Loading Video . . . The phrase kept repeating in my mind: “he set his face like a flint” Exodus 28:1-5 Exodus 28:29-30 Proverbs 19:20-21 Isaiah 50:6-8 Hebrews 12:2 Romans 7:15 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 2 By Melissa Beck Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 Installation, Film Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link June 22, 2015 The phrase kept repeating in my mind: “he set his face like a flint” It kept speaking at me, though I didn’t know exactly what it meant. Even so, I adopted it into my thinking, and let it guide me in all I was doing. I imagined myself not being swayed by emotion, but staying the course because determination was stronger. I realized I had been letting disappointment get the best of me without even realizing it. I was in a strange place in life with little motivation but still strong dreams. I had prayed endlessly for some direction in my art endeavors and for a job, but, after so many tries and no success, I felt that my prayers and efforts had gone stale. However, I came to see that responding to the feeling of being stale was a form of giving up and being disappointed. I knew there had to be a better way to respond to these setbacks, even if they indeed were my reality. After chewing on this phrase, I found myself emailing my mom: “I didn’t even know exactly what it meant, but I thought it meant focused, going after the goal whatever the cost, literally making your face like a strong stone that can’t be moved (I guess that’s what “flint” is..? Not to be confused with “lint”…haha! definitely not the same thing).” Although humorous, this contrast of flint and lint was a clear picture of what I was thinking about. Lint is just excess; it is unstable and unnecessary in life. However, at the same time, it is inevitable. Lint is in every nook and cranny of our lives, and, even if we vacuum under the couch, wash our clothes, or clear out the dryer filter, lint will appear again. It floats in the air, visible in certain lights, invisible in others, ever changing its form. I thought about how I can be this way, that I tend to look around without focus, shifting like bits of lint in the air, unsure of what form I want to take. When I read this verse, I realized that setting my face like flint is something I have to do intentionally. Lint just happens, but a face like flint is something that is “set”–it is developed, crafted, and refined over time. So, for this piece, I set out to do a challenging work: I set out to make a pair of glasses. I wanted both the process of creating this piece and the piece itself to reflect this relationship of lint and flint. Bits of lint would be mixed into the resin that would set to hard, usable frames. I would then get lenses made in my prescription to fit the frame, so they could be usable eyeglasses, literally and metaphorically making my “face set like a flint.” Making glasses frames was something I’ve never done before, but that had never stopped me from taking on a project before. I was determined to create these and present it here as my second piece for Spark and Echo, so I did some research, met with a professional mold maker/former professor, and got to work. However, my attempts left me in a sticky mess (literally) and more complications than I want to go into here. I didn’t have a plan B except to abandon it, which I still could … But what was this piece about from the beginning anyway? I knew I still believed in the concept and the verse. And I knew that determination has to keep going even when I don’t feel determined. Therefore, as much as I would rather just not keep trying, I am going to. For this year-long residency, I’m exploring what it looks like to be committed to something, and sometimes that looks like wanting to give up. I think that’s okay to sit in that for a time. Perhaps this post, this in-progress part is more about the lint and less about the flint, more about the effort and process of “setting” our faces like flint rather than what it looks like when it’s polished and ready. To get to that place, to set our faces in flint, it often takes more time than we expect, even when we plan well and are overflowing with determination. In the end, I wanted to present a nicely finished piece, but instead I’m sharing a rough draft, the failed attempts, the linty in-between part that might not seem that impressive. However, these are all a vital part. The multiple attempts that failed give greater significance and meaning to something when it finally does succeed. I know this is nothing new, for every human is linty and failed. We all must believe that failures are not the end of the story, nor should we make them to be. So stay tuned, this piece and the journey is not finished yet. Flint and Lint, Melissa Beck Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Melissa Beck ’s work explores elements of the everyday redefining the familiar in unexpected ways so as to reawaken our eyes to what is often overlooked. She is an emerging artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Melissa grew up in Los Angeles and San Diego. She achieved her MFA in sculpture at Pratt Institute and graduated in 2013. Her dream is to create large-scale public artwork and to become an art professor. When Melissa isn’t making art, life for her consists of freelance sewing and display work, nanny-ing, dancing, laughing with her friends, visiting the California sun and taking life one step at a time with her Creator. Website Melissa Beck About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 1 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 4 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Breadth Melissa Beck Other Works By View Melissa's first , third , fourth and final posts to follow the development of her 2015 Artist in Residence project. