By Regan O'Callaghan Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2018 Site-specific Video Art Performance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link The scripture from 2 Peter is a reminder to be aware of false teachers. Their words are a façade. As a priest in the Church of England I am aware of the power of spoken words. They can build up or break down, enlighten or deceive or simply bore and fall onto stony ground. As an artist I am thankful there is another way to explore the indescribable mysteries of faith, a creative alternative to verbal expressions and proclamations. As an outward sign some priests wear the clerical collar, which is meant to denote their role and their responsibility in sharing the Word of God. But it is also just a strip of cheap plastic which when worn to tightly restricts and suffocates not only the wearer but also the listener. But wonderfully in the midst of religious grandstanding and performance, sometimes the living word can be seen, heard and experienced in the mundane, simple events of every day life. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Regan O’Callaghan is an artist who lives in London, England. Originally from New Zealand he moved to the United Kingdom in 1993 where he studied art and religious studies including the technique of icon painting. In 2001 Regan was ordained into the Church of England. He combines his religious ministry with art leading many art projects and workshops as well as painting a number of commissions including an icon for Saint Paul’s Cathedral London. He believes in a ministry of encouragement where art is the facilitator. Artist Statement "The nature of my practice is based on the application of contemporary and traditional techniques and the morphing of different religious themes and symbols in painting, installations and video. All my work explores ideas of ritual, the sacred and profane with the intention of drawing the viewer into challenging realms of order and chaos, apophatic and cataphatic, light and dark." www.reganocallaghan.com Website Regan O'Callaghan About the Artist Regan O'Callaghan Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Singer Ileana Santamaría wrote a poem that she then brought to musician Raffi Dimoian to produce this intimate spoken word piece imagining Eve's response to Adam from Genesis 2:21-24. Genesis 2:21-24 Eve's Song By Ileana Santamaría + Raffi Dimoian Credits: Written by Ileana Santamaría Composition and Piano by Raffi Dimoian Vocals: Ileana Santamaría Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2017 Spoken Word Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link This piece, “Adam! (Eve’s song)”, came about as a response to Genesis 2:21-24 and to the beautiful idea of a helpmeet* – Ezer in the Ancient Hebrew, a helper suitable for man, a companion on this Earth that was given first to him and then to her and their progeny. In a way, it was also a response to the deeply moving response to the same passage conceived by Spark and Echo in their first album. Titled “Flesh”, that work – in itself Adam’s response to this wondrous creature made from and for him, marked by an exuberant, childlike joy and excitement in showing her around the garden and declaring giddily, ‘I was waiting, I was waiting for you’, made quite an impression on me. Recently I was reminded of that fascination with the idea of Eve after reading a blurb from Christian author Gary Thomas’ book Cherish , in which he espouses the notion of Eve being the only woman on Earth as a guideline for men struggling with temptation, calling on them to cherish their wives (hence the title) as the sole woman on Earth, the precious gem crafted for and given especially to them. The seedling of an idea was thus born and lay dormant in me until recently, namely, that of responding to this Scripture by assuming Eve’s voice as she responds to Adam about her calling from and to his side and their calling together. Raffi has been a perfect collaborator for this piece, helping me flesh it out from its bare-bones poem form and suggesting verbal markings that brought out both the music in the recitation and the deeper meaning in the words themselves. After that initial interaction with and response to the piece, he then took to the piano and, with each new run-through, engaged my delivery, helping along the shift from monologue set to music to an interplay in the fullest sense — both interactive and playful, words responding to and bouncing off of notes and vice versa. It is our hope and prayer that “Adam! (Eve’s song)” will capture something that will speak to and, in keeping with the spirit and the objective of this wonderful Spark and Echo Arts project, illuminate some aspect of the person of Eve — who and what she was made to be before the Fall, beyond the infamous fruit of the tree she is perennially associated with. The piece aims to tie in that destiny “redeemed, restored”, as one line reads, into the redemption of our humanity in Jesus Christ, and in particular, of the aspect of woman as partner — a femininity that goes way beyond one-dimensional stereotypes back to its true roots in gentle yet fiercely loving strength and capacity to love and serve and to follow our Lord together with man through the hardships of this life. *help·mate