Loading Video . . . Screenwriter Samuel Gray Anderson explores the theme of healing and Hebrews 11:13-16 (below) in his new script about a father attempting to reunite with his son from a past life. Hebrews 11:13-16 Distant Greetings By Samuel Gray Anderson Credits: Artist Location: Gardena, California Curated by: Michael Markham 2014 Screen Story Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Distant Greetings is a potential title that has accompanied me for many years. It was inspired by Hebrews 11:13-16: ‘All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.’ (NASB) I find these words deeply moving in their description of these heroes who glimpsed salvation from afar and held to that promise, refusing the false consolation of a return to a prior – lost or abandoned – homeland, insisting on the existence of something better, something which alone merits that name, ‘homeland.’ Yet my mind constantly seizes on the distance in this expression, ‘welcomed them from a distance.’ There is hope in this, but also a deep longing. Each time I have tried writing something with this title, my mind has gravitated toward the distance rather than the promise; or perhaps you could say that it has lost its way in that distance. I find this aspect much more palpable, but trying to articulate it, I seek a stronger sense of the promise that lies beyond it. I don’t think that I have ever succeeded in these attempts, which is perhaps why I turn to these words so often. As I was contemplating this passage again recently, the title resonated in my mind with a story that I have wanted to tell for a long time, loosely inspired by an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, ‘Babylon Revisited’; the story of a man trying to reunite with his child, lost due to many failings that he is trying to make right, not yet finding himself capable of doing so. The central character in this story experiences it on a much different level, but he also lives in this tension between something that lies behind and a promise of life to come – in this case, embodied in his child and the potential for reconciliation. Following this basic framework while writing my own story, I sought to draw out this dynamic, making the promise of life more pronounced in certain moments while also deepening the sense of separation. Fitzgerald’s story is about a man working to convince others that he deserves to be a father; with mine, I wanted to present a man who still has to convince himself, and who struggles with the tension between coming to terms with one’s past and forgetting, never quite certain where healing lies. Fleshing out this story, I found that I was able to inhabit it more deeply by working within a form that is new for me; a screenplay form that incorporates short story elements, or a short story form constructed in a way that points toward a film. Pasolini wrote of the screenplay as an art form that aspires to become another art form: it is not complete in itself, but always points toward another work that will fulfill it. Exaggerating this aspect of the form seemed fitting for exploring this idea of living in between a promise and its fulfillment, and for exploring the tension between forgetting the past (but possibly losing all it meant) and seeking reconciliation with it (but risking to live perpetually in its shadow). In order to live more fully in the skin of my characters, and with the hope of giving the reader a more intense, if more indirect, taste of the subsequent film that could arise from this form, I tilted the screenplay in the direction of prose. At times, the process took me much further than I expected or intended, and certain passages will clearly be impossible to recreate in a film without significant translation. But I found this to be very fruitful, as it helped me more fully to feel what was at stake in the questions driving it. The more I ponder these questions, the more I find that they are central to my understanding of what is potential in art. Art gives us a sense of what is possible beyond the world as we know it, but often does so by deepening our sense of a wound that we have all experienced, together and individually. In this, perhaps, it offers us the strength to resist false consolation, to continue to insist that there is something more, ‘a better country,’ as the passage reads. Even when it offers us no specific promise, art gives us the sense of this country, filling us with yearning. This yearning may heighten our experience of the wound; but it also guides us toward healing, at times by insisting that true healing is possible, at others by reminding us that we have not yet experienced true healing, and perhaps haven’t even conceived what true healing would be. It helps us to welcome the promise ‘from a distance,’ perhaps; in any case, this is what, in the best moments, the act of writing and filmmaking does for me. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Samuel Gray Anderson is a writer and filmmaker living in Gardena, CA with his wife Susan and son Theodor. He was born in Latrobe, PA, grew up in South Carolina, and studied English at Yale University. He is the co-founder of the production company Almond Tree Films, with which he has written and produced the feature films Munyurangabo (2007), Lucky Life (2010), and Abigail Harm (2012). His work has participated in the Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, and Tribeca film festivals, among others. Website Samuel Gray Anderson About the Artist Samuel Gray Anderson Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art A faint din of glasses chiming, being filled with ice and liquor; distant chatter echoing across a lounge. View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . A faint din of glasses chiming, being filled with ice and liquor; distant chatter echoing across a lounge. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This piece by jazz composer Benje Daneman responds to John 15:13 and the theme of "Friend/Community." John 15:13 To Lay Down One's Life By Benje Daneman Credits: Live Recording by Gordon van Gent (GVG Productions) Trumpet by Benje Daneman Piano by Jeremy Siskind Saxophone by Andrew Rathbun Curated by: Jonathon Roberts and Janna Aliese 2012 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Jesus commands love from his followers (John 15:12, 17). He then goes on to tell them best way to go about doing it – sacrificially loving (John 15:13). This is the backbone to the gospel – the GOOD news that God loves us unconditionally, and we as His people, are called to exude that love to this world. Like any good teacher, Christ didn’t tell us something and then not show it himself. In John 15:13, He not only is explaining the gospel, but He is foretelling His own future – His sacrifice to come, and how that in itself will be the greatest love we can receive when He laid His life down for us. My goal through “To Lay Down One’s Life” was to essentially musically map out the psychological and spiritual path of sacrificial love. The piece starts out with a shell of a chord progression. This specific harmonic movement is prevalent throughout the composition in different forms representing God’s command of “Love” – the driving force behind the sacrificial giving. As the piece progresses into a stoic call and a confident start, it quickly diminishes into a bit more uncontrolled, off-balanced improvisatory section – representing the sting, loss, turmoil and trials that we eventually feel through our sacrifice. Yet, as believers, our eyes should be set on the horizon, our faith in God, during the storm. He is present through the dark and hard moments, even when we don’t feel him (as is the “love” progression throughout the piece. It appears with different tonality and in different meters, but the shell is there mostly throughout). The composition comes to a conclusion as we reach the other side of the valley – a bit beaten and weary from the journey, but wiser, more mature and understanding God and his faithfulness a bit better. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection About Benje Daneman A sought after musician for his personal approach, creative musicality and strong versatility, Daneman got his start professionally in 2007 on a national tour with with Doc Severinsen’s Big Band. Since then he has performed with the world renowned Jose Limon Dance Ensemble, recorded for the Grammy nominated album “Elevation” (HMI Big Band) and has appeared as both a leader and sideman at prestigious venues across the country including The Kennedy Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center, FONT (Festival of New Trumpet) Music Festival and The Iridium. As a composer/arranger, he has received commissions from the United States Air Force Band (in Europe), Dr. Steve Zegree, Spark and Echo Arts and Lutheran Music Missions. His 2015 Artist in Residence for Spark and Echo Arts, is the catalyst for one of his newest projects called Search Party which approaches faith topics through original music, with a band including some of the top musicians on the jazz scene today, including Ike Sturm, Jon Cowherd, Jaimeo Brown and Ashley Daneman. Another new project of Daneman’s, Life Stories, calls upon his deep interest and history in musical storytelling by musically creating a personal and unique experience for the audience by aurally recreating true stories of people places and events. Daneman’s 2013 EP release Estelle’s Farewell Gift features all original compositions featuring Jeremy Siskind, Ashley Daneman and Andrew Rathbun and has been described as “Simple songs that open doors to complex reactions” (David Sumner, Bird Is The Worm). A Teaching Artist for the New York Pops, Daneman is a passionate educator and has led clinics and workshops throughout the country at such institutions as McNally Smith College, Western Michigan University, Concordia University and for the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association. He is also the co-director of the Jazz & Creative Institute (http://www.jcinstitute.org), which has a mission to inspire artistic development and cultivate creative entrepreneurship for all levels of creative musicians. Benje has attended and holds degrees from Western Michigan