Loading Video . . . Author Lancelot Schaubert offers the second release from his inventive three-part mini-series, presented as a small newspaper in response to a collection of Scripture passages. This section focuses on the theme of "overcoming" as found in Romans 8:29-39. Romans 8:29-39 Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 By Lancelot Schaubert Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2020 Creative Writing Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I wanted the stories featured in this section of the Dragonsmaw Daily to speak to the death we face, to the groaning of creation, and the typical feel of extinction. I think it succeeded in this front — you might need to read it and the passage a couple times to pick up on all the themes. The Dragonsmaw daily is a paper circulating on LOMEDAY of the month of BLAGUROEDD 47 in the year 1109 P.T. on Gergia, one of the Vale Universe ( short story series here ). It may seem like a high-shelf sort of entry for the average reader, something that takes a herculean effort to embrace in terms of the suspension of disbelief or secondary belief in my created world. However, I think it's quite easy: if you'll trust me, it'll read as a wonderfully foreign paper from a wonderfully foreign world. It's ephemera: something like an in-world artifact I happened to pick up from a newsboy who was hawking EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA copies in order to have enough ₮ to get his sister through the week on an onion (actually it's more like a leek) based soup. She beat the fever, in case you were wondering. But I brought it back from Gergia and gave it to my friends at Spark and Echo that it might supplement the stories I've written here and elsewhere about these fantastic worlds I travel so frequently. For those that have followed along in any capacity, this paper tells of events taking place prior to the events in the Moon Boys series from my artist residency and quite far in the past from the other commissions here at Spark and Echo. It occupies the region around the Imperial Crescent in Gergia (top left of the main land mass on that false map I drew of the world) . Each of the events recorded in this paper feature major workings in the region. All together I wanted to bind up the themes of extinction, of power dynamics, and of being lost and found into one piece. So I stitched together three commissions in a more unified form than normal. Of course some parts of the paper will remain out of reach for some time — like any foreign country, Gergian customs and economics and politics only make sense after you've lived there for quite some time. But one day the times, dates, seasons, and currency will make perfect sense to you. And then the dread realization of what the paper really reveals will come all too clear, as clear as a Bell Hammer. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lancelot has sold work to The New Haven Review (The Institute Library), The Anglican Theological Review, TOR (MacMillan), McSweeney's, The Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and many, many similar markets. (His favorite, a rather risqué piece, illuminated bankroll management by prison inmates in the World Series Edition of Poker Pro). Publisher's Weekly called his debut novel BELL HAMMERS "a hoot." He has lectured on these at academic conferences, graduate classes, and nerd conventions in Nashville, Portland, Baltimore, Tarrytown, NYC, Joplin, and elsewhere. The Missouri Tourism Bureau, WRKR, Flying Treasure, 9art, The Brooklyn Film Festival, NYC Indie Film Fest, Spiva Center for the Arts, The Institute of the North in Alaska, and the Chicago Museum of Photography have all worked with him as a film producer and director in various capacities. Website Lancelot Schaubert About the Artist Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 3 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 2 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 1 Posh Girls As Waters Cover Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 Dragonsmaw Daily | 3 Watchtower Stripped to the Bonemeal Metaphysical Insurance Claim 0075A: The Delphic Oracle Philadelphia Bloodlines Lancelot Schaubert Other Works By As with most shared newspapers, some of the pages have been pulled out and are out of order, so you will have to piece them together as the project is released. You may find the other parts of the project at Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 and Dragonsmaw Daily | 3 . You may also view the entirety of the project, here — as a brand new newspaper. Related Information View More Art Make More Art DEATH ALL DAY: From famine to danger to thirst — region faces many threats, yet loves. View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . DEATH ALL DAY: From famine to danger to thirst — region faces many threats, yet loves. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Curator for Spark+Echo Arts and dancer Elizabeth Dishman responds to the theme of "Dancing" from Judges 21:16-24 with her company of dancers, Coriolis. Judges 21:16-24 dance in the dances By Elizabeth Dishman Credits: Collaboratively Choreographed by Elizabeth Dishman + the performers: Leah Ives, Kaitlin Morse, Niko Tsocanos and Caitlin Yuhas Music by Giuseppe Sammartini and J. S. Bach Curated by: Elizabeth Dishman 2013 Dance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I initially found this passage really funny and bizarre: the Israelite tribesman make an oath not to give their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin for wives, but later feel sorry for their brothers, whose clan will die out. So they come up with this great idea to have the Benjamites SNATCH and marry the young women who go out to dance in the fields. That way no one breaks the oath, and Benjamin lives on. Such a good idea… It struck me as hilarious, so I imagined a light-hearted dance of joyous, unsuspecting young ladies being watched by a man with marriage on his mind. However, the background story to this scene is horribly grim, involving gang rape, murder and a hideous call to justice from a man bereft of his concubine (Judges 19-21:15). Saving this darker content for a future dance, I decided to create the work based on my initial response to the dancing in the field scenario, but I also thought about what it would be like to try to build a real marriage out of this abrupt and non-mutual courtship. Hence the second section, which reflects the awkwardness and struggle that might have ensued (“so…now what do we do?”). In that culture the groom may not have tried as hard to become a good friend and lover, but I imagined a more present-day pair honestly searching for their footing in an intimate, stolen dance. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Elizabeth Dishman is the Artistic Director of Dishman + Co. Choreography, a Brooklyn-based experimental dance company founded in 2001. Originally from Colorado, she studied Voice Performance at Emory University, and Choreography at The Ohio State University. In pursuit of ineffable junctures between the abstract and theatrical, the universal and deeply personal, Elizabeth and her collaborators devote themselves to scrupulous exploration and ardent play, probing the elusiveness of live performance in search of lasting things. Over 15 years and 40+ original works, Dishman + Co.’s choreography has been described by critics as “complex skeins and cerebral dreams”, “bodies in rigorous concentration”, and “playful and provocative…raw humanity seeps in”. www.DishmanAndCo.org Website Elizabeth Dishman About the Artist Tide Terra Firma Visitation Stranger Name Elizabeth Dishman Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

don-nyugen-air4th_first-supper-seating-layouts.jpg Loading Video . . . About this time a year ago, I was one of forty-eight playwrights commissioned by The Flea Theatre to write a short play in response to the York Mysteries Plays, a collection of forty-eight pageants which covered the sacred history of man from creation to the last judgement. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. Luke 22:14-48 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 1 By Don Nguyen Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2015 Theatre Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link April 20, 2015 About this time a year ago, I was one of forty-eight playwrights commissioned by The Flea Theatre to write a short play in response to the York Mysteries Plays, a collection of forty-eight pageants which covered the sacred history of man from creation to the last judgement. It was a daunting task for everyone involved and one of the most satisfying and fulfilling projects I’ve ever worked on. Along with over fifty actors, and our intrepid director Ed Iskander and equally intrepid dramaturge Jill Rafson, we created a stunning theatrical evening, lasting five hours with two intermissions. During the two intermissions, dinner and dessert was served to the audience by the cast. These intermissions not only served as meal breaks for the audience, but also a way to interact with the cast members, who were not in character during the break. To experience this as an audience member, this act of breaking bread with actors who are not only serving you your meal, but serving you a full evening of theatre, was, shall I say, divine. This is not a new form of theatre. Many theatres and many productions have done this in the past. But there is something quite different that happens to the audience during this specific interaction with the cast. We are making eye contact with them, talking to them about their day, and accepting a plate of falafel and hummus from them with the same gratitude of a neighbor being invited over for dinner. You are instantly connected to and invested in the cast and you are ready and willing to follow them anywhere, and the dreaded sound of a five hour play suddenly becomes inviting and exciting. So exciting in fact, that I saw the show five times. But what does this have to do with my project? Well, I’m certainly not going create a five hour evening of theatre. But I do envision breaking bread with the audience. What I propose is a communal evening of theatre, food, improvisation, and game playing based on a section of the Bible. I chose Luke 22:14-48, which covers The Last Supper because it’s the ultimate dinner party. What I envision, and this pushes us into “over-ambitious, likely to fail” territory, is an evening of intimate communal theatre, one that involves a small audience, say, twelve people. And perhaps during the course of the evening, a light meal is served. And perhaps during the meal, each person has to guess who will be Judas. Will it be the person to my right? The person sitting across from me? Will it be me? As I write this, other possibilities come to mind. Perhaps each dinner guest has a menu with personality traits on it that they have to embody. Maybe there are prompts with simple goals that each dinner guest must bring up and try to achieve. There are so many different ways to approach this. The trick is in finding the most interesting and satisfying solution. Throughout the life of this project, I will be broadening my understanding of theatre improv and game theory and attempt to bring them together to design a short evening of entertainment and (hopefully) illumination. The theme(s) of the project are not yet set. I think I’m going to allow the themes to reveal itself during the process of creating the evening, and I’ll be documenting that creative process along the way. I expect to go down rabbit holes that lead nowhere. And I will document that as well. Nothing here is proven, and I’m not sure of the outcome. But I am sure that you will at least see the process laid out throughout the year, and hopefully break bread with me one of these evenings. See the upcoming production of Don’s work The Red Flamboyant with Spark+Echo Arts’ partners, Firebone Theater. April 24-May 15, 2015 Samples of Don’s previous work: (Photo from aerial workshop of THE IMAGINARY ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS) (Photo from SOUND at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival) (My Million Spectacular Moments, Don’s previous work for Spark+Echo Arts) Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Don Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, grew up in Nebraska, and now currently resides in New York City. As a playwright, Don has written several full-length plays including: SOUND, a sign language play which was a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and was previously developed at The Playwrights Realm. Don’s first full-length play RED FLAMBOYANT was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and was both a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival as well as the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. THE MAN FROM SAIGON has been developed at Naked Angels and was a NYSAF Founders Award recipient. THE COMMENCEMENT OF WILLIAM TAN was developed at New York Stage and Film and was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Don was also recently one of 48 playwrights commissioned for The Flea Theater’s 5 1/2 hour epic production of The Mysteries, directed by Ed Iskander, which was a stage adaptation of the Bible. Don is a proud member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, a member of the inaugural Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater in New York and served five years as artistic director for The Shelterbelt Theatre. Don is also a frequent volunteer for the 52nd Street Project. Website: thenuge.com Website Don Nguyen About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 2 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen Part 3 Artist in Residence 2015: Don Nguyen My Million Spectacular Moments Don Nguyen Other Works By To follow the developmental process of Don's play read his second , third and final posts as a 2015 Artist in Residence. 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Loading Video . . . This poetic dance piece choreographed and performed by Megan Chu responds to the beautiful imagery in 2 Peter 1:19. 2 Peter 1:19 2 Peter 1:19 By Megan Chu Credits: Choreographed, Performed by Megan Chu Voice-Over by Megan Chu Curated by: Elizabeth Dishman 2018 Modern Dance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link When I started working with this scripture, I was initially drawn to the imagery of the day dawning and the morning star rising in your heart. It is strong and creatively fruitful, inspiring hope and a stirring a desire for beauty, fluidity, and growth. You will see these images in the movements where I reference my heart, then draw lines out into the horizon. The feeling of cold in the morning before dawn inspired the starkness in the tone of the piece. After using the imagery to generate movement material, I went back to the thought that 2 Peter 1:19 opens with: The message of the prophets is something we can lean on and trust. Our doubtful hearts second guess the gospel as we try to comprehend a God bigger than ourselves, bigger than our actions, and outcomes. Yet the prophetic message in the scriptures keeps us grounded, telling us who Jesus is and drawing us into a relationship with Him. I have incorporated difficult balances into the piece to express the idea of a support that is present, but not available to the senses of touch and sight. These balances take time and repetition to accomplish, similar to the way studying the scriptures takes time and practice. Several readings, several commentaries, several sermons are needed (at