ˈhelpˌmāt/Submit a helpful companion or partner, especially one’s husband or wife. Origin: late 17th century (as helpmeet ): from an erroneous reading of Gen. 2:18, 20, where Adam’s future wife is described as “an help meet for him” (i.e., a suitable helper for him). The variant helpmate came into use in the early 18th century. (From Google Dictionary ) Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Ileana Santamaría began the performing artist life as an aspiring Latin singer over a decade ago, embarking on the long journey of fulfilling an aspiration rooted in an eclectic, music-filled childhood. After much meandering, following (mostly unwittingly) where the Lord led, she happened upon a voice teacher that opened up her voice and found beauty in it, a surprise to Ileana, who had long struggled with vocal technique and producing healthy, beautiful sound. While waiting for the surprise of getting to sing, her Heavenly Father bestowed upon her many other gracious gifts — a knack for foreign languages, work in an international organization, friends from many countries and walks of life, and a talent for and enjoyment of crafting spoken word poetry, which Ileana first dabbled in producing and performing in her college years. Today she is privileged and honored to collaborate on this piece with her dear friend Raffi Dimoian ( bio below ), French horn player, pianist, budding spoken word artist and fellow appreciator of wordsmithery and language. Raffi Dimoian set out on his journey to multifaceted, inventive music-making in early childhood; classical piano was his first port of call (and a home base he would return to often) before choosing the French horn as primary instrument in his teens. Drawn to jazz and world music, Raffi came to the United States, the first foreign student to attend the California Institute of the Arts on a full scholarship. The palette of sounds Raffi works with in composing and producing edgy, lyrical tracks is enriched by his fertile aural imagination and his eclectic musical influences, which span the sounds of his Armenian heritage and Bulgarian upbringing as well as his affinity for Middle Eastern microtonal melodies and African rhythms, to name but a few. Raffi is a lifelong language buff and has enjoyed the process of helping create music for a spoken word piece, finding himself inspired to write some of his own spoken word poetry as a result. Website Ileana Santamaría + Raffi Dimoian About the Artist Ileana Santamaría + Raffi Dimoian Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Brooklyn-based stop-motion animator and mixed media artist (painter, sculptor) Jessie Brugger chose Isaiah 59 for this fanciful and macabre exploration of Spark+Echo Arts' 2012 theme "Hands." Molding clay, Jessie inquires of the imagery in the passage, vividly animating the poetry of the ancient prophet's grim language. Isaiah 59 Webs By Jessie Brugger Credits: Curated by: Charis J Carmichael Braun 2012 Film, Stop Motion Animation Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Born into a Catholic family and having a father who was a Catholic priest, I am intrigued with religion and how it takes such a presence in society. There are a lot of unknown's when it comes to Religion; for me, and my work is an exploration into that unknown. The church has been a main influence on my life and work; as it is the first place I understood hierarchy, power struggles and gender injustice, at the same time experiencing beauty, light, and spirituality. I often use the "Carnivalesque" as a vehicle to portray my thoughts and stories. I was interested in the Bible project that Spark and Echo Arts is doing because there were no limits placed on my interpretation of any passage from the Bible. I chose hands as my theme because I believe the Bible is a mixture of Man's hands and spirituality. I chose Isaiah 59 because it was so visually dark and showed how evil man could be, yet somewhere in hands that can do evil, they can also do beauty and goodness too. Hands have always been my favorite thing to draw since I was a child. My hands are my tools. Creating my vision through clay maquettes that I build in order to tell a story, I use the maquettes as a world to draw from, and then animate. The sculptures are raw and imperfect. I am interested in video because of the time element, I am interested in stop-animation because of the freedom of imagination it allows for: each photo that is taken in the process of a stop animation video is a moment in time that is captured, and complete, yet it is part of a bigger picture. My maquettes, paintings, drawings and videos are all part of a bigger world, in which I am creating. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Jessie Brugger was born in Puyallup, Washington. She started her artistic studies of painting, drawing, and mixed media at Western Washington University in 1997. In 2000, she transferred to Concordia University, in Montreal Quebec, receiving her Bachelors of Fine arts in 2002. Jessie moved to Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2005, and in 2010 she completed a Masters of Fine Arts at the New York Academy of Art. She started doing stop animation in 2010 with her drawings, clay, and other mixed materials. The videos that Jessie makes are colorful and whimsical, yet disquieting and socially political. In April 2011, she was awarded “Best in Animation” at the New York International Film Festival for her video, “The Stained Glass Window.” Jessie works on her animations, maquettes, paintings and drawings in Brooklyn, New York. Website Jessie Brugger About the Artist Jessie Brugger Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Img 1660 img_1660.jpg isaiah-43_3.jpg isaiah-43_4.jpg Loading Video . . . This visual work by theater artist Emily Clare Zempel explores the concept of "Beginnings" and Isaiah 43:18-19 which invites us to "Remember not the former things." Isaiah 43:18-19 Rivers in the Desert By Emily Clare Zempel Credits: Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Jonathon + Emily 2012 Digital photography collage Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I felt called to respond to this theme because I have been experiencing a period of beginnings in my life. Most tangibly, my husband Jonathon and I moved to a new apartment in the Bronx. We packed our things, said goodbye to the East Village: to restaurants on every corner, to a shower in our kitchen, and to the three tiny rooms that comprised the first home we shared together. We said hello to an unknown neighborhood in the Bronx, space, empty streets, room to breathe, and new possibilities. With the energy of a fresh start, I made my "New Years Resolutions" in February, a little later than usual. As my body began to unwind from that compact 300 square feet to a spacious 1,000, my mind began to clear, and I began to fill the time and space now given to me by searching for the next step in my professional and creative life. For me, this has involved a lot of theological exploration, discussion, and journalling in my new found subway time. I have also begun to develop new areas of my life, areas that I have always wanted to explore, but that have been put on the back burner due to restraints in time, space, and finances. Physically, I began training for a marathon. I have enjoyed running for several years now, but I am amazed at how the structure of a training program is allowing me to thrive. Combined with my proximity to Central Park, I am ready to be amazed by what the human body can do, and how we can challenge ourselves to use it more fully. Artistically, I am hoping to expand my interests into visual art (mostly drawing and painting) and dance. I know that growing in these areas will feed my artistic spirit and deepen the work I do in both music and theater. Last weekend I was told that there are two deep sources of pain that we as humans habitually cultivate; impatience with other people and everyday worry. Realizing that these two instinctual reactions are a choice that I make has been a powerful factor in this new chapter of my life. Highlighted in this realization is the fact that when I try to control my life, these two monsters are constantly looking over my shoulder. When, in some rare moments, I am able to trust and let go, those monsters lose their hold on me as well. The above pieces are an exploration of my visual sense of newness, creation and beginning. Compiled are photographic elements from a few series of photographs: a perfect witch hazel plant in full bloom, our new apartment stacked full of boxes, and New Years Resolutions scrawled on sticky notes. This series of four photographs explores the struggle between God and myself to create new beginnings. I cloud His purpose with my will, my busyness, and my frantic pace, trying to create my future and force it into submission. Meanwhile, God presents me with this "new thing", which I am only able to see if I let go of my cluttered mind. I found it fitting to explore these themes in a very unfamiliar medium, forcing me to relinquish my control and my ego, and to begin expanding my vision. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Emily Clare Zempel (Spark+Echo Arts Co-Founder) is an actor and musician based in Beacon, NY, who received her MFA from Brooklyn College. Favorite credits include Katherine in Love’s Labour’s Lost at Milwaukee Shakespeare, Ophelia in Hamlet at Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, and Wittenberg at Rep Stage, which was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. She plays bassoon, ukulele, guitar, clarinet, and other assorted toys in Spark & Echo the Band, has co-created the original play Esther with Jonathon Roberts and Chris Cragin, and has a small obsession with running marathons. Website Emily Clare Zempel About the Artist Bitter Drink Emily Clare Zempel Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Jacob David Pettibone Loading Video . . . We are pleased to present the work of David Pettibone as he explores the theme of "Hands" from the story of Jacob and Esau from Genesis 27:1-17. Genesis 27:1-17 Jacob By David Pettibone Credits: Curated by: Charis J Carmichael Braun 2012 16 x 27 inches Oil on canvas Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I consider myself agnostic and initially had superficial reservations about taking on this project. Yet I have a deep respect for religion and immeasurable appreciation for the good that can come out of faith and tradition. I also have always felt an intense connection and fascination with the iconography of the Catholic