University, The Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles, CA), and Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY). Benje lives in New York City with his wife, jazz singer-songwriter, Ashley Daneman and daughters, Rivi and Elise. Website Benje Daneman About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 1 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 2 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Benje Daneman Benje Daneman Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . On Saturday, July 14, 2012, three streams of the arts will converge in a collaborative performance as part of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s fifth annual City of Water Day festival on Governor’s Island with: REFLECTIONS ON WATER: NEW WORKS OF MUSIC, DANCE, AND SPOKEN WORD POETRY Isaiah 43:2 Reflections on Water By Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2012 Dance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Curated by Spark+Echo Arts, Reflections on Water will feature premieres of commissioned works from dancer Emily SoRelle Adams , dancer/choreographer Elizabeth Dishman/Coriolis, along with poet and featured Spark and Echo Artist, Emily Ruth Hazel. (Check out Emily’s recent poem: Word of Mouth .) The program will also join the distinctive voices and styles of other New York City artists, including MiXed Company (Bill Humphrey-saxophone, Jessica Rechner-vocals), acoustic singer/songwriter Phoebe Lyng , singer/songwriter Meaghan Burke (cello, vocals), and poet/multidisciplinary artist Meghan Bechtel. Be refreshed by waves of music and by the flow of words-in-motion with this soul-stirring exploration of the many shapes of water and what it represents in our geographic and internal landscapes. Reflections on Water will be performed at 11AM and at 2PM in Nolan Park on Governor’s Island. Both showings are free admission and open to the public. Visit our facebook event page for more! We are pleased to share some of the work by these artists with you before the event: DANCER EMILY SORELLE ADAMS DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER ELIZABETH DISHMAN/CORIOLIS SINGER/SONGWRITER PHOEBE LYNG SINGER/SONGWRITER MEAGHAN BURKE JAZZ/GOSPEL MUSICIANS MIXED COMPANY For more about “City of Water Day” visit: http://www.cityofwaterday.org/ Directions to Governors Island: http://www.cityofwaterday.org/directions-to-gi/ Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Website About the Artist Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Blessing, a composition for wind ensemble by Jonathon Roberts, slowly unfolds over nine minutes; it is a meditation on God's blessings and Numbers 6. Numbers 6:24-26 Blessing By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Musicians: Lawrence University Wind Ensemble Conductor: Robert Levy Recorded: Larry Darling (Director); Live in Memorial Chapel, Appleton, Wisconsin Artist Location: Wisconsin Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2005 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I love the warm image of God's face shining on us from Numbers 6. I imagine the peace of this blessing as a river, gently moving forward and spreading across the land. Blessing is an instrumental wind ensemble composition featuring a simple theme stretched out over nine minutes, one large crescendo giving way to a river of bells and percussion, slowing drifting away over the horizon and into infinity. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms I Make Tents The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Download the full score. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . "I Make Tents" by Jonathon Roberts is poetic prose with a rhythmic soundscape exploring Apostle Paul's life as a tentmaker and his writings on wisdom and foolishness. 2 Corinthians 2:17 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 1 Corinthians 9:6 1 Corinthians 15:8 Romans 8:20-23 Acts 18:3 Isaiah 29:14 I Make Tents By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Text by St. Paul, Jonathon Roberts, Christy Bagasao Composition and Voice by Jonathon Roberts Additional Voices/Samples: Brendan Marshall-Rashid, Timothy Troy, Terry Rew-Gottfried, Governor Jim Doyle, Senator John Kerry, Lawrence University Wind Ensemble (recorded by Larry Darling) Artist Location: Wisconsin Curated by: Jonathon 2005 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Saying Paul was a unique and dynamic person is an understatement. During his ministry he worked as a self-supporting tentmaker, so no one would accuse him of “peddling God’s Word for profit.” He communicated with people he served in many different ways depending on what they needed to hear, sometimes even using humor, sarcasm or a biting wit to get his point across. In this collage, sound samples from professors and politicians intertwine with lighter sounds and Paul’s playful and even biting words. This piece is also part of the larger multi-media theatrical production Project Paul . Like other parts of the production, this piece deals with some of Paul’s favorite themes: wisdom vs. foolishness, weakness and humility, and the painful “groaning” of this world. Paul the Tentmaker: 2 Corinthians 2:17, Acts 18:3, 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 The World is Groaning: Romans 8:20-23, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 Wisdom and Foolishness: Isaiah 29:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, 1 Corinthians 15:8 Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . It’s been very challenging working on creating individualized contemplations to send over the last couple of months. One of the major reasons is that many of the challenges people have shared with me so far are also challenges that I find myself facing in some way. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Proverbs 8:17-21 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 3 By Lauren Ferebee Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2016 2016 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link September 19, 2016 In Proverbs 8, Wisdom says: Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. (vv. 1-5) It’s been very challenging working on creating individualized contemplations to send over the last couple of months. One of the major reasons is that many of the challenges people have shared with me so far are also challenges that I find myself facing in some way. A sampling: – How do I trust myself? – How do I cope with the dust settling? – How do I share my gifts confidently and from a place of stability, compassion, genuineness? – How do I find more patience in my daily life? – How do I balance a creative life and a normal life? In creating objects for these concerns, I am forced to look at each question in a new way, thinking what do I know about this? and also, how do I move beyond my fear that I don’t, and potentially will never know the answers to these questions? Because fear is just a trick, right? Fear keeps us holding on to false answers that don’t serve us. If I have learned one thing through artistic practice this year, it is that contemplation is not, in fact, about answers. As Rilke reminds us in the ever-relevant Letters to a Young Poet , our job is never to hold fast to answers, but to seek instead for questions that we can love. I’ll tell you, it’s been twelve years since I first picked up Letters , and loving questions is still a stretch for me. As part of the discipline of my project this year, I have seriously re-committed to a daily ritual of journaling and reading books on creative practice, and lately I’ve been working my way through Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit . One of the things she speaks about is her own sense of rigidity – that questions ought to be answered, that the world is good or bad, right or wrong – and I deeply identify with that. In engaging with these unanswerable questions, I have been forced to confront my own rigidity. It is uncomfortable for me to realize that sometimes I think I am living an answer (This is right for me.) when I have really been living a question (Is this right for me?) . It is even more difficult for me to settle into the tension of living a question, or many questions, because that tension keeps the door open to other answers – to the possibility that the answer might change. Living this way requires tremendous energy, and yet it also keeps the possibility of change alive within me. One of my favorite podcasts is Krista Tippett’s, On Being. They recently replayed one of my favorite episodes with The Alchemist author, Paulo Coelho . Talking about his 34 years with his wife, he speaks of their marriage going through “many moments of destruction…but not destruction in a bad way. For example, just like you build a house, and then you say this house does not fit me anymore. So let’s reorganize, but let’s continue to live here. We don’t need to move…let’s reconstruct this house.” To me, this represents a very deep wisdom: being able to move through moments when I realize that what I have held onto in my life no longer serves me. And those are the moments when only questions can serve as the bridge between my current life and what’s next. A brave and terrifying moment, when either I move forward or stay put. “To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. ‘Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” …which leads me to the thought that I have been pushing around these last few months as I work at my project: What if wisdom is just a series of ever-deepening circles of questions? I’ll leave you with a few of the short pieces I have been composing for the book of hours I am creating. I also want to say thank you to those who have bravely shared their concerns with me and encourage anyone else who would like to receive a contemplative object to reach out to me at laurenbeth.ferebee(a)gmail.com. January/Sunday/6am Sunday Breakfast The first day of new creation The ordinary world 6am Invocation Americans depart but never arrive. We always believe there is something waiting just over our shoulders. If I arrived, what would I do next? Leave. Leave. Leave. I can’t leave. I’m barely awake. Wake up. March/Monday/9pm you’re an easy target and you know it, you’ve been told, so easy. So