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Dancer and choreographer Christine Suarez presents her final post on her project, Dancing the Book of Ruth, created as a 2015 Artist in Residence. Ruth 1:16-17 Artist in Residence 2015: Christine Suarez By Christine Suarez Credits: Title: Dancing the Book of Ruth Curated by: Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 2015 Dance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link It is bittersweet to submit my final post on my project. It has been a beautiful journey. And I am so grateful to share it and be supported in this way. On August 29, we performed Dancing the Book of Ruth for a generous audience at 1450 Ocean/Camera Obscura in Santa Monica, CA. It was truly a satisfying culmination of my residencies with Spark and Echo Arts and 1450 Ocean/Camera Obscura. Our performance ran about 45 minutes. I was so pleased to have collaborated with dancers, Carol McDowell and Rebeca Hernandez. A quick re-cap of my process: I was drawn to the Book of Ruth because of the story and relationship between Ruth and Naomi. I identify with Naomi's depth of desperation and feeling that God had forsaken her. I am inspired by Ruth's unshakable faith and hope. And together they do something that no other Biblical women do: they reshape what a family is and how women are supposed to behave. For this manifestation of the work I designed it in part as a site-specific piece and in part as a lecture-demonstration. It was important to me for the audience to experience the real landscape of the location and to see the work from different perspectives. It was also important to me to tell the story while also sharing our creative process. I ended up writing my own version of the story. I quote the Book of Ruth directly twice. The first with Ruth's speech to Naomi: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Like I do with most of my work, I try to infuse it with some humor. After I quoted Ruth's speech, I looked at the audience and said, "Can you imagine feeling that way to your mother-in-law?" The second passage I quote is what Naomi says upon her homecoming arrival in Bethlehem: "'Don't call me Naomi,' she told them. 'Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.'" Our video shows how we were inspired by a series of paintings that capture the moment of Ruth’s devotion to Naomi. I had the paintings up on our studio wall throughout our process. We used these images as a source for movement material. We then manipulated the shapes by moving them through space, changing speed and spatial relationships. We morphed these paintings to reflect how these women reconfigured their ideas of themselves. We also played with patterns in space to represent how these two women navigate the cultural structure, which they lived – how they both continued on with their lives together though with great uncertainty. To end the work, we developed a series of improvisation structures to embody different aspects of Naomi and Ruth. Our audience was an interesting cross section of people – all were particularly interested in the Book of Ruth. Some of whom I imagine would not normally be interested in dance-theater had it not been for the subject matter. I love that so much! We had a lot of interesting conversations post-performance about Ruth and her motives – about Naomi and how despite her loses still had a plan for survival. What was most interesting to me was to hear how important this text is to both Christian and Jewish people. In attendance were both a Rabbi and a Roman Catholic priest along with other religious people. I had interesting conversations about how this work could live in churches and synagogues. Or how I could use the structure of the piece to work with congregations to create a new version of it. It was very exciting. I plan on continuing to work on this project in 2016. I would like to investigate further how to relate to the text. How can the performers and myself be in dialogue with these ancient Biblical women? I am curious about new entry points into the story and these women's lives. I appreciate any thoughts or reflections. Email me at info@suarezdance.org . Thanks! Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Christine Suarez is a Los Angeles-based choreographer, performer and educator. Born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in Baton Rouge Louisiana, Christine made her first works of choreography to the Grease soundtrack. Since then she has created eleven evening-length dance-theater works, numerous site-specific and community events and close to a dozen dances for the theater and film, along with teaching, creating and performing at school sites all over the U.S. While living in New York City from 1994-2006, her work was presented at various venues including Danspace Project, P.S. 122, HERE, Joyce SoHo and Dixon Place. In 1998 she founded SuarezDanceTheater, a not-for-profit, ensemble of dancers, actors and musicians. SuarezDanceTheater examines the unexpected – creating dance-theater in unexpected places with unexpected people about unexpected subjects. Christine and company were Artists in Residence at Tribeca Performing Arts Center from 2003-2006. Her work has toured nationally and internationally to over 20 cities. Her work happens in theaters, houses, parks, Churches, galleries, sidewalks and beaches. She collaborates with multi-generational performers along with parents, children, veterans, high school students and teen mothers. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has been invigorated by making dances in unexpected places. Wet Spots (2008) was a site-specific performance about female orgasm that she created in collaboration with a multi-generational cast of women. The Los Angeles Times called it “ingeniously crafted…poignant…hilarious.” She has organized community dance participatory performances in parks, beaches and classrooms in partnership with city governments, community based organizations and schools. She has also been touring Wet Spots: Solo to Tallinn, Estonia, Movement Research at Judson Church (New York City), The Garage (San Francisco), Emory University (Atlanta, GA), The A.W.A.R.D. Show! (REDCAT). Most recently she premiered her new evening length work MOTHER . at the Motion Pacific at the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival and Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, CA. As an educator, Christine has worked at public schools all over the New York City and Los Angeles