least for me!) before the dark places in ourselves are illuminated by turning to the One who is Light. The overall message I received working from 2 Peter 1:19 is that we desperately need to lean into the Word in order to live more confidently in hope. At the same time, we must acknowledge that renewal is not yet complete—we still exist in a broken world. The day has not dawned. Christ still has a lot of work to do in my heart. But there will be a day when the work is done, and I will not be estranged from my Father, Abba. In The letters of 2 Peter and Jude, P.H. Davids writes, "After the dawn, there is no need of Scripture, for the rising of Christ in our hearts gives us full knowledge...One treasures a love letter while the beloved is absent, but once he or she is present, the letter is laid aside and exchanged for the person." Lord, we give You praise for not only wanting to commune with us, but for sacrificing on our behalf to ensure it. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Megan Harrold graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University’s department of Dance and Choreography. She has received an Individual Artist grant from the Queens Council on the Arts, an award from VCU’s School of the Arts and the Carpenter Foundation. She has been an artist in residence at the Klaustierd Foundation in Iceland, Newsteps at the Chen Dance Center, Le Feil Artist Residency in France, The Ucross Foundation in Wyoming and Groundworks at the Cora Studios. She founded Inimois Dance to encompass her choreographic works in 2008 which has been funded by Meet the Composer, Queens Council on the Arts, Fractured Atlas and the Untitled SOF grant. In New York her work has been shown at Rooftop Dance, Center for Performance Research, Lincoln Center, Cora Studios, BAX, Dumbo Dance Festival, Ailey CityGroup Theater, AUNTS, and Triskelion Arts among others. Her work has been seen nationally in Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Wyoming, and Illinois. Internationally Megan’s work has been performed in Mexico, Iceland, Amsterdam and France. In New York she has had the opportunity to perform for Davis Freeman in the P.S.122 COIL Festival, Dai Jian at the MET, Burr Johnson at Danspace, and Helen Simoneau at the Joyce Soho. Website Megan Chu About the Artist Megan Chu Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

benje_daneman_featured.jpg Loading Video . . . It’s my great honor to be a part of Spark & Echo Arts’ 2015 Artist in Residence program. I love who they are, what they have done and what they are doing. I have been very fortunate to have been associated in many ways with them over the past few years. They are passionate, supportive and honest people – allowing their artists to stretch their wings to explore scripture from a truly personal and unique standpoint wherever the artist’s spiritual perspective might be. I’ve grown tremendously in my faith and my artistry from being a part of their program, and am grateful. Find the complete progression of the work linked below. John 1:1-14 John 3:19-21 John 9:1-16 John 11:1-44 John 12:31-36 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 1 By Benje Daneman Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2015 Live Music, Jazz Suite Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link March 16, 2015 It’s my great honor to be a part of Spark & Echo Arts’ 2015 Artist in Residence program. I love who they are, what they have done and what they are doing. I have been very fortunate to have been associated in many ways with them over the past few years. They are passionate, supportive and honest people – allowing their artists to stretch their wings to explore scripture from a truly personal and unique standpoint wherever the artist’s spiritual perspective might be. I’ve grown tremendously in my faith and my artistry from being a part of their program, and am grateful. When approached by S&E to work as an artist in residence this year I was excited at the possibilities of it. After some thought, I realized it was great opportunity to approach two different projects that have been ruminating in the back of my head over the past few years: The first being a musical exploration of how the the book of John utilizes “light”. The second would be compiling a band of high level jazz musicians within New York City that also claim Christianity as their faith grounding. With this group, the idea would be approaching music that is based upon faith ideas or scripture from a similar faith standpoint (while even within that standpoint, our personal views and thoughts of Christianity might be diverse). My Faith Search As I’ve grown in my own faith over the past year, I’ve realized the depth, diversity and difference within the current “Christian” world. While some see differences as threatening or challenging, I have actually approached this positively and have been quite interested in it. Just as our world and people are extremely diverse in many ways, so is the faith of Christianity. Spanning from an extreme liberal approach to an extreme conservative, people view the “holy scriptures” in such unique and different ways – while keeping Christ as the center of it in both camps. The different