Loading Video . . . Playwright and screenwriter Lori Fischer and composer and lyricist Don Chaffer confront the question of how a good God can exist in a world full of conflict and pain in their musical Is This Heaven, Evan? This work is in response to Hebrews 10:39 and the theme of "Destruction." Hebrews 10:39 Is This Heaven, Evan? By Lori Fischer and Don Chaffer Credits: Book by Lori Fischer Music and Lyrics by Don Chaffer, Lori Fischer, and Lori Chaffer Artist Location: Nashville, Tennessee and New York City Curated by: Chris Cragin 2014 Musical Theatre Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link As artists, how can we not be affected by the many tragedies that occur on a daily basis? Simultaneously, as Christians, we know that God is telling a good story. Our musical “Is this Heaven, Evan?” follows the arc of our verse, “But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved…” Hebrews 10:39 Is This Heaven, Evan? Book by Lori Fischer Music and Lyrics by Don Chaffer, Lori Fischer, Lori Chaffer. In response to recent tragic events, Nick, a twenty-five-year-old suddenly hopeless hipster, becomes obsessed with the ending of the Mayan calendar. Convinced that the world is about to end, he sells his stuff and goes to Central Park to wait for the impending apocalypse as he sleeps under a willow tree. Then, he wakes up… Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Don Chaffer (composer/lyricist). Music Theater: As composer/lyricist/book-writer: Son of a Gun (Beckett Theatre, developed at O’Neill National Music Theater Conference); as composer/lyricist: Is This Heaven, Evan? (York Theatre); as composer: Medea (Huntington University); as Musical Director: Big River (Studio Tenn). Music Theater awards: For Son of a Gun : Georgia Bogardus Holof Lyricist award, Richard Rodgers Award Finalist. TV Music Credits: as songwriter/recording artist/producer (with Waterdeep): Private Practice , One Tree Hill , Sixteen and Pregnant . Songwriting Awards: ASCAP award for “Wicked Web,” “What Life Would Be Like, and “You Are So Good To Me”; Radio and Records Song of the Year Award for “You Are So Good To Me.” Don is married and in a band with his wife, Lori (waterdeep.com), has two children, and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Lori Fischer is the “2008 New York University Harry Kondoleon Graduate Award in Playwriting” recipient and a 2008-09 Dramatists Guild Fellow. Recent Credits: 2014 Independent Vision Award Nominee for Outstanding achievement in Writing. Her musical The Sparkley Clean Funeral Singers produced at Capital Repertory Theatre summer 2013, Is This Heaven, Evan? by Lori Fischer, Don Chaffer and Lori Chaffer, produced in the BeSpoke Musicals Festival at The York Theatre Company, NYC. Petie by Lori Fischer produced at the Duke Energy Theatre by Starving Artist Productions, 2013. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed musical Barbara’s Blue Kitchen , which played Off-Broadway at The Lamb’s Theatre in 2006 and was published by Samuel French in 2007. Her work has been seen at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, the Stonestreet Film Festival, the RipFest Film Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Adirondack Theatre Festival. Lori received her M.F.A. from the N.Y.U. Dramatic Writing Department in 2008. Film Credits: Lori’s short film Dottie’s Thanksgiving Pickle starring Olympia Dukakis, Nancy Opel and Joey Collins was recently featured in the Hollywood Shorts Festival and was an official selection for the New Jersey International Film Festival, the Garden State Film Festival, the Buffalo Niagara Film festival and the Long Island International Film Expo and the Appalachian International Film Festival. In 2010 her musical The Water Knows My Name was produced at Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and her one-act The Burning was produced in the Midtown International Theatre Festival. In 2011, her play Thoughts of Rome was produced by the Georgetown Theatre Company in the Capitol Fringe Festival. Her feature film Chasing Taste was the Feature Comedy Award Winner at the 2014 Manhattan Film Festival as well as at the 2013 Burbank International Film Festival and an official selection at the Visionfest Film Festival. Lori is a 2014 IVA nominee for outstanding achievement in screenwriting. As an actress, Ms. Fischer created the Off-Broadway role of Barbara Jean in her show Barbara’s Blue Kitchen and Lee in the hit musical Cowgirls . She’s also performed at: SoHo Playhouse, Theatre for a New City, Dixon Place, E.S.T., The Old Globe Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Playmakers Rep. and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Most recently, Lori performed the role of Junie in her musical The Sparkley Clean Funeral Singers at Capital Repertory Theatre, Bonnie in her play Petie at the Duke Energy Theatre, Elmadora in the musical Son of a Gun at the Beckett Theatre, NYC and Mindy in Eduardo Machado’s play Worship at Theater for the New City, NYC. She’s also appeared in the films Welcome to the World and Chasing Taste. A two-time All American in Track and Field, she has sung the National Anthem for the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds. Currently, Lori teaches “Writing Great Characters” and “Getting into the Writing Habit” at NYU SCPS. For more information about Lori go to www.lorifischer.net Website Lori Fischer and Don Chaffer About the Artist Lori Fischer and Don Chaffer Other Works By Read Is This Heaven, Evan? Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