area. She has been a guest teacher/choreographer at California State University San Marcos, California State University Los Angeles, Emory University, Indiana University, Southeastern University of Louisiana and Louisiana State University. She holds an MFA in choreography from UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Department and a BA in Theater and English Literature from Emory University. She is a government contractor co-creating a dance program for Veterans at The School for Better Living, a psycho-social research initiative a the West Los Angeles VA Hospital. She also works as a teaching artist with the HeArt Project. She has been awarded grants from the Center for Cultural Innovation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Puffin Foundation, Meet the Composer, the Association for Hispanic Arts, JP Morgan Chase Regrant, the Field and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. She is honored to be a Hispanic Scholarship Fund/Cheech Marin Endowed Scholarship Scholar and recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund McNamara Family Creative Arts Projects Grant. (Photo by CedarBough Saeji) www.suarezdance.org Website Christine Suarez About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Christine Suarez Part 2 Artist in Residence 2015: Christine Suarez Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Christine Suarez Part 1 The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning. Christine Suarez Other Works By Follow the developmental journey of Christine's project by reading her first , second , and third post written over the course of the year. 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Oil Monster Katrina Zezza Loading Video . . . Artist and theologian Katrina Ross illuminates the timeless words of Revelation 13:1-2 with a lens of today's potential context. Revelation 13:1-2 Oil Monster By Katrina Ross Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2020 Pen + Photoshop Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Illuminating this passage was challenging for me, because of how it has been used to terrorize and demonize groups of people, but I chose it because I've always loved drawing giant monsters. There are a variety of interpretations for the "beasts" described in the Book of Revelation, but it is widely thought that the beasts are meant to represent religious and economic powers within society which persuade people to pledge their allegiance to institutional powers, often at the expense of what is good and right. In its original context, the beast of the sea was likely a subversive reference to the imperial cult of Rome and specifically Emperor Nero who was a notoriously brutal and unjust persecutor. However, this story has found its way into the narrative of other battles and culture wars since. As with most Bible stories, Revelation can be used to justify almost any worldview. The beast can become whatever you find most threatening or what you see as the greatest evil of our time, but I think it is important to keep God's faithfulness in mind as we interpret scripture. I find it especially troubling when the beast is said to represent marginalized groups because this text was written to give people hope for justice in the face of institutionalized cruelty, not to further subjugate the powerless. Lately, I've been thinking about how theology is used to uphold unjust systems of power. For our context, I think the beast of the sea would more appropriately symbolize wealth inequality, systemic injustice and corporate greed. The seven heads of the beast, said to be seven emperors who formed the Roman Empire, might today be the seven "supermajors" of Big Oil whose influence disproportionately controls political and economic direction worldwide. I think this story, found in the Book of Revelation, is about God's witness to the oppressive forces in our world, which will be overcome in God's time and with our compassionate action. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Katrina Ross is currently an M.Div student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and she has also worked as a freelance graphic designer and artist for many years. She draws things using ink, water-based paints and digital applications. Katrina’s inspiration is often derived from things she thinks she saw, or symbols that want to be reconfigured. She tries to avoid explicit narrative to leave room for a range of experiences, because your contribution as the viewer is central to the meaning. Website: katrinaross.net Blog: katrinaross.blogspot.com Website Katrina Ross About the Artist Samuel and Time Travel Katrina Ross Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This piece has been quite a process, and now I’m happy to say it is complete…or rather what I set out to do is complete. Exodus 28:1-5 Exodus 28:29-30 Proverbs 19:20-21 Isaiah 50:7 Hebrews 12:2 Romans 7:15 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 4 By Melissa Beck Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 Installation, Film Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link December 7, 2015 This piece has been quite a process, and now I’m happy to say it is complete…or rather what I set out to do is complete. I made a pair of glasses that I can wear. I got an eye exam and had my prescription put in the frames so wearing these glasses improves my vision. The lint that once was aimless excess is now redeemed, making up part of the structure of the frames. Inherently an object of focus, these glasses make the lint into something fixed and give it purpose. I learned later on that putting the lint into a resin doesn’t just help the lint become a fixed object, but the lint’s presence in the resin give the frames rigidity and actually contribute to its strength. Although this piece is “finished,” it didn’t turn out as I had thought but instead has taught me more. While the piece itself represents redemption of the figurative lint in our lives, the process of making these glasses forced me to enact the practice of setting my face like flint. Despite failures and struggle, I had to remain determined in order for the piece to