approaches, creeds and thoughts have in many ways inspired me to search within and connect with God in my personal journey. While I believe in Christ, and have seen how He has positively changed my life, I have been convicted to open myself up to searching out who and what Christ really is to the world and myself. I’ve found it to be a bit more complicated than just reciting a prayer, believing a creed or faithfully accepting scripture alone. I’ve found myself on a personal and real faith search – a place where I believe we all should be; continually growing and searching in our faith in discovering who God is. I have a sense that his year and this project will be a pivotal moment in that search for me. The Process I have found one of the best ways for me to personally explore and grow in my faith comes through music composition. I find the time to be, in a sense, my prayer and meditation time allowing me to a way to personally explore what scripture is saying uniquely, which to me is more productive and personal than just reading and processing it within. One major method teachers use to test comprehension is having a student teach another student the concept (yes, I do have a music education degree!). When I must express it through my musical writing, I feel it’s similar to the way a student might learn through teaching another student a concept. I find myself having to sift through the deeper concepts, allowing the scripture to ruminate within and making real world decisions about it. I usually come out the other end inspired, thoughtful and greatly changed. The Composition The phrase “The Light in the Darkness” has always stuck out to me in the book of John, taken specifically from John 1:5 (The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.) Over the past few years I’ve been considering the idea of a “musical study” of how the book of John uses light as a theme throughout. After S&E approached me for the residency, I knew the time had come. I’ve chosen the following scriptures to focus on: John 1:1-14 John 3:19-21 John 9:1-16 John 11:1-44 (focus 1-16) John 12:31-36 (focus 35-36) Light is used in different ways throughout these specific scriptures. Many of them controversially interpreted depending on “which side of the fence” one theologically stands. Either way, the light almost always speaks of Jesus, his power and his greatness. I look forward to studying, searching and exploring these scriptures. My overall plan is to produce an hour-long composition/suite to be performed live and potentially professionally recorded. Search Party (The Band) For nearly two years now I’ve had a vision in the back of my mind of initiating a band of not only fantastic jazz musicians, but ones who also claim Christianity as being their faith foundation. As you can imagine from my faith search description above, I want honest, diverse and truthfully searching musicians. My definition of “Christian” has no specific theological necessity, just that the members claim to be a “Christian” (whatever that might mean to the individual is personal, as I’ve found it means different things to different people). From there though, we can at least be coming from a similar foundation and point. The plan for the group is to approach music that is based on faith and upon scripture, and to grow both in our faith and personally together. The definition of a Search Party is “A group of people organized to look for someone or something that is lost.” This is my definition of Search Party as it relates to this band: “A group of like minded musicians, searching for a deeper faith understanding within the music and personally.” I’m not searching for a specific goal, but for specific growth – both musically and faithfully, through the vehicle I am so familiar with: music. I’m very excited and truly honored to have tentatively secured the Search Party Band to include the following musicians (all of them being some of the top in their musical field): pianist, Jon Cowherd; bassist, Ike Sturm; Drummer, Jaimeo Brown and vocalist, Ashley Daneman. The End Product While I hope to maintain and continue this band as one of my ongoing projects, for the residency specifically, my plan is to write a full composition/suite of music (around an hour at length) based upon the chosen scriptures. My plan is to debut this at a musical venue within New York City around November/December 2015 (location to be announced) and potentially record the music professionally around the same time, if the funding and opportunity becomes available. In addition to the performance, I do hope to couple it with an open discussion/talk about my process and what I have taken from my “Search” through the process. It will be open and geared to the public and for all faiths, not just Christians. 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 2 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 3 To Lay Down One's Life Artist in Residence 2015: Benje Daneman Benje Daneman Other Works By Follow the development of Benje's project by reading this in addition to his second , third and final posts as a 2015 Artist in Residence. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

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