pourcho_return-1_feat.jpg Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) "Vision Of The Horseman: Zechariah 1:7-17" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Vision Of A Man With A Measuring Line: Zechariah 2" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Vision Of A Golden Lampstand: Zechariah 4 Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Visions Of A Flying Scroll And Woman In A Basket: Zechariah 5" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “The Crown And The Temple: Zechariah 6:9-15" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “but, They Did Not Hear: Zechariah 1:4" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Visions Of Four Chariots: Zechariah 6-8” (Detail) Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Vision Of Four Horns And Craftsman: Zechariah 1:18-21" Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Vision Of Joshua High Priest” (Motif 1) Katheryn Pourcho,return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) "Vision Of Four Chariots” (Motif 1) Katheryn Pourcho, Return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) “Vision Of Joshua High Priest” (Motif 2) Katheryn Pourcho,return: Visions Of Zechariah 1-6 (Detail) "Vision Of Four Chariots” (Motif 2) Loading Video . . . This incredible work by artist Katheryn Pourcho incorporates medieval and current components of her faith tradition while responding in depth to the passage of Zechariah 1-6. Zechariah 1:1-6 Return: Visions of Zechariah 1-6 By Katheryn Pourcho Credits: Curated by: Laura Pittenger 2018 24 x 24 inches Wood, Ceramic, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite Sculptural Tapestry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link A memory of mine became 25 years old the day this illumination was due. I remember sitting in the back of the family mini-van at a Philips 66 when my ears were opened. In the mind of my five-year-old self, I understood that God was beckoning me to join Him, and I took my first step of faith. It has taken me years to understand the nature of the promise given to the little girl at the gas station. Reading through the visions of Zechariah did not simply reframe my understanding of my young admission of faith, it restructured my faith on God's covenantal love. "Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 1:3). What seemed at first to me to be a consumeristic bargain for obedience—"you do this, and I'll do that"—quickly dissolved as I entered into Zechariah's visions. Here I saw a God who was not only capable of keeping His side of the covenant with Israel's forefathers, but this God was also willing to take on the complete work of relational restoration. This inequitable promise simply called God's exiles to return home. I chose earthy textures as the backdrop to the fantastic imagery of Zechariah's visions. The ceramic tiles reflect on the cyclical condition of humanity ("But they did not hear," Zechariah 1:4). I used scaly texture to allude to the Fall accounted in Genesis . Zechariah's visions recorded in chapters 1-6 are depicted on the cut wood. I referenced motifs and color from Giotto's paintings in the Scrovegni Chapel (c. 1305). The four visions painted on circle woodcuts: "Vision of the Horseman, Zechariah 1:7-17," "Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line, Zechariah 2," "Vision of a Golden Lampstand: Zechariah 4," and "Visions of a Flying Scroll and Woman in a Basket, Zechariah 5." Both the "Vision of the Four Chariots, Zechariah 6:1-8" and "Vision of Joshua the High Priest, Zechariah 3" are featured on the border woodcuts. I formed four horns out of clay an placed them at each corner. These contain a dual meaning. As I reflected on the four horns cast down in Zechariah 1:18-21, I recalled the four horns placed on the corners of the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle as a place of restoration. The final vision in chapter six is depicted on the square panel central to the composition. The vision points to a future priest-king who would set all things right between the returned exiles and the LORD. Here I depicted a crown with the seven-eyed stone symbolizing the removal of iniquity (Zechariah 3:8,9). I likened the silver of the crown to the Temple, and a tree rises out of the crown representing the Messianic King. In addition to referencing Giotto, I listened to Pastor Timothy Keller's sermons while working in my studio. These teachings, in particular, helped me process the radical call to return found in Zechariah: " A Covenant Relationship ," " How to Change ," " The Prodigal Sons ." The Bible Project 's video commentary on the book of Zechariah also aided my comprehension of the visions found in chapters 1-6. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Katheryn Pourcho is a visual artist and elementary art teacher based in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is an avid plein air painter and art history enthusiast. Her artistic influences range anywhere from Van Gogh and Giotto to the Beatles and Bach. She collaborates with artists at her church to create liturgical art, and is currently studying Theology and Art through Fuller Seminary. To view her work visit www.katherynpourcho.com Website Katheryn Pourcho About the Artist Katheryn Pourcho Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . From Psalm 93, folk singer/songwriter Kelley McRae explores the mercy of God in juxtaposition with the destruction we create. Psalms 93 Rising By Kelley McRae Credits: Composed and Written By Kelley McRae. 2016 Performed By Kelley McRae and Matt Castelein Curated by: Sarah Gregory 2016 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I really love the language in Psalm 93 that 'the seas have lifted up their voice.' And it's clear from the different translations that it's a raging sea. It's a storm. The song obviously works in metaphor and (I hope) can be interpreted in different ways. But I mainly had in mind the storms we bring on ourselves and on our children. By what we have done and by what we have left undone. It's hard to see how we might find mercy for the destruction we cause. This song comes out of that struggle. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Kelley McRae called New York City home for many years, cutting her teeth in the vaunted singer/songwriter scene and honing her craft at legendary clubs like The Living Room, The Rockwood Music Hall and the Bowery Ballroom. In 2011 McRae teamed up with guitarist Matt Castelein , and the duo traded in their Brooklyn apartment for a VW camper van and hit the road full time. Kelley and Matt traveled extensively across America those first few years, performing hundreds of shows and finding inspiration for new songs along the way. The duo has since gone on to tour in eleven countries, including shows in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. They’ve taken the stage at renowned venues such as The Bluebird Café in Nashville and The Green Note in London, and they’ve performed at festivals like Riverbend in Chattanooga,TN, Rhythm and Blooms in Knoxville, TN and the Kerrville Folk Festival where they were named New Folk Finalists. Kelley McRae’s latest release, The Wayside , is a testament to the inspiration inherent in the American landscape, the grief intrinsic to change, and the hope that comes with stepping onto unknown soil. The Wayside , McRae says, “is the place along the side of the road where things get left behind, or where you go to rest awhile, or where you go find something you lost along the way.” McRae’s songs sip life from the tension between holding on and letting go, blooming in their rich search for truths. Released in April, 2016, The Wayside debuted at #7 on the Euro-Americana charts and hit #4 on the Roots Music Reports Top 50 Contemporary Folk chart. It has continued to impress critics: Penguin Eggs Magazine calls Kelley’s voice ‘hauntingly beautiful, echoing the best of Gillian Welch’ and New York Music Daily calls the duo ‘the real deal.’ Folk Radio UK describes McRae as ‘evocative of the finest moments of Emmylou.’ Mike Penard of Radio France says, “With hundreds of new releases each year, there are maybe ten or twenty magical moments. The Wayside is one of those moments.” Website Kelley McRae About the Artist Kelley McRae Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Musician Lucas Kwong brings out an edgy approach to interpreting Jude 1:8-13 in his new work. Jude 1:8-13 Florid-A By Lucas Kwong Credits: Written and Composed By Lucas Kwong, 2017 Guitar/bass/vox by Lucas Kwong Drums by David Cornejo Mastered by Dan Coutant Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2017 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I wanted to see if I could write a song about false teachers that had a bit of joy in it – funk, really. Joy certainly seems to be the last thing on Jude’s mind, never mind funkiness. We don’t know what exactly these teachers were actually teaching, but we know Jude was mad about it. A few characteristics of their cheatin’ ways stood out as song fodder. They “rely on their dreams,” grandiose visions of the future that, apparently, authorize them to do whatever they want. After all, they alone carry the spark of spiritual greatness! With them alone can true justice be found, the sword sundering sheep from goat! But if you confront them with the violence and greed implicit in their words, suddenly they bat their eyes and do their best John Lennon impersonation: “ You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one… ” (Not calling The Clever One a false teacher, although anyone who holds up “Imagine” as John’s best work is peddling heresy.) They’re just dreamers, you see. Can’t you let a fella dream in peace, and maybe