be completed. One of the hardest parts about making this piece was not knowing how to do it because I had never done this before…and I’m pretty sure no one else has either. As my earlier post showed, I had run into issues and thought many times about abandoning the piece. It’s often the case that we lose our flint-like faces before we even get anywhere. At least I notice that about myself. Therefore we are not required to carry the load ourselves. This piece makes me think of when Christ died saying, “it is finished” (John19:30) and when Paul said to “work out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12). Sometimes this seems like a paradox; that work must be done even when something is finished. Although my glasses piece is finished, it still can be worked on. The screws are weak, the shape doesn’t fit well enough to stay on my face, and actually the lenses keep falling out. Even still, they work and are fully functioning glasses. They are finished, and yet I may keep working on them. I like how Isaiah 50:7 starts out with “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me…”. It’s a reminder that anything we do is first empowered by and possible because of God. He is our helper and we can’t do anything on our own. Several people helped me along the way in making this piece. Their help was essential to this piece. Even as we get impatient with ourselves, want to abandon the process because we seem to be getting nowhere, our Maker is in the business of refining us with us. Our in progress states are just as much of value and importance as a finished piece. Sometimes it’s the doing of something where we learn and grow the most, making that process essential. In life we are never finished. We are always pieces of lint being redeemed, and that is a good thing. Flint and Lint In progress: blue silicone mold and resin cast of glasses frames inside. In progress: resin is cured, ready to be sanded to desired thickness. In progress: resin is cured, ready to be sanded to desired thickness. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Melissa Beck ’s work explores elements of the everyday redefining the familiar in unexpected ways so as to reawaken our eyes to what is often overlooked. She is an emerging artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Melissa grew up in Los Angeles and San Diego. She achieved her MFA in sculpture at Pratt Institute and graduated in 2013. Her dream is to create large-scale public artwork and to become an art professor. When Melissa isn’t making art, life for her consists of freelance sewing and display work, nanny-ing, dancing, laughing with her friends, visiting the California sun and taking life one step at a time with her Creator. Website Melissa Beck About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 1 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 2 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Melissa Beck Breadth Melissa Beck Other Works By View Melissa's first , second , third , and final posts to follow the development of her 2015 Artist in Residence project. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

vesper-stamper_not-my-vineyard.jpg Loading Video . . . Vesper Stamper's work entitled "This is Not My Vineyard" responds to the theme of "Memory" and the passage of Deuteronomy 6:4-12. This is a self-portrait, which is a discipline I have been trying to keep this Advent as a way to understand Jesus' coming into the deepest reaches of my own life in its present complexities. Deuteronomy 6:4-12 This is Not My Vineyard By Vesper Stamper Credits: Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2013 22 x 15 inches Watercolor on Paper Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link My faith has come to a place of simplicity over the past couple of years, distilling to the basic elements of the "Shema" ("Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one"), and the Greatest Commandment ("You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and might"), both of which are contained in this passage, with the command to bind the awareness of the Lord's presence and ways on the hand and forehead, signifying both the mind and the will/deeds. I grew up in a Jewish home, so these passages have always been familiar to me, but I realized that I had a superficial knowledge of their context. I was surprised by God's matter-of-fact understanding of how quickly we forget Him even when we are in the midst of His abundance‚ an abundance that others before us had labored for, meaning that everything we think we have earned has been placed divinely in our lives in a long succession of events. Just as the Jewish practice of wrapping tefillin is a way of entwining the awareness of God in the mind and will, we are called by this Scripture to consciously entwine into our memories His deeds, past, present and future. This is a self-portrait, which is a discipline I have been trying to keep this Advent as a way to understand Jesus' coming into the deepest reaches of my own life in its present complexities. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection My work draws on mysticism, by which I mean any person’s reconciling of their tangible surroundings and doings with the (I would argue) universal inner pull toward God’s personality. I respond deeply to archetypical story as found in dark and complex fairy tales, and the disparate impressions we see in our own nighttime dreams. I believe these can be seen as a window into the mystical nature of man. As with Biblical narrative, certain cultural symbols resonate with meaning, and I believe that at thirty-seven I am only at the beginning of my own understanding of them. In this sense my work is evolving with a guiding principle that I am only one person in a continuum of storytellers, and that I will be pursuing the meanings of these symbols well into my twilight years. As an illustrator and storyteller, I feel a profound responsibility to communicate to my audience, beyond purely personal self-expression. This communication can be either on a visceral level or a clear exposition of subject matter, but as a Christian I believe I must be on guard against