many versions of “are you sure” singing in your blood that describing reality makes you sick you can’t even say if your feet are on the ground. So when someone asks you if you are OK, you can’t say with any certainty if you are falling down or taking off. July/Weds/Noon I don’t know how to carry you across this river of despair. I love bridges but I am not one. Could it be in these hot days of crossing over, These ambiguous July afternoons We might simply lose despair, like we lose ourselves, the boundaries of our skins, To this gathering heat? Will sadness evaporate? Will hate? October/Sat/9am In the waning days of American prosperity, this is what we witness: The bones rising. You who think you know what violence is: Has anyone ever built an overpass on your body? Let the silence of your death wash down a river? I know more than a few people haunted by the ghosts of thousands. The land has counted every day, every death. You cannot keep secrets from the trees. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lauren Ferebee is a Texan native and a multidisciplinary artist whose primary mediums are playwriting and installation/video art. Most recently, her play The Reckless Season was selected for Stage West’s Southwest Playwriting Competition Festival of New Works, and her alternative screwball comedy Sexual Geography was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award at the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project. In 2014, she was a juried fellow at Saltonstall Arts Colony, a semifinalist for the Shakespeare’s Sister fellowship and the first theatre-artist-in-residence at HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where in addition to writing, she did community-based theatre work. Her most recent work includes Sexual Geography (developed at HUB-BUB), The Reckless Season (The Spartanburg Little Theatre/HUB-BUB), Somewhere Safer (FringeNYC 2013, Inkwell finalist), and Blood Quantum (At Hand Theatre & WET Productions). Three of her short plays, jericho, jericho , Bob Baker’s End of the World and The Pirate King are published online at indietheaternow.com , where Somewhere Safer is also published as part of the 2013 Fringe Collection. She is a member of playwriting collective Lather, Rinse, Repeat, and studied playwriting, screenwriting and television writing at Primary Stages/ESPA. Lauren also has regional and NYC credits as an actress on stage and in film, and from 2007-2010 was co-artistic director of a site-specific classical theatre company, Rebellious Subjects Theatre. She especially enjoys acting in and teaching Shakespeare and working on new plays. She holds a BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Website Lauren Ferebee About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 1 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 2 while in a foreign land Wonders of the Deep Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Lauren Ferebee Other Works By Follow the previous development of Lauren's 2016 Artist in Residence project by reading her first , second , and final post. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

until-then.jpg Loading Video . . . Artist April Abesamis Knighton has created this striking personal new work in response to the theme of healing and Isaiah 25:8-9. Isaiah 25:8-9 Until Then By April Abesamis Knighton Credits: Artist Location: Chicago Curated by: Brian Dang 2014 26 x 40 inches Acrylic and Watercolor on Recycled Paper Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link It’s been a year since my older brother, Mark, was taken away from us through a tragic, senseless, and selfish act. The stabbing pain is still as fresh as it was when we learned of his death. Up until now, questions are still left unanswered. How could someone do this to a person as kind, faithful, loving, and selfless as my brother? Those of us who know him and have witnessed his character and experienced his affection are still in shock because the nature of his death is incongruent to the nature of his heart. My hope to heal from this insurmountable grief I experience of losing my brother seems fragmented at times. But one thing I know for sure, “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:8-9) Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection April Abesamis Knighton is a Chicago-based artist as well as a registered art therapist and licensed clinical counselor. She received her Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2012 and has extensive experience helping individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, sexual assault, and trauma. She currently works as an art therapist/psychotherapist at a private practice using integrative, trauma-informed, and compassion-focused therapy. A certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, accredited by the National Council for Behavioral Health, April previously worked as the Mental Health Promotion Specialist and Art Therapist at SAIC, managing a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), providing therapeutic support to students, and curating a variety of art exhibits showcasing art and its ability to transcend stigma. Her work at SAIC also focused on initiating creative programming that promoted mental health and wellness, which was featured on NBC’s TODAY Show and highlighted by professional organizations — including the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA). Trained in multiple disciplines with a deep appreciation for outsider art, April’s art practice currently centers around oil and acrylic painting and digital illustration. Website April Abesamis Knighton About the Artist Scapegoat April Abesamis Knighton Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