make a few bucks in the process? They’re perfectionists. My wife and I are fans of Anne Lamott’s thoughts on the subject: “ Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. ” Perfectionism means thinking of oneself as artificial intelligence, cleansed of the messiness known as “human nature.” In this case, it’s not enough for these false teachers to be common recipients of grace. They have to be spiritual elites, insulated from the dreary business of learning from their mistakes like everyone else. Mistakes are for plebes. They resemble extreme weather. Roving clouds, wild waves, stars being sucked into cosmic whirlpools. Bring your rain jacket, is all Jude is saying. (This third feature inspired both the lyrics and the musical structure, which aspires to the unpredictability of climate chaos). Enterprising dreamers, spiritual one-percenters drunk on power, avatars of unthinking instinct: suddenly the false teachers don’t sound so ancient after all, nor do we moderns sound so immune to their charms. And yet the best remedy for Satanic wiles isn’t matching gloom for gloom, curse for curse (see archangel Michael’s example). As another flawed recipient of grace, Thomas More, said, “ The devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked. ” If being under the thumb of a false teacher is a drag, getting out from that thumb must be a thrill. Writing this song, I couldn’t help but think of the thrill radiating from the music of the podcast Sinner’s Crossroads , a program devoted to the no-frills brilliance of bootleg gospel recordings from the mid-20th century onward. It seemed like the right idiom for calling out self-importance and pretension. As for the central metaphor, there’s a Biblical precedent of Israel using place names to rebuke oppressors, literally putting them in their place: Babylon , Tyre , Rome . For me, this converged with a storied tradition of breakup songs that substitute place names for ex-lovers: Georgia , Memphis , Los Angeles . I have nothing against Florida, but in light of its importance to one of my favorite short stories , its use here was basically inevitable. Get with the flaw! Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lucas Kwong is a literature professor and musician. When not grading papers and researching Victorian popular fiction, he writes songs and performs around Brooklyn as part of the garage-rock two piece THE BROTHER K MELEE ( www.brotherkmusic.com ). THE BROTHER K MELEE’s releases include the compilation Seek Assembly , the music videos for tracks “ The Brink ” and “ Vengeance ” (compiled from Prelinger Archive footage ), and the single “ Stranger From the Country ,” which was commissioned for Resurrection Park Slope’s 2017 Via Dolorosa exhibition. Lucas’ writing has been published in Religion and Literature , Victorian Literature and Culture , and on Image Journal ’s blog. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn. Website Lucas Kwong About the Artist Lucas Kwong Other Works By Read the lyrics to Florid-A . Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Creative writer Lancelot Schaubert brings us this inventive mini-series as he weaves together a small newspaper in response to a collection of Scripture passages. This first offering focuses on the theme of "lost" as found in Luke 15:3-7. Luke 15:3-7 Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 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 The theme of lostness comes up a ton in this section of the paper: and of how to find your way back. I wanted to hold that theme up to the light in as many unorthodox ways as possible. 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 | 2 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 | 2 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 Five months ago, Vritra — ill and desperate — crashed headlong into the loadbearing wall that Stornheist shares with the North Gate and ever since our surrounding lands grow nothing, bear nothing, receive nothing, and hold no measure of moisture. View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Five months ago, Vritra — ill and desperate — crashed headlong into the loadbearing wall that Stornheist shares with the North Gate and ever since our surrounding lands grow nothing, bear nothing, receive nothing, and hold no measure of moisture. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Blues band Kenyon Adams & American Restless sing the Psalms as Blues. Here they bring to life the wails of Psalms 25 and 91 through "Shame", a song written by Noah Lekas. Psalms 25 Psalms 91 Shame By Kenyon Adams & American Restless Credits: Words and Music by Noah Lekas Musicians: Kenyon Adams & American Restless, featuring Noah Lekas Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2012 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link About the song, by Noah Lekas: I really liked the idea of contending with God for His name’s sake – as if to say, “I know I am not worth helping, but You have to help me because of who You are.” So the song is sort of exploring that and this idea of being completely out numbered