Church and would never deny the effects of nearly two thousand years of christianity on an individual, growing up in a western society. My stance on religion, I feel, is important to mention as it hopefully gives the viewer insight into the approach I chose towards making my painting. I was initially drawn to the theme of hands for many reasons. As a painter, I create with my hands. The handcrafted, in the age of speed and overload, is almost a symbol of defiance. To create directly with the hands is to slow the world down and reconnect with all that is physical and sometimes primal. An unmatched level of craftsmanship and much beauty can come directly from the hand. And yet, at the same time, the hand is responsible for so much that is ugly and destructive. The human hand can nourish and save life and it can just as easily, sometimes with more ease, take life away. In Genesis, through his hands, Jacob deceives his own, blind father, Isaac, in order to obtain the birthright that was to be his elder brother's- to rule over his people. And it was those same hands, with which he later wrestled with an angel, thus becoming "Israel", a prince with God and a leader of the Jewish people. I chose the moment of deception as the subject for my painting as it is a moment that expresses the extreme contradictions that the human hand is capable of. Mores specifically, I chose to focus on the hands themselves. As it may look to a dying, elderly man, blinded by age, obscure hands come out from the shadow and are laid down on a blood-red table. Instead of goat skin, I chose lambskin to cover the backs of Jacob's hands. Traditionally, the Bible refers to believers as Lambs of God, and I felt that using lambskin would bridge the identity from Jacob to all people. As all of us are capable of using our hands towards both deception and graciousness. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection David Pettibone is a New York based artist focusing extensively on the medium of oil paint and the portrayal of the contemporary figure. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona and received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Upon graduating, he stayed on at the New York Academy of Art for one more year as a Fellow. He has taught painting at Brooklyn College and currently teaches drawing and painting at Marymount Manhattan College, 3rd Ward in Brooklyn and Brooklyn Artist Gym. His work is included in various private collections with continuous growing support. Website David Pettibone About the Artist David Pettibone Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Author Lancelot Schaubert offers the final release from his inventive three-part mini-series, presented as a small newspaper in response to a collection of Scripture passages. This section focuses on the theme of "kings" as found in Judges 9:7-21 in addition to a summation of the series. Judges 9:7-21 Dragonsmaw Daily | 3 By Lancelot Schaubert Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2020 Creative Writing Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I wanted to literalize the story of the trees electing a king, so I featured some of the tree creatures of Gergia and their recent conclave to elect a new Woodward. I think you'll find that the sort of thing spoken of in Judges is quite literal in Gergia. The Dragonsmaw daily is a paper circulating on LOMEDAY of the month of BLAGUROEDD 47 in the year 1109 P.T. on Gergia, one of the Vale Universe ( short story series here ). It may seem like a high-shelf sort of entry for the average reader, something that takes a herculean effort to embrace in terms of the suspension of disbelief or secondary belief in my created world. However, I think it's quite easy: if you'll trust me, it'll read as a wonderfully foreign paper from a wonderfully foreign world. It's ephemera: something like an in-world artifact I happened to pick up from a newsboy who was hawking EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA copies in order to have enough ₮ to get his sister through the week on an onion (actually it's more like a leek) based soup. She beat the fever, in case you were wondering. But I brought it back from Gergia and gave it to my friends at Spark and Echo that it might supplement the stories I've written here and elsewhere about these fantastic worlds I travel so frequently. For those that have followed along in any capacity, this paper tells of events taking place prior to the events in the Moon Boys series from my artist residency and quite far in the past from the other commissions here at Spark and Echo. It occupies the region around the Imperial Crescent in Gergia (top left of the main land mass on that false map I drew of the world) . Each of the events recorded in this paper feature major workings in the region. All together I wanted to bind up the themes of extinction, of power dynamics, and of being lost and found into one piece. So I stitched together three commissions in a more unified form than normal. Of course some parts of the paper will remain out of reach for some time — like any foreign country, Gergian customs and economics and politics only make sense after you've lived there for quite some time. But one day the times, dates, seasons, and currency will make perfect sense to you. And then the dread realization of what the paper really reveals will come all too clear, as clear as a Bell Hammer. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lancelot has sold work to The New Haven Review (The Institute Library), The Anglican Theological Review, TOR (MacMillan), McSweeney's, The Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and many, many similar markets. (His favorite, a rather risqué piece, illuminated bankroll management by prison inmates in the World Series Edition of Poker Pro). Publisher's Weekly called his debut novel BELL HAMMERS "a hoot." He has lectured on these at academic conferences, graduate classes, and nerd conventions in Nashville, Portland, Baltimore, Tarrytown, NYC, Joplin, and elsewhere. The Missouri Tourism Bureau, WRKR, Flying Treasure, 9art, The Brooklyn Film Festival, NYC Indie Film Fest, Spiva Center for the Arts, The Institute of the North in Alaska, and the Chicago Museum of Photography have all worked with him as a film producer and director in various capacities. Website Lancelot Schaubert About the Artist Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 3 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 2 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 1 Posh Girls As Waters Cover Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 Watchtower Stripped to the Bonemeal Metaphysical Insurance Claim 0075A: The Delphic Oracle Philadelphia Bloodlines Lancelot Schaubert Other Works By As with most shared newspapers, some of the pages have been pulled out and are out of order, so you will have to piece them together as the project is released. You may find the other parts of the project at Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 and Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 . You may also view the entirety of the project, here — as a brand new newspaper. Related Information View More Art Make More Art FANCY FEAST has returned to Dragonsmaw! View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . FANCY FEAST has returned to Dragonsmaw! Download Full Written Work

He is Good; His Love Endures Forever (11x17, Paper Collage on Strathmore Drawing Paper) They Burned the House of God (11x17", Paper Collage on Strathmore Drawing Paper with Conte Crayon) Loading Video . . . In this project, collectively entitled "A Body without the Spirit," visual artist Nicora Gangi explores a contrast between two passages from the same book: 2 Chronicles 7:3-4 and 2 Chronicles 36:19. 2 Chronicles 36:19 2 Chronicles 7:3-4 The Body without the Spirit | 1 By Nicora Gangi Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, April Knighton 2021 Various Sizes Mixed Media Collage Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link About "He is good; His love endures forever" (from II Chronicles 7:3-4) This collage was created to give the viewer a sense of looking up at the perfect glory light of God's presence. This account in II Chronicles shows us the reverence of His people before Him, adoring Him, expressing their awful dread of the Divine Majesty, along with their cheerful submission to the Divine Authority. They—with thankfulness—acknowledge the goodness of God. Even when the fire of the Lord came down they praised him, saying: "He is good, for his mercy endureth forever. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, but the sacrifice is consumed instead, for which we are bound to be very thankful" (NASB). About "They burned the house of God" (from II Chronicles 36:19) In this image I have begun to create a scene of the havoc and destruction of the temple. The previous verses ( vv. 14-18 ) describe the desolation itself. Multitudes were put to the sword, even in the house of their sanctuary. They fled for refuge there, hoping that the holiness of the place would be their protection. But how could they expect to find it so when they themselves had polluted it with their abominations? They forsook God, who had compassion on them, but they still would have none of Him. All the remaining vessels of the temple (great and small), all the sacred treasures of God's house, and all the secular treasures of the king and his princes were seized and brought to Babylon. The temple was burnt, the walls of Jerusalem were demolished, the houses and all the furniture were destroyed and laid in ashes: A significant indicator for us all to be diligent and to watch over the temple of our body and soul, rooting out the worm that creates havoc and causes the sin that leads to destruction. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Nicora Gangi was educated at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA (BFA 1974 and MFA 1976). She was a Professor of Art at Syracuse University for 29 years. Gangi has been awarded many Grand Prize and First Place awards and grants. She has been and continues to be published in numerous artist’s books on pastel paintings. She has lectured regionally and nationally as a visiting artist at universities and artist’s guilds. She is represented by: Edgewood Gallery (Syracuse, NY), and Gangi Studio (Winter Garden, FL ). Website Nicora Gangi About the Artist The Mountain of the House of The Lord I See Him but Not Now So Shall Your Descendants Be This One The Body without the Spirit | 2 The Body without the Spirit | 3 The Sealed Ones Peace with God The Everlasting Protective Love of God Our Father When the Lord Gives Us The Land I See Him but Not Now The Mountain of the House of The Lord Paneled and Ruins Series The Harvest Spirit of God-The Spirit Hovering Memories Lies Fool Dance Your Truth from the Great Congregation Psalm 18 Sound of Their Wings Psalm 16 Kiss the Son EAST, WEST, NORTH & SOUTH AT HIS TABLE Nicora Gangi Other Works By View the other two posts in this collection at: The Body without the Spirit | 2 The Body without the Spirit | 3 Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