oversimplified dichotomies or propagandistic message-making. The best stories are those that have the most breathability—hence the fact that I am reinterpreting a passage which is around five thousand years old. Currently I am about to enter the Master of Fine Arts program in Illustration as Visual Essay at School of Visual Arts, and am seeking agency representation. I am working on two illustrated novels, both of which draw on Celtic and Anglo-Saxon myth as the reality of the lives of ordinary women and girls who are reconciling tragedy with their own agency and identity. Hopelessly lost among the wintry wardrobes of Pauline Baynes’ Narnia, Shaun Tan’s mysterious foreign lands, and the watery open spaces in Lisbeth Zwerger’s illustrations, Vesper Stamper’s calling as an illustrator began as soon as she cracked open Hilary Knight’s Cinderella and spent the rest of her childhood meticulously copying each graceful page. She earned an Honors degree in Illustration from Parsons School of Design, and, woven in with her visual work, Vesper is also a recording artist in the indie rock band Ben + Vesper, on the Sounds Familyre record label. Her career has spanned fifteen years, dozens of album covers, four picture books and countless other exciting projects. She brings a refined style and emotional depth to her work that goes beyond mere decoration to pay homage to the rich illustrative tradition from which she comes. Vesper was named the recipient of the 2012 Lincoln City Fellowship for her upcoming graphic novel "The Sea-King’s Children," which will take her to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland this spring (2013) to research the book’s setting and folklore, and to write and paint for the book at the “edge of the world.” She lives in Jersey City, NJ with her husband, filmmaker Ben Stamper, and her two fairy children, who are grabbing the baton and can take an urban backyard full of dirt and recreate it as a world of wonders. Website Vesper Stamper About the Artist Haman's Last Meal Vesper Stamper Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . 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Loading Video . . . The photo and video included in this blog post are the beginning of a major part of creating this multimedia book of hours, a part I’m calling 365 Contemplations. The book of hours is intended to be a deeply personal book, tailored to the concerns of an individual. While I have my own concerns, I’m interested in creating a more interactive project that both reflects my own musings and creations and those of the larger community I inhabit. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Proverbs 8:6-11 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 2 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 June 20, 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) Part One: The Practical Aspect In Which I Update You On Progress (And Reflect on Answers) The photo and video included in this blog post are the beginning of a major part of creating this multimedia book of hours, a part I’m calling 365 Contemplations. The book of hours is intended to be a deeply personal book, tailored to the concerns of an individual. While I have my own concerns, I’m interested in creating a more interactive project that both reflects my own musings and creations and those of the larger community I inhabit. To that end, over the last few weeks I’ve begun inviting friends, colleagues, and strangers to email me with a concern that they are experiencing in their lives (if you have one, please reach out to me at laurenbeth.ferebee@gmail.com) and I am committing to creating a handmade artistic contemplation and mailing it to them. For me, in addition to creating the online performative components of this project, I’m keenly aware that the books of hours are artifacts of faith. I wanted to create things that can be held, looked at, felt, experienced on a tangible level. In asking people to trust me with their concerns and in offering them a response, I’m putting myself in the proverbial place of wisdom in Proverbs 8, and taking an active role in examining the questions I put forth in my first blog entry. I often find myself wanting to be the seeker of wisdom (and that is certainly a role I am taking in this project), and yet I also find that I desire to “know what I know.” What insights, common sense, successes belong to me? What wisdom do I already have within me? This update also includes a video of me fashioning this first contemplation. For me, creating it was, in itself, a contemplative act. I felt keenly aware of the length of time it took to make this piece and the uncomfortability at the imperfect act of making it, particularly while filming the process. It was an exercise in patience. I look forward to updating you in the fall with more contemplations and plans for a performance or theatrical experience that will tie these pieces together (I won’t reveal too much about my thoughts on that front right now, they are too raw.) Part Two: The Personal Aspect In Which I Share (some of) My Non-Linear Thoughts in the Interest of Vulnerability March 20, 2016 Reading: A Book of Hours , Thomas Merton time as a sacrament time as an artistic medium in itself hours, days, seasons becoming a point of nothing “compassionate time” – moments of potentiality how to use and create moments of potentiality for others? Sunday – we are charged to repair, to heal, to build the world what is it we can find to love in one another? dawn, day, dusk, dark the question is: how to become worthy again 1. to complete step by step the small & everyday tasks of living that signal to others & to your mind the prevailing sense of all rightness laundry cooking taking out the trash writing schedule out making coffee cleaning sorting receipts filing nails showering & maybe shaving legs/armpits taking pills 2. to indulge your profound anxiety & sadness and feed it treats until you no longer know that it is there sweets reading meditation movies music watching/listening to anything that sounds friendly 3. to indulge your profound anxiety & sadness by letting it run the show do not do anything imagine other