and surrounded in a Psalm 91 Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection The personal histories of Kenyon Adams and Noah Lekas (American Restless) have converged at the crossroads of the blues, where black music of the American south meets the Midwest, much as it did during the 1950's as many southern blacks (including Muddy Waters and Little Walter) head north from their share-cropping communities to seek job opportunities and play for dollars on the city streets. The blues was never nihilistic but presented a gut-wrenchingly honest spirituality which was, in it's deep concern for the human situation, both theologically and philsophically concerned. The music of Kenyon Adams & American Restless seeks to represent these aspects of the blues in our post-post modern setting in which we live among a generation which, while being privileged & educated to an unprecedented degree, is perhaps more confused and discontented than any in recent history. To this picture and in this scenario we wish to contribute our own "cries" out to God in solidarity with all who struggle to reconcile inner longings with the besieging cruelty of the mundane. Website Kenyon Adams & American Restless About the Artist Kenyon Adams & American Restless Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Contended And Retain Linda Smith, Contended Linda Smith, Retain Loading Video . . . The work of artist Linda Smith celebrates female forms while reflecting on the attention paid to women in Numbers 27:6-7. Numbers 27:6-7 Contended and Retain By Linda Smith Credits: Curated by: Michael Markham 2019 Mixed Materials Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link In my newest body of work, I have created different 3-dimensional shapes. Using organic materials such as pig bladder, gauze, hemp, pantyhose and various fabrics, I weave together multiple womblike forms using a variety of processes including burning, alternatively exposing and concealing the interior. My objective in working with such varied physical properties and materials is to create a world of weightless spheres that provide a temporary haven from outside elements. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Linda Smith is an artist and art educator who helped start a non-profit with her partner Prossy Yohana while living in Kigali, Rwanda, called the “ TEOH Project ”, which provides cameras and art classes to children in Rwanda, Ghana and Bronx, NY. She has been commissioned by the UN to provide photographic classes to survivors and former perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. She earned an MFA from the University of Connecticut. Her work has been exhibited in the United Nations, Embassies and Universities. Instagram: @laughing_linda Website Linda Smith About the Artist Linda Smith Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

See Brian S Chan 1 Loading Video . . . Pastor, author, and painter Brian S. Chan's work See reflects the theme of "poverty" from Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43. Mark 10:46-52 Luke 18:35-43 See By Brian S. Chan Credits: Artist location: Los Angeles Curated by: Brian Dang 2014 13.5 x 12.5 inches Charcoal and Acrylic on Paper Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I think of a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, who had not seen anything for many years or perhaps his entire life. Thought of as stricken by God, this beggar was impoverished not only in money but also in social acceptance. I picture the real poverty of this man was indicated by his weathered and worn face after years of begging in the streets under the sun and surviving in harsh conditions – a poor lifestyle that would’ve easily aged a man. He showed his faith in Jesus by crying out to him in spite of the public’s scorn. He called for Jesus to have mercy on him. “Mercy” was his cry. Perhaps this poor man understood that his poverty was not just physical but spiritual. When Jesus asked what he could do for him, Bartimaeus did not ask for unlimited money, a castle on a hill or the pleasures of royalty, for those would’ve seemed too small in comparison to what he actually asked for! He asked for something that could only from the vast resources of God – sight. It was understood then that the only being that could make the deaf hear, the mute speak or the blind see was God. This kind of healing was a direct act of the Creator, the one who made the ears, mouth and eyes. The healing of blindness not only meant physical sight but the implication of mercy, forgiveness and acceptance by God. So as I contemplated this incident, I captured the very moment of Bartimaeus receiving the lavishing miracle of Jesus, the moment he experienced the riches of divine glory pouring over him and his eyes began to see. As the darkness faded, the first thing he saw was his Savior Jesus. What must he have felt or thought? Red traditionally represented the blood of Christ, signifying God’s ultimate grace. The nature of the gift to Bartimaeus was founded on grace. Bartimaeus did not work for it or earn it. He simply believed that Jesus was the second person of the triune God who had the power to lavish such a gift on an undeserving man. Gold traditionally represented divinity, signifying that Bartimaeus received a divine gift from the riches of God’s hand. I’m touched by the comedic and wonderful twist at the end of the story. Jesus told him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” That is, you can go live your life now with your new sight. But Bartimaeus did not go away from Jesus. He followed Jesus. Discipleship was prompted by the lavishing of rich grace by the Son of God. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Brian S. Chan is a Church Planting Pastor of Re-Create Church in Los Angeles; professor at Biola University, teaching a theology/philosophy of beauty; author of The Purple Curtain: Living Out Beauty in Faith and Culture from a Biblical Perspective ; BA in psychology & BA in sociology from UC Davis, ThM in historical theology and MA in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary, and DMin in philosophy from Talbot School of Theology; married to Ellen and foster father of two baby boys. Website Brian S. Chan About the Artist Brian S. Chan Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . 2016 Artist in Residence Chris Knight presents his completed film "Collected Thoughts," inspired by Ecclesiastes 1:8-13. Ecclesiastes 1:8-13 Artist in Residence 2016: Chris Knight By Chris Knight This film contains brief moments of violence and strong language, and may not be suitable for all audiences. Discretion is advised. Credits: Title: Collected Thoughts Written and Directed by Chris Knight Starring: Jason Griffith, Erica Newhouse, Philip Callen, Michael Markham Produced by Luciana Alamo, Chris Knight, Michael Markham 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 I grew up in the South, which in New York City where I live now, is sometimes considered unusual. A magnolia-scented strangeness hangs over the region. People ask what Alabama is like in ways I would never consider asking about Iowa or Oregon, like it's uncharted territory, somewhere not just off the grid but beyond it. When they do, I explain that I ate the same Bloomin' Onions, sat in the same movie theater darkness and rode shotgun past the same indistinguishable suburban homes. The suburbs are the same everywhere, and the secessionist mix of ignorance and anger I know they're really asking about is everywhere, too. But I know what they mean. Something about the South is different. Our greatest writer said, "The past is never dead. It's not even past," and it's true there. We learn to bathe in our past, to resent it and revere it, to hate it and re-enact it and never ever to escape it. We feel, and are reminded of, our nation-rending selfishness born of greed and inhumanity. We built monuments to warriors fallen in the service of an ignoble, revolting cause, and we imagine that our connection to the past makes us somehow more substantial. Ecclesiastes reminds us that our past will not save us. It's a book about impermanence and failure. It reminds us that everything under the sun will be forgotten. The riches we gather will be scattered, the towers we raise will fall. It asks us to find small comforts while they're available because oppression and fear and the yawning grave are coming for us. In this most hopeless of years, filled with dead heroes and decayed ideals, I chose as my inspiration a book quite literally about hopelessness. So I made a film about hope. The hope that we might be remembered while our failures are not. The hope that we aren't the people our worst actions reveal us to be. That we are better than what we have been. Because that's the promise of the Bible: that there's something beyond this hopeless world we find under the sun. That there our sins can be scrubbed from our fetid souls, and we will be preserved, clean and upstanding. That we will be redeemed. Almost one hundred and fifty years ago in the American South, the men whose monuments I visited on class trips instituted an era of horrific violence and rapacious looting across the region. They set out to make the South great again by disenfranchising the newly freed slaves, installing corrupt, oligarchic leaders and using the power of the state to destroy anyone who resisted. They called it Redemption. The arc of the moral universe does not bend toward justice. It bends under our own hands, in whatever directions we choose to bend it, and we are craven, spiteful and vicious. We lose ourselves in daily routines and petty jealousies and fail to see the principles we've betrayed and the devastation we've brought down until we're standing in the rubble. Eventually, the villains always win. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes knows all this, but he knows something else, too: "There is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime." We can't change human nature, our thirst for power over each other, our eagerness to turn away from the pain we cause and get back to the mundane tasks we have to do. Like Randall in the film, we tell ourselves we must be doing the right thing because we're doing what makes our own lives easier, what advances our own needs. But in the midst of it all, maybe sometimes we can glimpse each other stumbling around in the howling night and perform a small mercy, to shed some light on their path and push away the darkness, if only for a moment. And the struggle to do that is worthwhile in itself, even if it is hopeless. Especially when it is hopeless. "That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done." Corruption, violence and fear suffuse the world that we live in. We can't escape them, and in this world under the sun they will never be beaten. But we can fight them. We can work to see the people in our lives who need our help. And we can try to be better tomorrow than we were today. History may not remember us, but at least we will know what we did. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Chris Knight is a director and writer based in New York City. His short films and feature scripts have been selected for a variety of film festivals across the country. Website Chris Knight About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016: Chris Knight Part 1 Artist in Residence 2016: Chris Knight Part 2 Artist in Residence 2016: Chris Knight Part 3 Carried from Jericho Chris Knight Other Works By Follow the developmental journey of Chris' project by reading his first , second , and third post as a 2016 Artist in Residence. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . I read a devotional recently that touched upon our disposable culture. We are all too familiar with this in regards to our use of products, ever growing pace of production, and consumption of physical objects. 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 1 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 March 30, 2015 I read a devotional recently that touched upon our disposable culture. We are all too familiar with this in regards to our use of products, ever growing pace of production, and consumption of physical objects. However what fascinated me beyond that was the connection to disposability in the more intangible things, our relationships and commitments, which is something far more consequential. A quote from the devotional: “…Many times true commitment in relationships is seen as optional. Marriages struggle to survive. Long term employees are discharged just before retirement for cheaper options….It seems as if nothing lasts.” I began thinking about commitment versus disposability as well as temporal versus permanent. I find it interesting how we often opt for temporal or disposable commitments to each other, to our goals, to our convictions, to our Lord. Yet at the same time, we were made for eternity, we believe in loyalty, we long for committed relationships and need them. However no one is exempt from this struggle of keeping promises or not letting commitments fade out. It is a constant battle within us. For me personally, reading this devotional hit home as I realized that I often make commitments to myself and to God that I don’t keep. So often I decide to face my fears and complete a project, focus on developing a good habit, or even something more invisible as being aware of my own selfish attitudes. While I believe heartedly in these good things, I find that after a brief time of establishing a commitment I have long forgotten about them or feel less convicted and let them slip into the periphery of my life. Why is it that we so often dispose of what we truly deem as of utmost importance? For this yearlong residency with Spark and Echo Arts, I will create a series of works that will explore the struggle and beauty of this battle we each face. Each piece will be tied to a Bible verse or verses that I personally feel holds the heart of this reality and yet inherently explains universally what we all face in some way. I have spent the past few months both being inspired and wrestling with how to connect my own artwork with the Bible and how to bring that forth to speak to an audience. After many late nights of trying to pin down vague inspirations and contemplating the feelings around these concepts, I’ve honed my ideas into four concrete pieces. These will come in the form of sculptures, performance, video, and a documented event. Although I am setting out to make these specific works, I anticipate things will change, but even in that lays some truth about making commitments and what time does to that. More on this will be explored later. I am very excited to see these ideas become reality, to move from my personal warehouse to the public sphere, and to experience dialogue with others of how these works relate to personal lives, communal living, and the specific stories we each carry. Disposable Commitments, Melissa Beck “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15) This first piece, while simple is a pertinent way of sculpturally manifesting this idea of “disposable commitments.” Porcelain china dishes are stacked in a plastic bag, taking the place of disposable foam plates. Two similar yet vastly different entities juxtaposed. Dishes that