mandy-bankson_strangers_se.jpg Loading Video . . . California artist Mandy Bankson responds to the theme of "Strangers" and Hebrews 13:2. Hebrews 13:2 Strangers By Mandy Bankson Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2014 40" x 30" Acrylic Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I chose this passage, on the theme of Strangers, because of an experience I had many years ago. Coming out of anesthesia after a major surgery, there were several nurses around my gurney, looking down at me. When I saw them, I saw each person as an individual gift. Their skin was like wrapping paper holding an extremely precious and unique treasure inside. I believe I was given a glimpse of what God sees when he looks at us with Love. God sees first not our faults and weaknesses, but our beauty, our creation in His image. This theme and this verse in particular, allowed me to honor the spiritual experience I had 20 years ago that continues to affect the way I see people around me. So much of each of us is hidden. And in what is hidden there is often a treasure to be discovered. We are called as God's friends, to be hospitable to that stranger, no matter who they are. Sometimes that is not easy; sometimes it is. But we are reminded in this verse of the mystery that is lurking when we allow ourselves to enter into God's kingdom and see as God sees. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Mandy Bankson was born in rural Indiana. Her mother was an artist and Mandy began drawing and painting as a young girl, attracted to patterns and design.. Although art was always on the periphery, she taught Special Education in the San Francisco bay area for many years. After marrying a widower with two young daughters and moving to Santa Rosa, CA , she began to paint more seriously. Mandy paints abstractly inspired by patterns of the natural world. However her most recent body of work is an abstract series based on Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:10-18). She started and continues to curate the Gallery at First, a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa. She is also involved in the gallery at The Journey Center, a Christ centered community. Mandy is an ARTrails Open Studio artist, and shows in Marin and Sonoma counties: her works are collected locally and internationally. More of her work can be viewed on her website www.mandybankson.net . Website Mandy Bankson About the Artist Mandy Bankson Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Vandermause Infancy Full Loading Video . . . We are happy to premiere a new photo collage created by photographer Melissa Vandermause in response to 2 Timothy 3:15 and theme of "beginning". 2 Timothy 3:15 "From Infancy..." By Melissa Vandermause Credits: Artist Location: Connecticut Curated by: Charis J. Carmichael Braun 2012 Photography Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I created this image of my 8 month old daughter Vera and her father, who is raising her up in his arms. It was crafted by using a lensbaby, a lens that I use which works with a very small focal plane and blurs out the rest of the image. I wanted to capture my daughter's expression of childlike confidence in her father. It was challenging to take a photograph of a moving baby, but I finally captured one that gave the effect of a surreal world while still seeing an expressive child. Once the image was in Photoshop, I copied and pasted the flowers from the lamp behind her to give the image even more of a "virtual reality" feeling. By just playing with the levels and adding some old photo effects I was very pleased with the final results and I imagine this is how God sees us as we were brought into light through baptism. I want this image to evoke the significance that the Holy Scriptures has on children, and that from infancy you can be communicating to them God's love and raise them to know God's saving work. As a parent, I feel my most important job is to implant in the minds of our children the knowledge of Jesus as our Savior. It can be a scary, unforgiving world and that is shown by the darkness surrounding Vera in this image. But with God's light of salvation, our children can be raised to the light of Jesus, and as parents we can know that with his word at baptism they are saved. We are free and his light shines on us so we may be truly happy and our childlike faith is visible to the world. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Melissa Vandermause has a B. A. in Fine Art from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN, where she studied studio art and concentrated in photography and graphic design. After she graduated, she worked with New Generation Studio (now Lime Rock Photography) in Mankato, and was the recipient of the Wedding Album of the Year (2006 MPPA) award. Melissa, her husband Greg and two children live and work near Hartford, Connecticut where Melissa documents, creates and “captures life as intended” with her own professional photography studio, Galleria Vivid. Website Melissa Vandermause About the Artist I once was blind but now I see Melissa Vandermause Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