eoin-burke_job-1-20.jpg 140721_EoinBurkeJOB4-1.jpg EoinBurkeJOB-2.jpg eoinburkejob-1.jpg Loading Video . . . Artist Eóin Burke uses epoxy resin and paint to create a sculpture that depicts the desolation, and dedication of a man who lost everything except his faith. This work was done in response to Job 1:20 and the theme of "Destruction." Job 1:20 Job By Eoin Burke Credits: Artist Location: New Haven, Connecticut Curated by: Rebekah Kim 2014 36 x 24 x 24 inches Epoxy resin, paint Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Given the theme of "Destruction", I wanted to create something personal, both to the characters in the text and to myself. The story of Job stood out to me as a moment of destruction in the life of a man. The question that arises is a common one, "If God is good, then why is this happening?". Job's destruction is immense, and though I personally have not seen so profound a collapse, I saw in Job's story a place to process my own experiences of loss and of seeing things fall through. Like Job, I don't think we always get a justification or an explanation, but he still chooses to worship. This sculpture depicts his act of worship in the midst of loss. I wanted the forms of the sculpture to show a weariness, to show visibly the sense of being distressed by the harder events of life. However, the moment of worship is equally important, where our gaze shifts away from our circumstances. It is not the good that we receive from the Lord that is worth worshipping, but the Lord who is worthy of worship. Job is down but looking straight ahead, pitting a very legitimate despair against an attitude of trust. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Eóin Burke is a sculptor living in New Haven, CT, sharing life and art with his wife Tracie Cheng. He received an MFA in Sculpture from the Yale School of Art and a BFA in Sculpture from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. Alongside his own studio practice, he spent several years after graduation working in architecture as an ornamental sculptor with Kent Bloomer Studio as well as working collaboratively with a good friend and sculptor Jim Dessicino. His experience in ornament and in community with his church has led to a deep desire to connect his art practice with the daily life of faith as lived out with the people around him. He is currently creating communion pedestals for Elm City Vineyard, and will continue to advocate for more liturgical art in churches as an element of worship. Website Eoin Burke About the Artist Eoin Burke Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

nicora-gangi_2013-air-5_harvest_small.jpg Loading Video . . . Resident Artist Nicora Gangi's fifth work for 2013 deals with the theme of "Harvest" and responds to Mark 4:26-29 as part of a collection inspired by each of the six themes for the year. Mark 4:26-29 The Harvest By Nicora Gangi Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, 2013 Artist in Residence 2013 14 x 20 inches Paper Collage on Strathmore Paper & Adobe Photoshop Mixed Media Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link The good seed is the gospel sown in the world and sown in the heart and by degrees produces wonderful effects but with noise. So is the kingdom of God, so is the gospel when it is sown and received as seed in the good ground. Though the seed seem lost and buried under the clods it will find or make its way through them. Let the work of Christ have the place it ought to have in a soul and it will show itself. The seed planter cannot describe how it come up, it is one of the mysteries of nature. It springs and grows up he knows not how. We know not how the Spirit by the Word makes a change in the heart any more than we can account for the blowing of the wind. The farmer sleeps and rises night and day – the same is the word of grace when it is received in faith. Faith is in the heart a work of grace and the preacher contributes nothing to it. The Spirit of God is carrying it on when they sleep and can do no business. It grows gradually, first the blade and so on, when it is sprung up it will go forward. Nature will have its course and so will grace. Christ’s interest both in the world and in the heart is and will be a growing interest. Nature does nothing abruptly, God carries on his work insensibly and without noise, but insuperably and without fail. When it is ripe and ready the owner puts it to the sickle. That Christ now accepts the services which are done to him by an honest heart from a good principle from the