people speaking to you the way you speak to yourself do nothing or hurt those peole speaking to you into speaking to you the way you speak to yourself be satisfied by their agreement 4. make sure it externally appears that you are happy & successful 5. behave successfully and find small ways to self destruct tear at your cuticles pick at your scabs keep acting like you don’t know anything forget to do daily things until you are too sad & self-defeated to do anything these are all the ways that I have tried and failed to become wise. so this is how I come to you . May 5, 2016 Reading: Poets on the Psalms , ed. Lynn Domina implicit in the act of contemplation is moving beyond oneself into the experience of others’ suffering. “The present moment is so painful that the only way we can bear to inhabit it is to visit it in a work of art.” – Poets on the Psalms I have lived most of my life believing that eventually everyone will discover what is wrong with me. the holiness of mud May 15, 2016 consciousness – an idea When we are at some young point in our lives we become entirely, fully conscious of who we are & as we grow older our consciousness slowly dies. It is this kind of surrender that propels us toward death (thanatos) . the question is how to maintain consciousness. 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 3 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 , third and final post. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Lancelot Schaubert recontextualized Luke 15 in this short story so that modern readers might more immediately understand the implications of this well-known tale. Luke 15:3-7 Posh Girls By Lancelot Schaubert Credits: Illumination Representation Image by Lancelot Shaubert with Ai on Midjourney Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2022 Short Story Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Wanted to repurpose this classic tale so that it would be more identifiable to New Yorkers. I don't know that I succeeded, but it certainly felt true when I wrote it on vacation in Cape Cod with some friends. It's based off some tourists I met there. 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 As Waters Cover Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 Dragonsmaw Daily | 3 Watchtower Stripped to the Bonemeal Metaphysical Insurance Claim 0075A: The Delphic Oracle Philadelphia Bloodlines Lancelot Schaubert Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art A wealthy NYC heiress had two daughters — Rosario and Evangeline — around the time she retired from running POSH View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . A wealthy NYC heiress had two daughters — Rosario and Evangeline — around the time she retired from running POSH Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Satirist Shelly Williams brings us an unexpected response to Philemon 1:4-7. Philemon 1:4-7 Trend Watch By Shelly Williams Credits: Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2015 Satire Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link In these verses, Paul is reminding Philemon of his identity, who he loves, who loves him, and how he is being prayed for. As the letter continues, Paul will be pointing back to these accepted realities in order to encourage Philemon to expand his circle of love and acceptance. The audio pieces I create with the Cheney Cutler character play around with the absurdities of daily life. In this case, I decided to run with this concept: Celebrate who you are and what's around you as you move boldly into the future. Background sounds used in this piece were recorded in New York City and Spokane, WA. The additional sound of frying food was provided by Zabuhailo with the Creative Commons License . Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Shelly Williams was raised in Washington state and studied art at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. After graduating in 2005, she moved to Minneapolis where she worked for a grassroots social service agency and joined the artist cooperative at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. She returned to the Northwest several years later, joining the Saranac Artist Cooperative. Shelly loves to playfully interpret and misinterpret her surroundings. Her artistic practice incorporates walking, chronicling community interactions, writing, and photography. Her current project involves making audio recordings as the Cheney Cutler character, who delivers the news and other absurdities. Shelly lives, works and records in New York City. Website Shelly Williams About the Artist Shelly Williams Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Ruth Forman brings us her beautiful poem in response to the theme of "Harvest" from Psalm 1:3. Psalms 1:3 Her Work as Worship By Ruth Forman Credits: Curated by: Emily Ruth Hazel 2013 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link In the teachings of my faith, the Baha’i Faith, work done in the spirit of service is considered worship to God. Psalms 1:3 instantly reminded me of one of Baha’u’llah’s Hidden Words: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” -Psalms 1:3 “O MY SERVANTS! Ye are the trees of My garden; ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom. Thus it is incumbent on every one to engage in crafts and professions, for therein lies the secret of wealth, O men of understanding! For results depend upon means, and the grace of God shall be all-sufficient unto you. Trees that yield no fruit have been and will ever be for the fire.” -Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, No. P80 This poem is both a prayer and a meditation/reflection. A prayer for my life work to feed and sustain others. It is also a reflection that for women around the world, so much of our work naturally sustains others. If work in the spirit of service is worship, may our souls also be fed. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Ruth Forman is the author of three award-winning books: poetry collections We Are the Young Magicians (Beacon, 1993) and Renaissance, (Beacon, 1997) and children’s book, Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon (Children’s Book Press, 2007). She is the recipient of the Barnard New Women Poets Prize, The Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, The Durfee Artist Fellowship, the National Council of Teachers of English Notable Book Award, and recognition by The American Library Association. She provides writing workshops at schools and universities across the country and abroad, and has presented in forums such as the United Nations, the PBS series The United States of Poetry and National Public Radio. Ruth is a former teacher of creative writing with the University of Southern California and June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and an eleven-year faculty member with the VONA-Voices writing program. Also an MFA graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, she frequently collaborates on film, music, dance, theatre, art and media projects. Her latest collection is Prayers Like Shoes (2009) on Whit Press. When not writing and teaching, she practices a passion for martial arts: classical Yang family style tai chi chuan, tai chi sword, bo staff and karate. Ms. Forman currently lives in Washington, D C. ruthforman.com Photo by Christine Bennett . Website Ruth Forman About the Artist Ruth Forman Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art Whatsoever she doeth shall be full quenching ripe View Full Written Work "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." - Psalms 1:3 Her Work as Worship Whatsoever she doeth shall be full quenching ripe as if God harvested Himself this work planted this thought cultivated these hands her work always sustenance for someone and an offering may her soul also be fed. -Ruth Forman Close Loading Video . . . Whatsoever she doeth shall be full quenching ripe Download Full Written Work

Jason Da Silva 7652 900X600 Loading Video . . . Portrait photographer Annie Levy unifies her experiences photographing filmmaker Jason DaSilva with a powerful verse in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Jason DaSilva portrait By Annie Levy Credits: Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Jonathon + Emily 2011 Photography Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link When Annie Levy photographed Jason DaSilva, he spoke of a short film, When I Walk, that he had just completed for the Tribeca Film Festival. He shared with her that after working as a filmmaker for ten years, he made the decision to focus the lens on his own experience with having primary-progressive MS. When I Walk is about his journey as a 30-year-old film director living with a complex disease amidst complex circumstances. His personal narrative is the anchor point in a film that weaves together interviews, incidents in the life of a young filmmaker and current information about multiple sclerosis. Annie then created a portrait of Jason through her lens. When thinking about making Jason’s portrait, Annie connects her experience to a passage in Deuteronomy (30:19-20): “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. She says, “I have read this passage of Scripture so many times that I had almost missed the irony that when actually told that there is a CHOICE of life and death, God has to exhort: choose LIFE. In some strange way I almost imagine Him standing behind me, the chooser, not raising His voice but rather in that same whisper that Elijah heard, saying moment by moment, choose life… so that you and your children may LIVE.” Learn more about Jason's work at www.wheniwalk.com . Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Annie Levy is a creative director and writer/photographer who conceives, creates and exhibits projects, telling stories to transform the way we see things. As a result of her work and enthusiasm about her subjects, she is frequently asked to speak at conferences and present to groups, using her projects to discuss such topics as Visual Messaging, Health Care Design, Images and Aging, as well as concepts related to overall project development and design. Included in her speaking engagements/presentations are the New York Times Company Foundation's program for journalists at the International Longevity Center, the Cleveland Clinic Patient Empathy & Innovation Summit, John A. Hartford Communications Conferences, and the American Society on Aging's National Conference. She has been the keynote speaker for Center for Health Design's Environments and Aging Conference, lectured at Sarah Lawrence College in the Health Care Advocacy Department and has conducted a Grand Rounds presentation at Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, NYC. Annie spoke at the Cleveland Clinic Patient Empathy and Innovation Summit as well as at the Joint Commission Ambulatory Care Conference in 2015. Most recently, in November 2016, she spoke at Google's Ignite Healthcare. She has her BFA from NYU Film School. Website Annie Levy About the Artist Annie Levy Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Filmmaker Tien Chi Fu chose the passage Ezekiel 47:9 to reflect on for his film centering on Spark and Echo Arts' Summer 2012 theme, "Water," and its ability to refresh us -- both literally and metaphorically. Ezekiel 47:9 Into the Living Water By Tien Chi Fu Credits: Curated by: The Leiser Brothers 2012 Film Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link This short is made to honor the Lord our God, His creation, and the Holy Spirit. We, as humans, tend to do many things on our own resulting in our lives becoming separate to the way of the Lord. The water indicates life and the Holy Spirit both in the Bible and in this short. The characters in this film are both close to water yet away from the Lord. The diver walks past the East River everyday and he teaches people how to dive, but he is so used to his everyday life and he no longer remembers what it's like to be under the sea of God's abundant love. The dancer encounters so many failures in his life and he considers the water his enemy. He is so far away from the Lord that he is close to death -- humanity's destination. Somehow God is still doing his amazing work among us. At that very moment, they are both touched by that love that would not let us go. They start to remember God's wonderful creation and His immeasurable love. Our lives will only flourish when we come back and submit our lives to the Lord. We should follow God all the way into the water and testify of His wonderful creation. There will be no issues, obstacles or defeats. Our God is a faithful God. When we dwell in His life, we will be refreshed and able to witness His wonders. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Tien Chi Fu is a New York based writer/director/cinematographer. Tien was born in Taipei. His father is a playwright and greatly influenced Tien’s work. Tien grew up in a Christian family but not until age 20 did he receive Jesus Christ as his savior and get baptized. Tien attended Sun Yat-Sen University majoring in Theatre Arts; here he spent two years learning theatre techniques with a focus on acting and directing. In his sophomore year, he formed a Drama Club and produced a traditional Chinese crosstalk play with several friends. The many dominant drama theories he learned then became the foundation of his creative works. Following that, he moved to the United States because his true passion is in film. He took a gap year to work full time to save for tuition. He then got his associate degree in Radio/TV in Pennsylvania and got into New York University’s Film & TV department. His black & white film All Tomorrow’s Films is a story of Adam and Eve mingled with the transition between the analog and the digital era. He is now working on his thesis film “George Goforth and the Greatest Generation”. Website Tien Chi Fu About the Artist The Long Trip Tien Chi Fu Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Poet Phil Memmer's poem "How Many Shapes Must a God Take?" is a response to Exodus 3:2-4 and the theme of “stranger”. Exodus 3:2-4 How Many Shapes Must a God Take? By Phillip Memmer Credits: Location: Upstate New York Curated by: Hayan Charara 2014 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link The offer to work with the Spark and Echo project came at an interesting, complicated time for me… I had not completed a poem in well over a year and a half, and while I was reasonably sure about what sort of poems I wanted to try to write next, I was completely baffled by how to go about it. In my last two books, I had written dozens of poems that used Biblical characters, or addressed a god figure through psalms, in order to explore my own spiritual concerns. At some point in early 2013, it occurred to me that I’d done enough talking to and about god: it was time for me to allow him/her to speak. I identify as an agnostic, but I was raised in an evangelical Protestant family. Oddly enough, though, I spend far more time pondering the nature of the divine now than I ever did in my church-at-least-twice-a-week youth. The Creator is the ultimate “Stranger” when one does not hold a particular faith. This particular tension is what gave rise to “How Many Shapes Must a God Take?” In my own spiritual history, god needed to vanish in order for me to seek him; she needed to be silent if I was to cup a hand to my ear. And while this poem was written more or less in the order it now appears on the page, and took its initial impulse from the “Burning Bush” story in Exodus (along with images from other religious and mythological traditions), I believe I somehow understood its conclusion before I reached it. Upon completing the poem, I felt “the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I knew,” as Robert Frost once said. I also realized something I hadn’t previously understood about these new poems: that they are not simply poems in which “god speaks”… they are poems in which “god speaks to me.” And while that sounds dangerously like talking to oneself, I hope they move beyond that and speak to others as well. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Philip Memmer is the author of four books of poems, most recently The Storehouses of the Snow: Psalms, Parables and Dreams (Lost Horse Press, 2012). His previous collections include Lucifer: A Hagiography, winner of the 2008 Idaho Prize for Poetry from Lost Horse Press, and Threat of Pleasure (Word Press, 2008), winner of the 2008 Adirondack Literary Award for Poetry. His poems have appeared in such journals as Poetry, Poetry Northwest, Poetry London, Southern Poetry Review, and Epoch, and in several anthologies. His work has also been featured in the Library of Congress’ Poetry 180 project, and in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry syndicated column. He lives in a rural village in upstate New York, and works as Executive Director of the Arts Branch of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse, where he founded the YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center in 2001. He also serves as Associate Editor for Tiger Bark Press. Website Phillip Memmer About the Artist Phillip Memmer Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art How many shapes must a god take to attract your notice? I tried them all View Full Written Work How Many Shapes Must a God Take? by Phillip Memmer Exodus 3:2-4 How many shapes must a god take to attract your notice? I tried them all–- I came as sunlight through clouds, as a moon full and unobstructed, as fire and various things afire. I came as a man bent with age, a woman hardened by war. I came to you as each sort of animal, and as trees, and the lily, and the rose. As a mountain I came to you, as the sea, as stars over vast distances arranged in suggestive shapes. Nothing worked-– though I came to you with three faces, with one hundred hands, a woman’s frown upon the body of a lion, an elephant’s smile on the body of a man. Though I came as wealth and as famine, as thunder and as drought, nothing–-nothing lifted your gaze, though you claimed to seek me. And I despaired… And in my despair I ripped out my hundred arms, tore off my thousand masks, let cool my fires beyond counting. I came to you as darkness and silence. …And you, so enamored of absence: now you see me. Now at last you hear. Close Loading Video . . . How many shapes must a god take to attract your notice? I tried them all Download Full Written Work