! Loading Video . . . Taking the voice of an outsider looking in, and with a sound reminiscent of Patsy Cline, Taryn Randall's song of longing and mystery explores the community and supernatural events found in Acts 4:31-37. Acts 4:31-37 House Shudder By Taryn Randall Credits: Composed and Performed by Taryn Randall Curated by: Sarah Gregory 2016 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link When I first read this verse, I had a really difficult time relating to it. Giving up everything you own for the good of those around you is very counter-cultural, especially when living in a city like NYC, where so much meaning is placed in your career and possessions. Writing from the perspective of someone inside of this lifestyle didn't sit right with me, so I decided to turn it around and write from the view of a person looking in. As an outsider, the two things that stood out to me the most in this passage were the supernatural event of the meeting place shaking and the deep sense of community. The house shuddering is a physical event, something tangible that can be seen and felt. The community speaks to all of our need for love and companionship; it's a gateway to the greater story of God's ultimate redemption of the world. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Taryn Randall is a native Californian who has lived in Brooklyn, NY the last 4 years. She recently finished recording her first full length album under the name COTE and is releasing the first single at the end of July. When she’s not working on music, Taryn is a jewelry designer for a number of companies, including her own, Jefferson NYC. www.jefferson-nyc.com Website Taryn Randall About the Artist Taryn Randall Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Playwright Nick Stokes has written a short play in response to the Book of Nehemiah wherein the prophet leads the people of Israel to rebuild Jerusalem after returning from a long exile in Egypt. Nehemiah 1:1-13:31 Rebuild By Nick Stokes Credits: Curated by: Emily Clare Zempel 2012 One Act Play Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Community can be understood as a political concept. The book of Nehemiah struck me immediately as political, at a political time of the year (2012 elections), when politics dominated our public discourse. A community comes together to build a wall. In the midst of the communal building, usury and capitalizing on one’s brothers is thrown out of town. The wall is built: triumph, celebration, community. But the seed of the wall’s downfall is laid in its very nature of exclusion and fear. The wall excludes the audience. No foreigners are allowed to corrupt the segregated “utopia”. In completing the wall, the community reaches its ascendancy, and then begins to stagnate in corruption, a perception of lack, self-serving greed, apathy, and paranoia. Without the unifying purpose of building the wall to unite the people, the community disintegrates and the cycle of the rise and fall of civilization continues. REBUILD is an energetic ensemble performance piece based in movement and rhythm. It places the audience in an adversarial, outsider, and at times deific relationship with the ensemble. It overlays ancient Judah with contemporary society. It builds walls and tears them down. Or perhaps the opposite. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Nick Stokes is a playwright and author living outside Seattle who sometimes packs mules in the wilderness of Montana. Website Nick Stokes About the Artist Sing Nick Stokes Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ENSEMBLE: 1-8. Eight men and women. A mixture of ethnicities preferred. PLACE AND TIME: A city, a country, a community. Here and Now. View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ENSEMBLE: 1-8. Eight men and women. A mixture of ethnicities preferred. PLACE AND TIME: A city, a country, a community. Here and Now. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . UK musician and composer Daniel Brew explores the theme of healing and Mark 5:1-20 in his hypnotic new piece, Away and Began. Mark 5:1-20 Away and Began By Daniel Brew Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2014 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I chose these words from the passage as the title for the piece because I think it captures something incredibly powerful about the healing of Legion. We meet someone here who is an absolute outcast from society. However, it’s actually much worse than this. Delving deeper into the narrative and the language used we see that actually we meet someone who personifies death itself. He is as good as dead. “This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.” Mark 5:3-5 This man is away from the town and other people, living in self destructive solitude among the tombs. The image of God in which he was