fruit of the gospel taking place and working in the soul. Christ gathers in a harvest of honor to himself and He will reward them in eternal life. When those that receive that gospel aright have finished their course, the harvest comes when they shall be gathered as wheat into God’s barn as a sheath of corn in His season. Matthew 13:30 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 | 1 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 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 Visual artist Nicora Gangi created a collection of mixed media works in response to scripture and the six themes of the year as a 2013 Artist in Residence. Explore her works created throughout the year: Spirit of God – The Spirit Hovering Light and Darkness (February 4, 2013) Fool Fools (April 13, 2013) Dance Dancing (June 13, 2013) Lies Lies (August 22, 2013) The Harvest (This piece) Harvest (October 17, 2013) Memories Memory (December 12, 2013) Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This poem by Marlanda Dekine (Sapient Soul) invites the reader to explore the mysteries that lie beyond the initial perception of familiarity in response to Job 1:21. Job 1:21 Getting Lighter By Marlanda Dekine Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2019 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I am working to transmute feelings of loss. Of expectation & disappointment. Of feeling trapped in a liminal and transitional space, navigating desires and fears. I believe many people experience these feelings. I am certainly not the only person in my personal ancestry to experience them. There is both mysticism and groundedness in the experience of losing memory, time, loved ones, perceptions, beliefs, etc. I considered "Naked came I", "gave", "taken", and "blessed" within the context of the scripture and several words began to form free associations in my mind: cycles, birth, death, creation, destruction, coming, going, living, seeing, dying, uncontrollable, flow, stand. We can set deliberate intention amidst chaos at all times, I believe. This poem wanted to play within that realm and see what emerged. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Marlanda Dekine-Sapient Soul (she/her/they) is a poet and social worker from Plantersville, South Carolina. She is pursuing her MFA in Poetry with New York University's Low-Residency program in Paris. Learn more about their work at sapientsoul.com . Website Marlanda Dekine About the Artist Artist in Residence 2020, Sapient Soul (Marlanda Dekine) 2020 Artist in Residence: Marlanda Dekine Know Thyself Marlanda Dekine Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art She told me about being wee little waking early smashing watermelons busting them into dirt View Full Written Work Getting Lighter by Marlanda Dekine-Sapient Soul She told me about being wee little waking early smashing watermelons busting them into dirt slobbering over meat and seed sneaky childish and winning now we call her demented she is epigenetic riverway across dimensions and grandma is afraid of the expansive highway of the world that takes her children and love does not mean stay i have wanted my want as prayer obsessed with the water floating in small space the only space i believed i came from when a thing comes up out of me i follow ask where we are going why so far away from here when a thing comes up out of grandma she listens tells me what great-grandma tellin’ her these days beyond the veil grandma’s mother is telling her things like my aunt always has dreams that speak they both pray when no one knows steady stitching through shifts heating the stars and i am gone some place far some place grandma told me i could not go some free and scary place she cannot see except when she looks at me and really looks at me Close Loading Video . . . She told me about being wee little waking early smashing watermelons busting them into dirt Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Leah Ives' dance piece explores the theme of "Memory" from the passage of Numbers 15:38-40. Numbers 15:38-40 Fringe By Leah Ives Credits: Choreographed and Performed by Leah Ives Music by Rex Luthor Curated by: Elizabeth Dishman 2013 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I used the blue yarn to physically tie myself to memories because I was curious about the movement it would dictate. Sometimes it directs, sometimes it inhibits, sometimes it supports, sometimes it strangles. Eventually, like so many things that I make an attempt to remember, it loses its anchor and becomes simply part of my clothing, simply ornamentation. It raises questions for me about the necessity to frequently remember and re-attach the string in order for the string to continue to support and guide. The necessity to detach from certain memories is also apparent in order to move freely, but at what point does this desire for freedom and detachment yield no support, no direction, no anchor? Are we capable of truly remembering? Or, like the Israelites of the old testament, will we always forget, despite the fringe on our clothing. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Leah Ives is a New York based dance artist and massage therapist. Leah holds a BFA in dance from the University of Michigan. She is currently a collaborator and performer for Coriolis (dir. Elizabeth Dishman), The A.O. Movement Collective (dir. Sarah A.O. Rosner), and Avodah Dance (dir. Julie Gayer-Kris). Leah is also a co-founder of The Woods Cooperative, a cooperative rehearsal space for dance in Ridgewood, Queens. Website Leah Ives About the Artist Leah Ives Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