are long lasting, intended to be used over and over have been cheapened to mere disposable plates. What was intended and made to last a lifetime has become temporal and discarded. As a sculpture artist, I am drawn to objects and things in the visible world that when arranged in a certain way or setting reflect an invisible truth or reality. It helps me to see what is beneath the surface in our lives, but is most definitely there. I could have used any objects, but dishes reminded me of a marriage. Permanent not disposable dishes are a traditional gift at weddings because they symbolize two becoming one for the long haul. In this commitment is a lifetime promise to not just experience and create dreams together but also to do the mundane daily life of eating meals, cooking, cleaning, entertaining guests, and continuing routine together year after year. Yet this ultimate commitment, which is esteemed as the most committed relationship two people can have, is often reduced to less. It is cheapened, abandoned, severed and lost. Even in our loyalty to friends or goals, sometimes they start out as permanent in our minds and souls, but somewhere along the line they seem to fade, blending into the periphery of our lives and being cluttered among other discards. In photographing this piece, I found that the stack of dishes amongst trash blends in quite easily. The colors mesh with the environment and yet there is something odd about these china dishes inside a plastic bag. It isn’t right. It isn’t right because we know these plates like our commitments were made for more and yet we constantly battle to keep ourselves from doing the very things that cause us to discard of our commitments. 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 2 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 second , 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 . . . Letting the text 'speak' to directly inspire his creative process, composer and musician Ezra Haugabrooks wrote, performed, and recorded this song in response to Joel 2:1-11. Joel 2:1-11 Joel By Ezra Haugabrooks Credits: Lyrics, Music, and Performance by Ezra Haugabrooks Curated by: Aaron Beaumont 2017 Pop Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I picked the King James Version (KJV) to find inspiration for melodic material for my work. This translation is a personal favorite of mine because the challenging nature of the language leaves me filled with a sense of awe, which I felt especially in the first 11 verses of Joel 2. However, the New International Version (NIV) helped me conceptualize a sense foreshadowing in this passage. I formed the lyrics of my song from a blend of the KJV and NIV. So, once I created an arch to join the two versions of the first 11 verses, I fit the words to the melodic and rhythmic structure previously established from my work with the KJV. Personally, I have the most fun developing the harmony of my music. A few nights one week, I went to the local university with my four year old son. There, I messed around with the piano to see what might come out of my improvisational playing in association with the melody and lyrics. After I developed some ideas, I populated them into a digital audio workstation (DAW). There, I built a simple beat to help me rap-sing out the lyrics before doing a final recording over the finished beat in studio. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Ezra Haugabrooks has performed throughout the US and abroad as a composer, violist, pianist, singer and conductor. He started producing music in elementary school and has been writing since high school. He has completed a degree in viola performance at Andrews University. Ezra plans to continue writing music and growing the nonprofit chamber orchestra that he founded: BADO . He currently lives in St Petersburg, Florida with his son, Noah. Website Ezra Haugabrooks About the Artist Ezra Haugabrooks Other Works By Read the composite scripture lyrics for " Joel ." Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . "Response", a composition by Jonathon Roberts for saxophone quartet and baritone, directly sets the Apostle Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 2:1-4. 2 Corinthians 2:1-4 Response By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Music by Jonathon Roberts Text by Apostle Paul Musicians: Chris Clouthier, Allison Davis, Mark Determan, Kim Reece, saxophone quartet; Jonathon Roberts, voice Artist Location: Wisconsin Curated by: Jonathon + Emily 2005 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Depending on what he thought people needed to hear, Paul used different ways to speak to the people he served: love, discipline, humor, anger. We see in this passage a tender, regretful, sad side of Paul as he alerts the Corinthians of his change of plans. This piece was original composed for vocalist Charlie Christensen and then expanded as part of Project Paul , a theatre piece on the life of Apostle Paul. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms I Make Tents The Sower There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work