created (Genesis 1:26-27) is clearly warped and distorted. But after he has been healed, what we see is that immediately, by the astonishing authority of Jesus and his word, he is “sitting there, dressed and in his right mind”. It is here we see a theme that is repeated throughout the Gospel of Mark right up to the cross. We see surprising reversals. “Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.” Mark 5:17 Upon hearing of this the people were afraid of what they had seen Jesus do and they began to plead with him to leave. The demon possessed man now goes away and begins to tell of what Jesus has done for him, but consequently in healing the man Jesus himself becomes an outcast being told to leave the region. The piece was written from the start with this theme in mind. I tried to portray this and many other details from the narrative through every aspect of both the compositional and audio production side of the piece. It is written for the following instruments: Canvas + Electronics Electric Guitar Drum Kit and Percussion Prepared Electric Guitar + Electronics Bass Guiar Voice Although I am a guitar player I was keen, first of all, to simply experiment with sounds away from my instrument to try and provoke a creativeness that was not restricted by the habits and technique of my guitar playing. Therefore, I quite literally started with a blank canvas, which I amplified. I attached two contact mics to it, one on the left and one on the right, making it stereo. I then ran each mic through various different guitar pedals and experimented with the sounds it created. I began just by recording the canvas, played with a variety of implements to create a wide range of sounds. I also experimented with prepared guitar wanting to capture something of Legions destructiveness through unconventional ways of playing and using the instrument. Some of the set ups involved were playing the guitar with a violin bow, a washing up sponge and weaving paperclips between the strings, whilst further manipulating the sound using electronics. An overwhelmingly number of ideas came from these initial experimentations and a small handful of these then went on to form a sort of scaffolding behind the main landscape of the whole piece on top of which I was then able to further compose. I added more colour and texture to this landscape through harmony and melody, exploring the altered scale and playing around with the dissonance and consonance from within that to try and reflect the theme of healing through the gradual movement form dissonance to consonance. Also, other instruments were added to help create a wider sound spectrum providing more depth or brightness when I felt it was needed both as the piece developed in its own right and how the narrative of Mark 5 was being outlined in the piece. I was concerned about setting the scene. I want to take the listener on a journey and help them feel, be it only a reflection, something of the transformation that we see in Mark 5. I also want the listener to enjoy sound. Not just relationships between sounds, such as harmony and rhythm, but simply the sounds themselves and how they are all beautifully and complexly detailed in themselves, but then come together to paint a picture which I have tried my best to reflect the narrative we read in the Gospel of Mark. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Daniel Brew : At the age of 17 I moved to Manchester from my hometown of Cleethorpes to study music. I have just recently finished those studies and graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a 1st class degree in Music. My principal study was guitar and I feel was very fortunate to be able to study with some great world renowned musicians both from the jazz world and the classical. Having the opportunity learn form such excellent and inspirational teachers has helped me to excel greatly in many areas of my playing and overall musicianship. During my final year studying at the RNCM I began working closely with a composer and teacher of mine called Mauricio Pauly for whom I recorded one of his most recent compositions written for solo electric guitar. This was a huge learning curve for me and provided the main platform for me becoming involved in contemporary music. I am currently preparing some more pieces in preparation for a concert with his ensemble, Distractfold. I have also recently been offered a place to study at Impuls 2015 Academy for Contemporary Music in Graz (Austria) that will be taking place in February for 13 days. I now work as a self-employed musician in and around the north west of England and I am always involved in many different projects covering a wide range of musical styles. I have my own contemporary jazz trio (Apes Grapes) in which I do the majority of my composing and we are all very influenced not only by jazz but a wide range of contemporary music which no doubt leaks into our compositions. I have also recently started working with the Architectural Association Interprofessional Studio in London exploring ways of translating structure and spatial design into/through music, challenging the frontiers of working in between art, architecture and performance. Website Daniel Brew About the Artist Daniel Brew Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work