crislaba_duda_penteado_2001.jpg Loading Video . . . International fine artist Duda Penteado shares his captivating response to 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 in Crislaba. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 Crislaba By Duda Penteado Credits: Artist Location: Jersey City, New Jersey Curated by: Barret 2011 47 x 39 inches Mixed media on wood Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link The real question for me today is: how can an artist working in the twenty-first century continue to create original works of art after the overwhelming presence of remarkable twentieth century art movements like Cubism , Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus and Cobra? When I go to museums, I look at art from two different perspectives. One is from a historical point of view and the other is from the perspective of an artist. I will never paint like Jackson Pollock or Francisco de Goya but I profoundly admire the challenges they both brought to the aesthetics of art. The last two years have been significant for me in terms reflecting on art, history, and war. Dada was one of the most significant avant–garde art movements, born in the heart of Europe in the midst of World War I. This war remains the most brutal conflict ever seen in history and the artists of the period challenged tradition. Art as it was known would never be the same: industrialization, the photo-illustrated press, radio broadcasting, and commercial cinema. They created new strategies of art–making, including collage, montage, assemblage, readymades, and media pranks. My art installation Beauty for Ashes Project is a response to the history of modernism and functions as a twenty-first century parallel that reflects on the consequences of our times. The real challenge is to know when an artist stops quoting someone else and begins to quote himself. Great art comes from within, it is the true language of the soul. To create art is an act of faith in itself. In my case my faith in Christ Jesus is an endless source of inspiration and empowerment in the areas of creativity, love and hope. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Duda Penteado was born in São Paulo in 1968, and studied at FIAM – SP. Throughout the 1990s, he exhibited in Brazil, then moved to New York City where he obtained a position at Muriel Studio in Soho, NYC, as an assistant to Sheila Marbain, the inventor of a new "silk monotype" technique, which was employed by many leading contemporary artists. Active in Brazil and the USA, as well as in Europe throughout the late-1990s and the early 21st Century, he showed in The Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, N.J.; Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy, 2009; Monique Goldstrom Gallery, NYC; The Museum of Art and Origins, Harlem, NYC (NY); BACI-The Brazilian American Cultural Institute, Washington, DC; Museo de Las Americas, Denver, CO; CITYarts 272nd Mural, "Nature is Love on Earth", New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, The St. John's Recreation Center, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC, 2008, 2009; Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ, Kean University, Union, NJ; Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ; Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ; Drew University, Madison, NJ; Middlebury College, Vermont; UFES- Universidade Estadual do Espírito Santo, Vitoria, ES; UNESP-Universidade Estadual Paulista, SP, and SESC – SP. He was President of the Artist Certification Board, Jersey City, NJ, until 2010. His awards and recognition from various institutions in the United States include: Urban Artist Fellowship Award, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT; Goldman Sachs Student Art Project Grant, Jersey City, NJ (2006, 2007, 2008); Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; The Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, Claremont, CA; Special Guest for Artistic Achievement & Commitment to YMCA Greater, NY-Youth, NYC; American Graphic Design Award, Interactive Multimedia Installation, NYC; Humanitarian Award from the Hudson County Chapter of the American Conference on Diversity, Jersey City, NJ, and received a Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity Award, Eta Rho Chapter, New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ. Along with Mario Tapia and Dr. Carlos Hernandez, he has been at the helm of the We Are You Project since 2005. Website Duda Penteado About the Artist The Sound of the Prophet Duda Penteado Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work